seems like yesterday…
Warning: If you don’t like emo stories, don’t read this! 
I have posted this in my blog (in my blogger account-secret account coz I’m the only one who knew ’bout it..hahaha) on my father’s 11th year death anniversary and I wanna share this with you..
This story happened more than a decade ago (11 years to be exact) but this is one of the reasons why I am the kind of person you know today. Well, that is, if you really knew me.. lol
June 1997, my sister went home from Manila. My family was living in Capiz that time. She noticed how my father’s weight dropped dramatically. She said “Tay, you look so thin.” And my father answered “Oh, don’t mind my weight Maybe I’m just tired”. My father was working in someone’s farm. After a day of ploughing, farm owner will give him a kilo or two of rice, variety of vegetables or cooked food for our table. He didn’t have a job that paid him well but he was or still a perfect father for us. My mother was the one supporting us financially by selling veggies and father was the one tending our needs. He usually woke up at 4 in the morning to cook our breakfast then he’ll bring my youngest sister to school (my youngest sister was 6 then) carrying her in his shoulder and walking 4 kms and then he’ll go back to where he worked (that’s another 4 kms) then wait until my sister’s class is finished and he’ll fetch her. Oh yeah, your math is correct. That’s a total of (about) 16 kms. Don’t worry, he didn’t do the walking everyday. Sometimes, he would bring our carabao with him and he and my sister will ride in it. Hehe! His last routine was cooking dinner for us. He made sure that everything was ready everytime we arrived home (his son and daughters from school and his wife from the market).
September 1997 when my mother decided to have my father condition checked up and it was when we received the shocking and devastating news. He had a cancer. It wasn’t clear if it is liver or lung cancer. What we knew was, he’ll die anytime but we didn’t think that we have only three months left to be with him. This changed our lives. We couldn’t concentrate at school because we didn’t want to be away from him. We didn’t tell him that he was dying because we didn’t want him to think about it. It might cause his sudden death. Imagine the three months that we controlled our tears everytime we talked to him.
We asked for help from my aunt (his sister) in Manila. She sent money for my father’s medicine (we were still hoping). What I didn’t know was when he and mother were about to leave, he saw my school shoes that has holes in it and while I was sleeping, he drew my foot and bought me a shoes instead of buying his medicines. He also bought something for my siblings. He said that he didn’t need medicine because he felt fine. I don’t know if he’s really fine or just hiding the pain he was experiencing.
November 27, 1997, mother, father, my two sisters (6 and 9 years old) and my older sister left for Manila. It was my father’s wish to see his siblings and mother as well as his relatives. We were always short of budget and everytime we had money, we had school activities. He’s like the person who’ll sacrifice his happiness not only for his family but also for other people. People who knew him will agree with that. My last hugged to him was when they were about to board the ship. My mother whispered to me “Hug your father, it might be your last”. We were already hopeless because his body said so. I was really crying that time but father said “Don’t cry. I’m just going for a vacation.” We (my brother who was 15 and I who was 13) wanted to go with them but he wanted us to stay in the province for our studies.
Days passed and we didn’t hear anything from them. It was morning of December 5, 1997 when we received the news. I was in the flag ceremony when my teary-eyed brother came to me. He didn’t say anything until I was in the principal’s office. All of my teachers were already there when my brother told me that our father passed away on 2nd of December. The telegram came late. It was then when we got our ticket as chance passengers to Manila. We arrived there on the 6th and the burial was on the 7th.
According to what they told us, on the day of his death, my father was watching the television and when the three o’clock prayer flashed on the screen, he prayed. It followed by The Lord’s Prayer and in the end, he said, ”They’re here. They’re fetching me.”
It was when we know that my father was with Him.
It’s been 11 years but the memories are still fresh because we love our father dearly. Losing one of the most important people in your life will make you value everyone around you. Most of us only realize that the person is important to us if he/she leaves or dies. Don’t wait for that to happen. Show them how much you love them before it’s too late.
I was a good daughter to my father but I think I didn’t show him how much I love him. To tatay, wherever you are, you know I love you so much!
