The engine started in the midst of darkness. At first, I enjoyed the silence of the night and the cool breeze of wind coming from the open window that brushes against my face. Two hours and I fell asleep. I woke up when we had our first stop over and sleep never visited me again. So I just occupied myself of watching the sun rise, the big trucks and buses, and the parallel lines seen on the roads, electric lines, and trees alongside the road.
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I saw how my uncle on the driver’s seat flexes his arms and legs which reminded me that we’re travelling for almost 8 hours already.
“We are near.” I told myself.
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I find myself dazed on the open window, I know it is not anymore because of the scenery but because I’m thinking about her. I am going to see her in a short while. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to react. I want to have more time to think but we stopped.
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“Ah finally! Nakaabot naman.” My uncle said.
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Then I felt a warm dripping in my face. I am not yet ready, but I should be. I came all the way here to pick her up. We are going home and everything’s going back to normal. I quickly wiped my face, inhaled, exhaled, smiled, and got out the car.
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It felt so cold. This huge hospital is fully air-conditioned. The moment I stepped inside, I shivered. I wonder if it’s all because of the temperature or because of the thought of her.
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ROOM 2055. I am standing in front of a door that would be the last obstacle to see her. I opened. Machines, tubes, my aunt, my mom, my cousins and brothers, fruits, curtains, and many other things revealed before me but my eyes fixed on her. Thinner, paler, and weaker but she managed a welcome smile for me.
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“O ma uyan na baga ang paborito mong makuapo, tig paparahanap mo.” My mother said.
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I went to bless but she hugged me. I stopped whatever it is that’s forming in my eyes and brushed the serious mood with “Ay la sosyal ka gayon gayon na kang parasundo mo.” Everyone laughed including me. Everyone is teary-eyed including me.
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Stories of the different things that happened were shared. From the sosyalin doctors, the very caring and kind nurses, how lola managed to go through a 10-hour operation, how lola kept on calling for me, how they bumped on to many politicians to ask for help, how they are still struggling to complete the 2.5 million bill that was released, and how the doctor told them just a while ago that lola still can’t go home until we’re fully paid. I felt drained, I don’t know if it is because of the long drive or the fact that I am once again going home without her. I slept.
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“Ne uli na kita, gusto ko na mag-uli. Habo ko na igdi ne.” I woke up hearing the sobs and cries from everyone. It is final that lola still can’t go home. I need to return immediately that morning because I still have classes the next day. The travel going back felt so heavy and draining.
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A week passed, I woke up finding my lola beside me. They just got home. But what really surprised me was that she was drove home by my father, who she despised so much. I found out that since my father is originally from manila, he was the one who had a lot of connections there which he used to make all the process and papers for lola’s admission and discharge easier. For almost 10 years, seeing my father was very difficult because I know it would hurt my lola if she knew. But now I’m seeing my father eating with me, my mom, my brothers, my lolo, and my lola. I almost cried. What I was seeing right in front of me is already a given up dream. Since the conflict has went for so long, I have accepted the situation already. This dream was already picked out of my daily prayers. That explains how overwhelmed my heart is that time.
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“Ricky, mapahatod na daa si Yvette ta late na.” My lola told my father. Now, my father lives with us. Every day, he is trying to fill up all those lost years, making up for his mistakes. My lola is now flexing about my father to her friends.
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Going back, I think if lola was discharged and went home with me that time my father would not have to drive her home. Our present could have been totally different. Indeed, everything happens for a reason. I realized the importance of trusting the process and trusting God’s perfect time.
