Of Tragedies & Hidden Blessings

I'm sitting in the living room of our Tita's house as I write this. I'm charging my cell phone, my PDA, my laptop and my camera all at the same time. And this is because, yes, my friends, more than 48 hours after the strongest typhoon to hit Manila in 11 years, we still do not have electricity. We came here to take our baths and get reacquainted with appliances that run on electrical power-- the TV, aircon, radio... and the REF! I'm getting ahead of myself. There were actually worst things that happened to us in the middle of Milenyo's rage. Everyone will have their story to tell and here's mine...

I wake up late Thursday morning in a panic. I remember there is a meeting set at 10:30am in the office, an hour’s drive away from our house. I glance at my phone and see a number of messages unread. One from Carlo asking if I’m going to work, another from an event manager advising that an IBM event is postponed, and then a series from IBM Security advising all IBMP employees to stay indoors and work from home due to the worsening weather. I say a quick prayer of thanks and go back to sleep.

At 9am, I stand up to answer a call from Lissa and hastily call Mon to make sure he goes home soon as the weather clears up. I roll my eyes realizing there is no electricity: so much for working at home.

I eat breakfast and take my time to go thru the paper. After all, there is not much to do, is there? At around this time, the wind is starting to give me the creeps. I hear a crash coming from the 2nd floor and see in dismay a framed painting I did back in high school lying on the hard bathroom floor, its glass broken. Darn, I say, additional expense!

I get a text from Carlo that Fay's X-Trail just got hit by a concrete block. It will be hours after I text her that I will receive a reply telling me she was actually in the vehicle when it happened. God was gracious as she is not hurt.

After breakfast, I chat with mom and lounge around. A few minutes later, I hear a loud roar – much like the sound of revving car engines. I wander towards the middle of our stairs and look up towards our huge glass window. The sound seems to be coming from there. Above me, the chandelier is swinging a little more than usual. I hope it doesn’t get broken by the wind, I pray. The wind is really angry for some reason!

My mom suddenly calls me downstairs to the AV room to show me something. I hesitate for a second, then walk towards the room. Less than 10 seconds later: we hear a deafening crash, shattering glass and the howling wind getting even louder. I quickly look out of the room and see our househelp, Marie, running towards the room with blood trickling down the side of her face and her hands. It turns out the whole frame of the cathedral window, all 15’x9’ of it (yes, it’s more than twice my height), surrendered to the strong winds and went crashing down on the stairs, hitting the banisters and breaking all its glass panels. The blow is so strong that the pressure shatters the wall window by the dining room --- more than 10 feet away from the bottom of the stairs.

The rain quickly enters our house, drenching our tiles and wooden, antique furniture.

We wait for some 15 agonizing minutes for the rain and the wind to quiet down. As we hit the eye of the storm, we quickly survey the damage and start cleaning up the incredible mess that this unfortunate incident brought. There is broken glass everywhere, from huge, plate-size ones to the miniscule, almost invisible, pieces. We collect almost 3 sacks-full of debris. The chandelier is broken and the window frame is grotesquely sitting across the banister, deadly, broken panes jutting out from its sides.

We incurred some PhP200K (roughly $3.8K) worth of damages as a result. I guess thinking about it, it would have been a small price to pay compared to what it would be had I stayed a few seconds longer on those stairs. People keep telling me my Guardian Angel was working overtime last Thursday. There is no doubt in my mind, and the thought overwhelms me every time I think about it.

--------
After a series of amateur pusoy games by candlelight, my sister, Paula, my brother, Ivan and I (my other sister, Kaye got herself stranded in her friend's house in Quezon City) went up to our roof deck that evening. We marveled at the incredible blackness of the night. Everywhere we looked there was complete darkness, save for some flickering candles in some neighbors' open windows.

It is true that after every storm the stars seem brighter and the skies clearer-- a cliché, but very true.

I woke up to a beautiful & breathtaking dawn the next morning.

------
cheers! the sun after every storm!
------