December of 2006 when my wife's relatives from Australia came to the
Philippines to spend their Christmas holiday. We were ecstatic in our
preparation to delight these balikbayan relatives at the very least,
letting them experience once again how is to be Christmas in the
Philippines. We decided to have our dinner in a sea food restaurant
along Macapagal Boulevard, known for its festive ambiance come night
time. At the dinner, I remained timid as always though bit observant of
almost everything that is going on around the dinner table. As everybody
is having their meal, I noticed my sister in-law painstakingly peeling
of the shells of a large size sugpo (shrimp), and carefully set it aside
her plate. When the dinner was about to end and it was time to foot the
bill, my son saw the peeled off shrimp near her aunt's plate. Thinking
that her aunt no longer wanted to eat those, he tweaked it from his
aunt's plate and PRESTO! It was all gone in seconds. My sister-in law
was so furious and berated her nephew by saying, "di mo ba alam
itinitira ko yun para sa huling subo? (Don't you know I reserved it for
my last bite?). Everybody was laughing at my sister-in law for how the
best that she had saved ended as the last bite of my son.
The Test of Life
It
was also that same year when we experienced life's most difficult test.
I left my lucrative job in the semiconductor industry because of
personal differences with my boss and settled for another job that pays
relatively lesser than what I used to receive. With the kind of
lifestyle, we found ourselves in the difficult situation of transition.
Gone were the days of family's usual weekend get-away outside Manila.
The countless Friday dinner dates with my wife and the Sunday treats for
the entire family were all vanished in an instant, together with my
pride and self-esteem.
My new job as a Manager in a fashion retail company demands time
more than what I can give to myself and family. My health succumbed to
the pressure of stressful work and so as the intimacy in the family.
After consulting my wife, I decided to leave the company and settled for
small business at home. The business though profitable didn't provide
enough for the family's needs and we were facing then the toughest
question; can we still afford our children's high cost of education?
That time, I was considering to downgrade my children's school; - from
private to public, an option that my wife doesn't agreed. With no other
options left but abroad, for me is a bitter pill to swallow.
Gone for abroad
August
of 2007, I packed my things for abroad armed with hope of giving better
future for my family. There I left my wife, a son and three daughters.
While I was toiling away in a foreign soil, I managed to exchange
communications with my family and she makes sure to update me every time
even the smallest and trivial things that are happening back home. Our
life improves a bit and we were slowly picking up fragments of our
broken dreams. "This is the kind of break I need", I quipped.
The Tragedy
A
month before Christmas, I was busy filling up and checking the list of
my pasalubong inside the balik-bayan box and making sure that everything
is complete and that nobody will be missed out. Canned goods,
chocolates, toys, shoes, perfumes and clothes were all perfectly
selected based on my kid's preference. While packing the boxes, I
remember my daughter's constant prodding, "Daddy, kailan mo papadala
yung yung gift mo sa akin?" (Daddy when will you send your gift for me?)
"Malapit na, basta bago mag Pasko" (In due time, I will send it before
Christmas) was my reply. "This time I'm sure they all going to' like it
because these are nothing but the best" I remember telling myself.
Days
had past and Christmas is just around the corner and it was Sunday,
just a typical working day for me in the office. It's almost past 12
noon and still never received any text messages from my wife or my
children. Though quite unusual but I thought they are just busy. I sent a
text message to my wife to check if everything is okay but still
haven't got a reply from her. That Sunday proved to be the most
difficult test of my life. I received news that my wife and three
daughters ages 2, 7 and 12 got involved in a vehicular accident while
inside a jeepney on their way to the church. The vehicle they were
riding was rammed by a wayward truck while it is crossing the
intersection of San Andres Street and Osmena highway. My two younger
daughters were slightly injured for they were cushioned by the bodies of
other passengers that filed on top of them.
My eldest daughter
was thrown out of the vehicle because of the impact of the collision and
escaped death only by a hairline; thank God that there were no oncoming
vehicles to the spot where she landed. The young lady sitting beside
her was badly hurt and her leg was later amputated due to the severity
of the injury. The old lady; a 'balikbayan' (returnee) sitting next to
my wife didn't have the luck; she died on her way to the hospital. My
wife who happens to be sitting in the last row near the vehicle egress
absorbed most of the injury that could have been for my children. After
having been thrown outside the jeep, though conscious but her vision was
too blurred caused by the impact of her head hitting the pavement. With
her remaining strength, she struggled to reach for my daughter who was
crying in pain while being lifted by a bystander to safety. She cried
for help from other bystanders to remove my two younger daughters still
pinned inside the jeep with files of bleeding and unconscious
passengers.
Saving the Best for Last
When that news was
relayed to me, I was in the office and I couldn't remember if I cried.
All I know is that I was dumb-founded, motion less and I don't even know
how I would react. At that instance, I realized that everything I
saved, the people I cared about and good future that I hope for can
render futile in just an instant. When I came back to my room that
Sunday evening, I saw the balikbayan (returnee) boxes sitting in one
corner of the room. I opened the boxes and saw how the stuffs were
carefully and neatly arranged inside but almost could be rendered nearly
worthless by that accident.
Learning Curve
That accident
had opened my eyes on the deeper understanding of life. My desire to
achieve the best of everything out of this world defines the kind of
life that most of us is creating in the process, hence neglecting the
very purpose of our life. We often enslaved ourselves to work limiting
our role as a parent to just a provider. How often we failed to visit
our mother on her birthday because we are busy with our work? How many
times did I forget to greet my wife on our wedding anniversary because I
was preoccupied by my thoughts of work? Life is short and we have to
make the most out of it every single day. The love that we keep inside
should be expressed for no one knows what will happen tomorrow.
