Here’s one of the best forwarded emails I have received. It simply touches my helpless heart. While reading this story, I can’t help my tears to fall down. It makes me even more thankful that I am lucky enough to have a good and wealthy life on the other hand of my miserable life...
Have time to read...
Ever since it was diagnosed that I am having a possible heart
enlargement in the last APE, I have exerted more effort to do physical
exercises. I jog during weekdays and do long-ride, mountain biking
every Sunday. But this Sunday is a special Sunday to me. While on my way to
the mountains of 'Busay' hoping to strengthen my heart by this
exercise, I instead personally encountered a heart-breaking scene that changed
me. I already passed the Marco Polo Plaza (formerly Cebu Plaza Hotel) when
I decided to stop to buy bananas at a small carenderia located along the
road. I haven't taken any solid food that morning so I need fruits to
supplement the much needed energy to get to my destination - the
mountain top.
I was almost done eating with the second banana when I noticed two
children across the street busily searching the garbage area.
"Basureros"!I said to myself and quickly turned my attention away from them to sip
a small amount of water. I cared less for these kind of children
actually; to make it straight, I do not like them, and I do not trust them
evenmore.
This is because, several times I have been a victim to these kind of
children who are pretending to be basureros looking for empty bottles
and cans when in fact the plangganas (batya), kalderos, and hinayhays
(sinampay) are their favorites.
There was this incident one afternoon while I was watching a Mike Tyson
fight when I noticed that the TV screen suddenly became blurred. I
checked outside and saw two young 'basureros' running away with my
newly installed antenna. Hatred may be a little bit strong word to describe
my feeling towards these basureros, but I do not like them honestly not
till I met these children.
I was about to embark on my bike again when I heard one of the two
children, a girl age 7 or 8, shouted to the other, a seemingly 12-yr
old boy, "Kuya si Dodong! kuha-a kay nag-sige ug tan-aw sa mga nag-kaon sa
karenderia, mauwaw ta (Kuya, kunin mo si Dodong; nakatingin sa mga
kumakain sa carenderia, nakakahiya) and only then that I noticed a
small boy standing near me, biting slightly his finger. He's a few inch
shorter if compared to my 5 year old son (but I knew later that he's
also 5 yrs. old). Though he did not ask for food from anyone in the
carenderia, the way he looked at the customers who were eating, is
enough to convince me that he's intensely craving for it. The older boy
then quickly crossed the street and gently pulled out the little one
who politely obeyed. As I watched the two crossing back the street to the
garbage area, I heard the tindera saying Lo-oy kaayo nang mga bataa uy,
mga buotan ra ba na (Nakakaawa ang mga batang yan, ang babait pa naman
nyan). I learned further from the carenderia owner that the children
are from a good family, both parents have jobs before, and that their
fathergot a 'stroke' three years ago and became partially paralyzed, and that
their mother died of heart attack while their father was still confined
at the hospital. The parents were still in their early forties when
their tragedy happened, and the children became "basureros" since then
to meet their daily needs and for their father's medication.
Deeply moved by what I heard, I went to a nearby bakery and bought 20
pesos worth of bread and gave it to the children who initially refused,
including the little boy. Sige lang noy, salamat na lang, magpalit
lang nya mi kung mahalinan na mi (Sige lang Manong, bibili lang kami mamaya
kung may nabenta na kami) the young girl said to me. I explained that
they need to go home because it started to rain . Naanad na man mi ani
(Sanay na po kami) the girl answered again.
Again, I explained that the
rain can make them sick and if they'll become sick there's no one to
take care of their father. Upon mentioning their father, they nodded
and acccept the bread but I noticed that the older boy did not eat. When I
asked him if he does not like the kind of bread I bought for them he
smiled but as he's about to explain, the little girl, who is the more
talker of them interrupted, Domingo man gud ron, noy, basta Sabado ug
Domingo hapon ra siya mokaon kami ra ang mokaon ug pamahaw pero dili na
pod mi mokaon inig hapon, si kuya ra. Pero basta Lunes ngadto sa
Biyernes, kay klase man, si kuya ra sad ang seguro-on ug papamahaw,
kami hapon na sad mi moka-on Pero kung daghan mi ug halin mokaon mi tanan.
(Linggo po kasi ngayon Manong; tuwing Sabado at Linggo, sa hapon lang
sya kakain; kami lang ang kakain ng agahan pero di na kami kakain
pagdating ng hapon, si Kuya lang. Tuwing Lunes hanggang Biyernes, dahil
pasukan, si Kuya lang ang sinisiguro na makakain ng agahan, kami naman
sa lang kakain. Pero kung malakas ang kita namin, kakain kami lahat)
she continued. Ngano man diay ug mokaon mong tanan, bahinon ninyo bisan ug
unsa ka gamay (Bakit di na lang kayo kumain lahat, just share the food
however small it is) I countered.
The young girl reasoned out that
their father wanted that her older brother to go to school with a full
stomach so he can easily catch up the teacher's lessons. Inig ka
trabaho ni Kuya mo undang na man mi ug pamasura, first honor baya na siya (When
my Kuya starts to work, titigil na kami sa pamamasura. He's the first
honor in school) the little boy added proudly. Maybe I was caught by
surprise or I was just overly emotional that my tears started to fall.
I then quickly turned my back from them to hide my tears and pretended to
pick up my bike from the carenderia where I left it.
I don't know how many seconds or minutes I spent just to compose myself; pretending
again this time that I was mending by bike. Finally I got on to my bike and
approached the three children to bid goodbye to them who in turn cast
their grateful smiles at me. I then took a good look at all of them
specially at the small boy and pat his head with a pinch in my heart.
Though I believe that their positive look at life can easily change
their present situation, there is one thing that they can never change;
that is, their being motherless. That little boy can no longer taste
the
sweet embrace, care, and most of all, the love of his mother forever.
Nobody can refill the empty gap created by that sudden and untimely
death of their mother. Every big event that will happen in their lives
will only remind them and make them wish for their mother's presence. I reached inside my pocket and handed to them my last 100 peso bill which I reserved for our department's bowling tournament. This time they refused strongly but I jokingly said to the girl sumbagon tika ron kung di nimo dawaton. She smiled as she extended her hand to take the money.
Salamat noy makapalit gyud me ron ug tambal ni papa (Salamat Manong,
mamakabili na kami ng gamot ni Itay) she uttered. I then turned to the
small boy and though he's a few feet away from me, I still noticed
that while his right hand was holding the half - filled sack, his left hand was holding a toy, a worn out toy car.
I waved my hands and said bye bye to him as I drove towards the mountains
again. Did he just find the toy in the garbage area? or the toy was
originally his - when the misfortune did not take place yet? - I did
not bother to ask. But one thing is crystal clear to me that inspite of the
boy's abnormal life, he did not given up his childhood completely. I
can sense it in the way that he held and stared at his toy.
My meeting with that young basureros made me poorer by 100 pesos. But they changed me
and made me more richer as to lessons of life are concerned. In them, I
learned that life can change suddenly and may catch me flat footed. In
them, I've learned that even the darkest side of life, cannot change
the beauty of one's heart. Those three children, who sometimes cannot eat
three times a day, are still able to hold on to what they believe is
right. And what a contrast to most of us who are quick to point out to
our misfortunes when caught with our mistakes. In them, I've learned to
hope for things when things seem to go the other way. Lastly, I know
that God cares for them far more than I do. That though He allowed them
to experience such a terrible life which our finite minds cannot
comprehend, His unquestionable love will surely follow them through.
And in God's own perfect time they will surely win.
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