All Soul's Day

meg havana

14 Nov 06

I got the surprise of my life a forthnight ago when our previous house help texted me late one night while I was in my crib, in the middle of watching my favorite TV show, Las Vegas. The content of the text was hair-raising to me, not just because of the responsibility that particular information was whisked into my hands but more because of the gravity of it and the fact that it happened on Nov 1….as a brief history, our previous helper just went home to our hometown barely a week before this happened….she had a neighbor who came to work for us to replace her…..actually we know this woman because, after all our town isn’t that huge and almost anybody knows everybody….she just arrived the day before and I haven’t even had a real talk with her yet because I usually arrive late at home and leave the house early the next day….so although I know her because she is a “kababayan”…I wasn’t at all ready to reveal to her the content of that text which was sent to me because it was totally about her ….and here’s what it said: “pls tell her that her husband just had an accident and is already dead….”…Whoa! I froze upon reading it, my mobile almost fell off my hands….I turned off the TV and stared real hard at my phone…and I realized how easy it is for me to divulge these kinda information to relatives of patients when the responsibility of spilling the beans is in my hands during this kinda situation but darn….i am not in the hospital….and I know her, though I don’t know the husband…..and my goodness, its not just some news…I placed myself in her shoes and thought how would I react if someone would tell me that my husband (whom I left just a day ago so that I can go somewhere to work and earn money) is no longer there….is already gone…(yeah, I don’t have a husband but I still get the feeling alright..)….the hairs at the back of my neck were already standing…..and I thought this is freakin’ crazy, I don’t think I can handle this…thank God for sisters….so I went downstairs and SOS my sis….she was just playing games in the PC…and our helper was watching TV with the rest of the family, I glanced at her and she had a smile on her face….darn, I really couldn’t do it….so I let my sis read the sms…and she had the same reaction as me…if written exaggeratedly, I would describe us as pale as ghosts!...again both of us went to a higher hierarchy and called up another elder sis who was already asleep in their room…maybe she can do it because she is the one living in our town and knows both the help and the hubby….but again, she got whiter than us….we had weird and absurd ideas…like just telling her her husband had an accident and skip the “dead” part behind but thought against it coz it would be totally unfair on her part…or just telling it to her straight to her face then thought against it again coz …darn…its not just a dog that’s dead……it’s a husband…and knowing that they have 7 kids….the youngest, I was told was still 5 mos old….what could be worse than being given that kinda news!....or just tell her in the morning because she cant go home to our town late at night anyway …trips for home wont be until early morning…but what’s worse there were no boat nor fast craft trips on All Soul’s Day ....anyway, I got this idea (complete with a lighted bulb on top of my head…..hehe) to just call the one who texted me and let her do the talking and so I did…never mind consuming my P100.00 phone credit….hehe…..so I did….and to make the long story short…she got informed through phone…we did feel for her… but she was, after all, I presume, a very strong young woman….she didn’t cry…maybe it wasn’t still sinking in…she asked us what to do because she just went blank….we called her neighbor who has a phone and let her talk to her young son, we gave her financial aid…and I personally drove her to the terminal coz she decided to inform her husband’s family first before proceeding home….
Well, that for me, was one helluva story, I mean…I wouldn’t wanna go through what she has just suffered….I have to thank God for taking care of my family….and sparing us the grief …and lastly, I thank God I am still single..LOL….and that, my friend, is said without an ounce of sour-graping in it!