July 1, 2018
Angie’s mother passed away in Queens, New York after years of suffering from kidney problems. Her family was against cremation so even if it would cost huge amounts of money to repatriate her remains to Manila, they planned for traditional wake and burial. For their relatives in New York, they arranged for a short burial and viewing in Queens. Angie’s friend Jordan called looking for her. She was in the beauty salon having a mani pedi.
Jordan said “Madam, bakit ikaw ang nagpapa mani-pedi, hindi naman ikaw ang ibu-viewing, si nanay”.
PAL’s tickets were a lot more expensive than other airlines so Angie and her father Ka Tex, took Emirates from NY to Manila via Dubai while the body of Angie’s mom was shipped via PAL’s direct flight. They didn’t want to take any chances that her mom’s remains would end up somewhere else so they were more than wiling to pay the $9,500 fees. Mahirap na daw at baka kung saan pa maiwan yung bangkay ng nanay nya. Baka mapunta sa Dubai.
I couldn’t make it to the wake in Libis, Binangonan because we just got back from abroad. However, even if I didn’t have sleep yet, I made it a point to go to the funeral. However I had no intention to join in the funeral procession, my intention was just to show up then I would leave right away, go home and sleep. My husband was worried about me taking a two -three hour travel to Binangonan kasi nga he knew wala pa akong pahinga. He reminded me twice “huwag kang makipaglibing, magpakita ka lang kay Anggie”. That was the plan.
Na traffic kami. So instead of being able to go to Anggie’s house before they leave for the church, I went straight to the church. Again, just to show my face up.
What I didn’t know and anticipate was that there were many other funerals aside from Angie’s mom. That threw me off guard. Ganyan na pala ngayon, sabay-sabay ang blessing ng pari at sabay-sabay ang libing. Parang mass funeral, siguro kasi sa dami na ng tao, marami na ring namamatay.
I asked this woman “Eto ba yung libing nung nanay ni Angie?”
She asked me back “Sasama ka ba sa patay?”
(Syempre hindi ano!)
There were several funeral cars and I didn’t know which one had Angie’s mom’s remains. I also forgot the name of her mother.
I asked some guy “Ito ba yung libing nung asawa ni Ka Tex?”
The guy asked me instead— “Sasama ka ba sa patay?”
(Of course not! Why do they ask that question? Sasama ako sa libing pero hindi ako sasama sa patay!)
At last someone recognized me and led me to the right patay
I saw Angie looking so sad and in tears. When she saw me, she hugged me and cried. She also put her right arm around my left arm and we walked together, behind the karo bearing her mom’s kabaong. I ended up joining the funeral procession. That wasn’t the plan. The plan was magpapakita lang ako na parang multo tapos uuwi na ako para matulog at merong pa akong jetlag.
The shoes I was wearing were not good for walking to the cemetery. They hurt. I had a spare sandals in the car but It was awkward naman to change shoes in the middle of a funeral procession.
Eh sige na nga, sama na ako hanggng simenteryo, malapit lang naman.
The streets looked a lot smaller than I thought.
This place is called pantyun malapit because of it’s proximity to the town. It’s so close to the town. I haven’t been here for 34 years.
Parang fiesta ang tugtog ng musikero.
I saw a guy holding two bunches of balloons. I heard a woman saying “yung mga lobo, yung mga lobo, pakawalan na”. The guy let go of the two bunches. Then I heard another woman saying “Yung lobo, paghiwa-hiwalayin, ay ay yung lobo, hiwalayin muna, ay lumipad na”.
I forgot to give my abuloy to Angie. I went to their house in Libis but she wasn’t back yet from the cemetery. The neighbor saw me holding a white letter envelope. She said “kung ipagkakatiwala mo sa akin…” Hmmmm…
I decided to go to Jollibee first to eat lunch with Antonia and the guys. I told her to watch my food while I buy french fries. When I turned, Antonia was gone and the waiter had cleared the table. Wahhh, goodbye chicken joy!
