Saturday, October 23, 2010

Via Con Dios, 'La.

Although my father wasn't an orphan, he didn't grow up with his biological parents. He was raised by his aunt who longed for another child in their house. I'm not sure how the arrangements were made, but it was my great aunt who stood as his mother for some time. She sent him to school, bought him a piano and let him call her Mommy. My father had nine other siblings, but no one else calls her Mommy. He even used to have a share of my great aunt's land properties. He was like a son to her.

When we came along, my great aunt's presence was still very much felt. She was present on every birthday when I was a kid. She gave me my first favorite book, an old book of fairy tales. She taught me how to play Dominoes and told me stories like how she loved seeing The Sound of Music in the big screen. We were pretty close and I was pretty certain that I was her favorite among my siblings. Haha! My Lola Percing and I had this tight bond that she even calls me her child.

But now cancer has taken over her body. She'd been in a lot of pain that she wished would just go away. I've been told that she'd been screaming in the hospital. Crying and begging for all of it to be over. Hearing about it breaks my heart, and I could only imagine how my father felt when he was there to witness all of it. It was early this morning when we got a call that told us that the pain had finally stopped. The pain had gone, and so had she.

We lost her to cancer, but at least now she can finally rest. No more pain and no more sorrow. I know she's in a better place now, and I hope she's happy. I know how much she loved her garden, and now she can be with God in his eternal garden of paradise. I love you, 'La. Rest in peace.