Au Revoir ma Grand Père

I will never forget Boracay. It was in that island Paradise that I got the news that my grand father passed away.

Just about the moment when the Summer Sun was setting in, I got a deluge of text messages from relatives. I was so shocked when I read my sister Ken’s message. I was with Bro Bear that time and I told him about the news that my lolo passed away.

Lolo Mining was my mom’s father. He died at the age of 84.

I had a blog entry about him last April when I paid him a visit after the holy week. I realized now that it was my last time to see him alive. I was somehow happy that I get to see him before he passed away. I knew then that my Lolo was just biding his time to return to his maker.

The Last Monday of May, I called all my dealers and told them that I wouldn’t be in town because I would be visiting my grandfather in Negros. It was the excuse I used so that I could go to Boracay to be with Bro Bear.

And before I even left the house, my mom mentioned to me that my lolo’s condition was not getting any better. She got a call from Negros several days before and my lola’s said that LOLO MINING was no longer eating.  Mom thought that Lolo may pass away anytime soon.

I was saddened by it because when I last visited Lolo in April, he promised to eat and drink his meds so he would be stronger and be able to walk with me to the “crossing”. The crossing was the little barrio corner that served as a loading/unloading point for buses as well as the busy area for merchandising and gossiping. I told mom that I would try to visit him in Negros if I had the time.

Monday of May 28, in Boracay, we were just about done with snorkeling. We decided to take a dip in the water off Poca Beach. After several moments of picture taking and frolicking, I decided to sit at a corner of the beach to rest and watch my friends swimming at a distance.

Just when I was called to go back to the pump boat we hired, I pulled myself up by pushing my hand against the sand. I felt a sudden pain in my fingers. Something bit my index finger. It bit me hard. I didn’t see what bit me but i thought it was from a pincer of a crab.

I looked at my finger and  saw streams of blood from two points. I was bleeding and I called on my friends to look at it. It was midday when it happened. It took some time to stop the bleeding. I just dipped the finger in seawater and waited for the blood to clot. We headed back to Station 3 thereafter.

In the afternoon, after I received the sad news from Ken, I could not hold myself together. I  couldnt quite explain how I felt but I remembered that I stood still and stared blankly at a horizon and cried. In silence, I said a prayer for Lolo and wept.

Death in the family is something I do not want to experience. But it was something I do not have control of. So I was reduced to silence and sadness. Brother Bear approched me and told me that we should be going back to the resort to rest.

I dropped my stuff in the room and carried myself to the shores of Boracay. The sun was already gone. I watched the sea and saw the stars above it. Everything was dark except from the rows of hotels at the station.

I sat on the beach and contemplated about my grandfather’s death. I was affected by his death. It caused sadness that I could barely manage. Lolo died in bed. No one was at his side when he passed away. He was already cold when my Lola and a househelp found him. The last thing that my lola recalled was that she and Lolo Mining prayed the rosary together and they were able to say the mysteries completely.

I knew my Lolo was prepared to die. And he may had been watching me up in the sky as I reflect on his death on the shores of Boracay.

I sat on the beach thinking, and praying, and crying. My hands were busy digging holes on the sand. If only I could let out the sadness from my heart and pour it on the holes that I made. I sat there for hours. Until Bro Bear approached me.

Bro Bear was concerned about me. He made me understand how hard it was to have a death in the family. He recalled the time when his father died and he knew the certain feeling that I was experiencing that time.

He told me that what happened in Poca Beach a few moments ago was the time that my grandfather died. He sensed that something bad had happened when my finger got bitten by something and bled profusely.

Maybe it was Lolo. He wanted to say good bye to me.

I told Bro Bear about my last visit to Negros. The last time i was in Lolo’s house he asked me to take pictures of him and I did. I sort of promised to have his photos printed in size 8R and have them framed and hung on the wall. It made me sad that it wouldn’t be possible for him to see the pictures again.

Bro Bear sat beside me for sometime. We looked straight to the sea and stared at the dark horizon in silence.

And I mourn for the passing of Lolo Mining. Au revoir ma grand-père! I’ll miss you.