The Third Mass

I see familiar faces of parents, friends and barristers on our third week of attending mass at San Beda Church.  But the atmosphere today is different from the two Saturdays we have attended… this one is very silent… the barristers looked so tired, worried, weary, sleepy and depressed… in short… in low morale. 

As the priest delivered his homily… he said… “If you were here in front… you’ll see how sad your faces are.  Don’t fear… Stand by the cross of God just as Mary stood firmly at the cross of God.  Believe in yourself, Believe in the mercy of God and everything else will be in place.”

Then we had the communion… Beside me is my Mom.  Then suddenly, I heard the intro of one of my favorite songs… “Tanging Yaman…”

I can’t stand up… because I was crying… and I don't want my Mom to notice that I was crying…. I wasn’t even praying… I let my heart just speak for whatever it is that bothers me… for my mouth can no longer speak for what I truly feel at that time…. I just remembered my brother telling me just this morning…

“Ate… ang hirap talaga… Sa dasal na lang ako umaasa….”  

My thoughts turned to the times when we were just kids…  I'm braver than him… and everytime he gets wounded… he comes to me and say….

“Ate… ang sakit ng sugat ko… Grabe… ang daming dugo. Mamamatay na yata ako sa dami ng dugo. Wag mong sasabihin kay Ina, mapapagalitan ako.”

And I will end up nursing him up, getting his attention till I drop the alcohol or the betadine… and he'll shout….. "Aray naman Ate!!!"

Though I know he’ll surely be hurt… I’m sure it wouldn’t last long… and the wound will gradually be healed…

If the bar examination is just as easy as healing a scar, Ate would always be there handling a bottle of alcohol, betadine and cotton.

But right now, it's different.  Sometimes, I myself couldn't find the words to comfort him.  And sometimes, silence, affection and moral support are just my way of making him feel… "you'll get through this.. victoriously."

Every Sunday, when I know that my brother is already inside the testing venue and my parents are already sitting comfortably at the bus to Cavite, I find myself Church-hopping… the first time that I always have with me my white rosary, till I find myself… tired and hungry… That in cases like these, I just don't want to depend and share the burden to my parents… I speak to the One who I know will always listen.

For praying is my best known defense… I would always end up praying that… "God would always be there to remind my brother of the things he had already forgotten and it would just come out smoothly at the back of his mind…  and in those items that my brother finds it so hard to answer, may God assist him in writing…. may He whisper the acceptable answers… and in those times of helplessness.. may my brother find refuge, strength, wisdom, understanding and faith in Him…"

And Inday’s saga continues….

Thanks to all who have e-mailed me these… Pareng Boc!  Fan ka rin pala ni Inday… Pag nag-meet kayo… dala ka ng dictionary… maligalig kausap yan … hahahaha

“I stay awake in the coldness of the darkened sky contemplating why, for some reasons, has my emptiness made itself manifests, extending to that niche where I was given life and growth, that because of austerity I was made separated from…”
 
- Inday… hindi makatulog dahil nahohomesick

“I am solitary. I find it hard to succumb into slumber, though the downpour of rain should’ve made it easy. This exuberant emotional glue I have for you, cannot be simply washed away. The multiplicity of what I feel for you is inevitable. This isn’t platonic. It’s real, true romance.”
 
- Inday, nageemote sa may bintana, habang iniisip si Dodong, ang boyfriend niya 
 

“The statute restricts me to love you but you have the provocation. The way you smile is the proximate cause why I love you. We have some rules to think of. We have no vested rights to love each other because the upper household dismissed my petition!”
 
- ganito nakipagbreak si Inday kay Dodong (driver ng kapitbahay)

“La vida no es una broma actualmente. El dinero es tan duro de pasar. Puede usted bajar el precio parci mi? Soy ya su compradora avido diario por favor?
 
