Monday, September 7, 2009

Pivotal Moments


During gloomy rainy days like this, after spending the past weekend poring over backlog work, I finally had the chance to look back and examine the past few years of my life.

Mine was a short and simple life. Nothing worth making stories about. Nevertheless, few extraordinary scenes stand out in my befuddled memory.

A 14-year old Jean walking along a dusty road in Digos under the hot mid-day sun, with a few coins in her pocket, not even enough to get her a pedicab ride. She had decided to walk the long and tiring walk home. Suddenly, from the middle of nowhere, shining under the scorching sun was a brand new one peso coin. Miracle from heaven - something unasked for, something willingly given, arriving with an impossibly perfect timing it was almost absurd.

photo from flickr

A 20-year old Jean brimming with the fervor and idealism of youth, braving the crowds and the threats of commotion at the Edsa shrine, ready to create her own adventure as she joins the Filipino community in expressing their disgust on a government marred by corruption and deceit. She was longing for company, but one can only be too lonely in the middle of a crowd. Suddenly, from a street corner was a small crowd singing a prayer, and two friendly eyes that caught hers. An old friend from high school not seen in a long time. Then came a warm hug, that familiar grasp of the hand. Miracle from heaven - something that defies the laws of probability and chance, arriving with such a tremendous intensity it was almost stupefying.

photo from flickr

A 24 year old Jean fresh from the Medical boards, finding herself in limbo, aimless and numb again, wasting time on web-based social networks she finds ridiculous and boring. Except for old friends, she was not expecting to find anyone worth finding. Suddenly, from wherever corner of the absurd and the unknown, came that one-line message from a stranger. Then followed years of excellent travel, intelligent and poignant conversations and a strange but genuine friendship. Miracle from heaven - to allow a stranger walk by and change your life forever, leaving you with so much emptiness it makes you whole.

photo fabricated from imagination

During times like these I thank God for those moments that stand out. A lucky penny, an old friend, a stranger. The penny is gone, the friend again disappeared in the crowd, the stranger lost to the strange. But I bellieve in miracles still. I believe in a greater design, in a perfect yet illogical timing. I have seen those miracles happen. And they will happen again.

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