i was buying toiletries at Metro the other day. I intended to buy 'em when the store opens so as not to be stuck in the usual lag behind counters... much to my surprise, in less than 30 minutes, the whole supermarket was full of people and I can barely breath. And it began to sink... the christmas rush is evident and while I was loking for the nearest and most convenient washing powder, the rest of the people were doing their christmas shopping in preparation perhaps for noche buena. My heart started to feel really heavy... what made matters worse was that out of nowhere, from the "apple bottom jeans, jeans boots with the fur." rant of Flo - Rida on the supermarket's blaring speakers, it changed to "pasko na naman, ngunit wala ka pa..." by Ariel Rivera... And then tears just started gushing..
I know.. I know... it's as pathetic as it may seem but I can't hide it... It felt so bad knowing and remembering that I have 5 days to go on a vacation this xmas and yet, I have nowhere to go to.. I have no family to spend the holidays with... The cashier gave me that scrutiny when i was giving her all the items I wanna purchase while wiping my tears at the same time. All she could manage was, "ok ra ka mam?" I then told her, "ga emote ra ko, miss!"
I left the counter with a heavy heart. I found may way to the exit and was supposed to hail a cab when this shabby street kid caught my attention. He was lying on the stairs, with no slippers on and his had this hunger - stricken grimace. I dont know what got into me but that very moment, I felt the need to do something. I woke him up, and he was startled. I extended my hand and surprisingly, without hesitation, he readily gave his. I got a grip of his weak hands and motioned him to go with me inside the supermarket. I was up to doing a little act of kindness that day.
I took him to the kid's clothes setion and bought him his outfit for the day. I didnt mind the stare of people. I was determined to do everything that I can to make that little kid's day, special. While shopping for his clothes, I asked him where his parents were. He said, his mom already died and that the father works somewhere in Carbon. According to him, he has 3 siblings that are also working there. He, being the youngest gets to roam around the busy and dangerous streets of Colon since no one was looking after him. According to him, he lives within Carbon's vicinity.
After making him change his clothes and ending up wiping off the dirt all over his body inside the men's rest room, he looked clean and was ready for a food treat. Infairness to him, he wasnt the typical beggar. He seemed courteous and even was shy and I appreciated that. And waht amazed me was the fact that he always said, "salamat" anytime he had the opportunity.
We went to jollibee and I let him choose which food he wanted. he managed to give me a faint and shy smile and said, "Bisan unsa lang 'te!" We ate and i asked him a lot of questions and his responses were most of the times monosyllabic. Nevertheless, everytime I was looking at him, his innocence brought so much joy to me. It felt like Jesus Christ feeding 5,000 people in the Bible.
After eating, I asked him, "unsa pa may ganahan nimong buhaton, dong?" He said, "uli nako te." I didnt want him to leave because it felt like I had to make him more happy that day but he said, he wants to go so I asked him if he knows his way home. He said, "O, duol ra man!" Then out of noweher he gave me a very tight hug which brought me back to tears. I have never felt such a genuine hug in my entire existence. Very genuine and very sincere. He said, "Salamat kaayo te! Di ni nako kalimtan. Kuhiton nya tika kung makit an ka nako dire ug usob." and he happily strutted far away from me swinging the toy car that I bought for him on his right hand. The heavy feeling that I felt hours ago were efaced. I felt peace and serenity. I realized that life should not be wasted on ranting about the things that you dont have but rather, spend it appreciating the things you have and counting your blessings because it is always a fact that we are more blessed than others in so many ways than one.
I dont know if I'll ever see "Rico" again. But one thing is certain, I may have made his Christmas memorable but the feeling of making him happy was incomparable.
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