- si Inday tumatawad sa merkado ng isinama siya ng amo sa España 

*Drunken shrimp and blue lobster meat with caviar serve with milagrosa rice (red avriety) and apricot sauce
*Vegetables in balsamic vinegar splashed with extra virgin olive olive
*Lychee and peach salad with sour cream cheese topped with lemon zests
 
- baon ni Junior sa daycare na inihanda ni Inday 

“Bloody hell!!! What the f*ck did just landed on my cutie top? I mean I’ve spent all day just to make myself look fabulous. I think I’ll have this eewy thing removed in a whip wham of time!”
 
- reaction ni Inday nung natalsikan sya ng mantika habang nagluluto ng tilapia 

 “Ipomea aquatica has become the constant ingredient to this Filipino delicacy which is very helpful in the digestion during the peristaltic process of the food we intake. Due to the continuous rains and floods, the harvest of the said vegetable has lessen the production in the market.”
 
- banat ni Inday kung bakit walang “kangkong” sa nilutong sinigang 

“Heavy fire that exerted by the stimulus affect the best conductor of heat which is the steel, causing the “oriza sativa” which is the scientific name of rice to change its state of color, smell as well as the taste.”

 

- sagot ni Inday nang tanungin siya ng amo kung bakit nasunog ang sinaing

 

“Off you go! Under no circumstance this house would relent to such unabashed display of vagrant destitution!” 
 
- si Inday, pinapaalis ang makulit na pulubi sa gate… (Taray talaga ni Inday!) 

“Allergens triggered the immune response. Eosinophilic migration occurs to the reaction site and release of chemotactic and anaphylotoxin including histamine and prostaglandins. These substance results to increase circulation to the site promoting redness.”
 
- sagot ni inday nun tanungin ni sir kung bakit may rashes si Junior 
 
Amo: Day! Bakit may bukol si Junior?!
 
Inday: Compromising safety with useless aesthetics, the not-so-well engineered architectural design of our kitchen lavatory affected the boy’s cranium with a slight boil at the left temple near the auditory organ.
 
Amo: (Di nakareact) 

“Dear Mom,
 
Had it not been for the smelling salt, I must have collapsed moment ago. Junior has become a little monster to me. Remember the head accident he had? As if it wasn’t enough, he was summoned by the principal of his shabily run academe. Oh such an erudite bunch of baboons! I never lot being a governess can be such a strenuous employ.
 
Your daughter,
Inday”
 
 
“Dear Inday,
 
Walanghiya ka! Magpadala ka ng pera! Nasa ospital nanay mo, dumugo ang ilong kababasa ng pesteng sulat mo!
 
Tatay” 

Mister: Bakit tuwing pag-uwi ko, nadadatnan kitang nanunuod ng TV??!!!

 

Inday: Because I don’t want you to see me doing absolutely nothing!

 

Amo: Inday di ba nanood ka ng The Buzz kahapon? Bkit daw umalis si Angel Locsin sa GMA7?
 
Inday: Sometimes people choose to leave not because of selfish reasons but because they just know that things will get worse if they’ll stay. Leaving can be a tough act and it’s harder when people can’t understand you for doing so. 
 

“Physical stress and excessive work may result to serious damage to one’s body. It is therefore essential that once in a while we take a break from our usual routine to replenish the lost energy we once had.”

 

- sabi ni Inday sa amo noong humingi siya ng dayoff 

Misis: Inday, bakit mo binenta yung sirang silya?

 

Inday: I have computed the chair's fair value less cost to sell, and the value in use using projections for 5 years and a pre-tax discount rate. Accordingly, the value in use is lower, so I decided to sell the chair. This in accordance with PAS18 on Revenue, PAS16 on Property, Plant, and Equipment, and PAS36 on Impairment of Assets!

 

Misis: ADIK ka talaga Inday! 

Ma'am : inday bakit ang kinis ng balat mo? ano ginagamit mong sabon? yung may kalamansi o yung papaya soap?

Dahil sa tindi ng kahirapan sa probinsya, namasukan si Inday bilang katulong sa Maynila. Habang ini-interview ng amo.

Amo: Kelangan namin ng katulong para mag ayos ng bahay, magluto, maglaba, magplantsa, mamalengke, at magbantay ng mga bata. Kaya mo ba ang lahat ng ito?

