By Sonia Francesca.
Naalala ko lang ‘yung time na mga bata pa kaming magkakapatid. We were four girls, and, well, typically, lagi kaming nagsasabong sa mga simpleng bagay gaya ng remote control ng tv. Grabe rambulan namin nun. Pati sa kung sino ang nagmamay-ari ng isang particular shorts na ewan ko ba naman sa nanay ko kung bakit kasi iisang design lang ng shorts ang binili para sa apat nyang anak. Pero, in fairness sa aming magkakapatid, five minutes after namin pagalitan lahat ng nanay at tatay namin, ayun, magkakasundo na ulet. Sabay-sabay nang nanunuod ng TV, nagkukuwentuhan at naglalaro. Wala na ni anino ng away na dahilan kung bakit kami napalo lahat.
So, anyway, those were the days.
Naalala ko lang kasi ‘yung time na nabuntis nang wala sa oras ang pangatlo kong kapatid. Although up to this time, ako lang yata ang nag-iisip na hindi na bata ‘yung kapatid ko nung time na nabuntis siya. She was already twenty three then. Nagkataon lang talaga na hindi siguro inaasahan na mabuntis kasi nga hindi pa kasal. But months after that, things were set, they got married and soon I had my first niece. Medyo chaotic lang talaga nung time na nalaman ang balita ng unplanned pregnancy. Cant really blame my sister. She was probably afraid of our parents who were very conservative and were still planning on sending my sister to university since it was her request back then. Probably even a little bit guilty for disappointing my parents.
In fairness to my sister, hindi siya tumigil para makabawi sa mga magulang namin. She made a mistake, corrected it, and made it up to my parents every chance she gets.
The thing is, we cannot erase our mistakes. But, we can make things better. Because things always get better. A mistake is a mistake. Nangyari na. Harapin na lang iyon at panindigan ang anumang consequences na resulta nun. Huwag gumawa ng isa pang pagkakamali para pagtakpan ang mga nauna mong mali. It doesn’t work that way, and another mistake will not make your old mistakes disappear.
Tanggapin na tao lang tayo na nagkakamali. Pero hindi ibig sabihin na kapag nag-sorry ka na ay maglalaho na ang lahat ng mga nagawa mong mali. Everything we do in this world have consequences, good or bad. How we deal with those consequences is what creates our future.
Stay strong, face your demons, and have a little faith on your family. They were put in your lives for a reason.
PS. I finished writing [“A Perfect Day To Say I Love You”] during the Halloween month. Hence, the title.
P.P.S. Please don’t curse me for my bland joke.
