IT's been a while

I haven't posted anything in this blog for a long time, maybe because the things that I thought were worth writing were for general consumption. But three touching things happened to me recently, and these I'd like to share.

(1) Last Monday, my husband and I were at Power Plant. I bought him a shirt that was 70% off in Quicksilver. When the young lady made me sign the charge slip, she gave me a book on which to lay the slip so I could sign for comfortably. In supermarkets, I'd sometimes be given a flap of a carton, occasionally a log-in book, a clip board. This was the first time I was given a book. So I said before giving it back to her, "tingnan ko muna ha." It was backside up. And she said, "sige po." Then I saw the book's title: Like the Flowing RIver by Paulo Coelho. And I can't remember now how I reacted. Maybe I said "wow" or maybe I asked "maganda ba?" What happened next is what I cannot forget. She said "Sa yo na lang po." I was taken aback to say the least. I said "no, nakakahiya." She assured, "Sige na po, tapos ko na po yan." But I was firm I wouldn't take it. So she said "Sige po, hiramin niyo na lang." And even if I didn't really feel I should because she was a complete stranger as I was to her so I didn't feel I deserved it, I acceded. I haven't yet begun reading it but will do. And I'll return it to her.

(2) I have been proofreading/editing books for a publishing house. Textbooks. And there's this messenger I haven't yet met. But sometimes he comes almost daily or several times a week. So once I decided to ask the maid to give him a box of cookies. He doesn't have his own vehicle so he commutes each time. When the maid gave the cookies to him, he was perplexed. He asked the maid "bakit niya ako binibigyan nito? Siguro naaawa siya sa akin?" I don't think "awa" is the operative word here, maybe gratitude should be it. He then asked the maid if I like music, the maid said yes. He said he'd give me a CD. The next day, he came back with a book for me, a St. Paul's publication about Gospels. When I texted to thank him, he said he was a born again Christian. He even wrote a dedication on the book.

(3) Last night at the bonfire in Ateneo, we went around Bellarmine Field in front of the Church of Gesu in search of food. The lines were long, the ground was muddy after a thunderstorm. Despite the vast expanse of Bel Field, we ended up with nothing. So I told husband that maybe, we should have food delivered from Katipunan. Then again I was wondering if they would considering the sheer volume of people around. Just so many people that getting a signal was near nil even. It was like CHristmas, New Year, Valentine's Day in that sense. Just the same, I called the maid on her cellphone and asked her to buy some sandwiches for us at KFC. Because this was Maid C and she moves ever so like a lady, read slow, it must have been an hour before she arrived. In the meantime, we bumped into the wife of a college barkada and she asked if we had eaten. I said no. She said "sandali, may chicken lollipop pa ata kami." She left and lo and behold, a styropor container with 3 chicken lollipops. After making sure she could spare it, my husband and I ate the 3: 2 for him, one for me. Then an employee of the Personnel Office saw my husband and gave him a can of Infinity (ginebra San Miguel produced." Before he could open that, the maid came with our sandwiches and drinks.

Apparently this piece should have been entitled "Kind Souls in Our Midst" or "Angels on Earth." I don't know, but these incidents were very touching because they were such kind gestures and rather unexpected.