Inday: I believe that my trained skills and expertise in management with the use of standard tools, and my discipline and experience will contribute significantly to the value of the work that you want, my creativity, productivity and work-efficiency and the high quality of outcomes I can offer will boost the work progress.

Amo: [nosebleed]

Inday: no ma'am, only belo touches my skin.. who touches yours?

(si ma'am nag walk-out!!)

Nakaraan ang dalawang araw, umuwi ang amo, nakitang me bukol si junior.

Amo: Bakit me bukol si junior?

Inday: Compromising safety with useless aesthetics, the not-so-well engineered architectural design of our kitchen lavatory affected the boy's cranium with a slight boil at the left temple near the auditory organ.

Amo: [nosebleed ulit]

Kinagabihan, habang naghahapunan.

Amo: Bakit maalat ang ulam?

Inday: The consistency was fine. But you see, it seems that the increased amount of sodium chloride (NaCl) affected the taste drastically and those actions are irreversible. I do apologize.

Amo: [nosebleed na naman]

Donya: Bakit tuwing paguwi ko, nadadatnan kitang nanunuod ng tv?!

Inday: Because I don't want you to see me doing absolutely nothing.

Donya: [hinimatay]

Kinabukasan, sinamahan ni Inday si junior sa principal's office dahil di makapunta ang amo at donya.

Principal: Sinuntok ni junior ang kanyang kaklase.

Inday: It's absurd! It was never a fact that he will inflict a fight. I can only imagine how you handle schizophrenic kids on this educational institution. Revise your policies because they suck!

Principal: [nag resign]

Pag dating sa bahay, nandun na ang amo, galit na galit.

Amo: Inday, bakit nagkalat ang basura sa likod ng bahay?!

Inday: A change in the weather patterns might have occurred wrecking havoc to the surroundings. The way the debris are scattered indicates that the gust of wind was going northeast causing damage to the path it was heading for.

Amo: [nosebleed ulit]

Habang nagluluto si Inday ng hapunan, malikot si junior.

Inday: Stop your raucous behavior. It is bound to result in property damages and if that happens there will be corresponding punishment to be inflicted upon you!

Junior: [takbo sa CR, punasan ang nagdudugong ilong]

Pagkatapos magluto, nanood na ng TV si Inday. Nabalitaan nya umalis si Angel Locsin sa GMA 7.

Junior: Bakit kaya sya umalis?

Inday: Sometimes, people choose to leave not because of selfish reasons but because they just know that things will get worse if they'll stay. Leaving can be a tough act, and it's harder when people can't understand you for doing so.

Junior: [tuloy ang pagdugo ng ilong]

Nung gabing yon, me nag text ke Inday. Si Dodong, ang driver ng kapitbahay, gusto maki pag text-mate.

Inday: To forestall further hopes of acquaintance, my unfathomable statement to the denial of your request - Petition denied.

Di nagla-on, dahil sa tyaga ni Dodong, nagging syota nya rin si Inday. Pero di tumagal ang kanilang relasyon, at nakipag-break si Inday ke Dodong.

Inday: The statute restricts me to love you but you have the provocations. The way you smile is the proximate cause why I love you. We have some rules to think of. We have no vested rights to love each other because the upper household dismissed my petition!"

Dodong: Perhaps you are mistaken, what you seem to contrive as any affections for you are somewhat half-hearted. I was merely attempting to expand my network of interests by involving you in my daily recreation. Heretofor, you can expect an end to any verbal articulation from myself"

Me dumaan na mamang basurero, at narinig ang usapan ni Inday at Dodong.

Basurero (sabi ke Inday): Be careful in letting go of the things you thought are just nothing because maybe someday you'll realize that the one you gave away is the very thing you've been wishing for to stay.

Narinig ang lahat ng eto ng amo ni inday.

Amo: [nagpakamatay]

O SYA, TAMA NA YAN AT PUNASAN MO NA ANG IYONG NOSEBLEED