A Familiar Feeling

Photo taken last March 2014 (L to R: me, my dad and my uncle)

It was a Wednesday. My mom and I had planned to visit my uncle who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer but because of conflicts in our schedules, we had a hard time finding chances to visit. Last Tuesday, we had agreed that my mom would travel early in the morning and that my sister and I would follow and travel at 6 PM on the same day. I was having lunch when my mom called. Her voice was choppy, louder, and she talked faster than usual. I couldn't understand what she was saying. I reckoned she was still on her way to Polymedic Medical Plaza, Cagayan de Oro City where my uncle was admitted. I sensed she was panicking and she told me that my uncle had passed away. I quickly went home and waited for further instructions. 

There I saw the convoy, probably the longest I have ever seen. The ambulance came first, clearing the way for dozens of our relatives' vehicles following it, heading to our hometown for the burial. I saw one of my relatives wave at me from the maroon car immediately following the ambulance. She was sobbing and she hand-gestured to our car which was on the far end of the convoy. I quickly hopped in since there was no time to lose. We had to make it to our hometown before sunset. While travelling, I had a lot of time to think. Were there this many cars when my dad died? I couldn't remember because I was busy crying in the ambulance at that time to notice. I thought about my cousins who are going through the same things I did. Then, I recalled the last time I saw my uncle. It was around June of 2016. He was at Polymedic Medical Plaza for chemotherapy but despite his body starting to weaken, he remained cheerful. I cried realizing that our visit last June is going to be my last memory of him. 

When we had arrived to our hometown, Poona Bayabao, many of our distant relatives were already there. The streets were half occupied by parked vehicles, leaving only one lane as an open passageway in and out of the municipality. The last time the place was overcrowded with relatives was on the day my dad passed away. Everything was all so familiar (like the 9th of August, 2014); the convoy, the weeping faces and the grief. Many were crying. Some were hustling back and forth from the kitchen to the living room carrying trays with food for the guests and accommodating their needs. Close family members welcomed and attended to the visitors. Elders kept talking about how "we had lost another one" recalling that my father's death was not too long ago. Reception is bad in the municipality which is why some were shouting on their phone as they tried to make out the words of my uncle and cousins who were on the other line and were still traveling to Poona Bayabao.

A huge atmosphere of grief was upon the municipality. It wasn't something that people can only observe. It was definitely something that everyone in that municipality can feel. Indeed, time flies so fast.

We thank our friends who expressed their sincere condolences.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un إِنَّا للهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ

"We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return."