It’s been nine years since my brother passed away and yet I still feel sadness in my heart whenever I think of him.
Today I went to the cemetery to visit him. It was his birthday last June 11.
I didn’t bring flowers, candles or food offering. Someone told me there are a lot of squatters out there and some of them steal the flowers left on the graves.
I stayed at the cemetery for approximately 15 minutes. Looked at the surroundings, the sky, the graves, the more than 50 people promenading at the cemetery. There was a sorbetero, naglalako ng chicharon with suka, pilipit na matigas na tinapas (I don’t know what it’s called), mani, butong pakwan, lobo (balloons). It’s like a public park. I heard at night meron ding nagdudurog at naggagawa ng babies, wala kasing ilaw dito sa gabi.
I am thinking of transferring his remains to a better location but I don’t know where. And since he has his own family, they should be the one to initiate upgrading his himlayan.
This is Binangonan and it is what it is. There’s not much I could do, unless I build a mausoleum in one of our lots, that I have to secure a permit.
But that would be creepy. Dead must stay with the dead, the living with the living.
I feel sad my brother is dead. But that’s what life is. We live, we die.
