What Lies Beyond

What Lies Beyond
by Jenna Baldeo

It was that Saturday morning when I forcefully woke up still clinging to my blanket. What a nice weather, I believed; I have always loved the cold and lazy feeling of the rainy days. I got up and checked on the watch, it was eight. First thing I heard, aside from the raindrops falling outrageously, was the television saying that the rain’s got to be heavy and those stuff. I didn’t really mind it and get prepared for breakfast. I heard my father say, “Baka wala kayong pasok!” I continued on my bread thinking that was nonsense because it’s just the rain, just slightly heavier than the previous ones. At ten, I was already waiting for a bus. When I saw one and was already seated my phone rung. It was my mother telling me to get off because afternoon classes are already suspended. *Sigh* It was a relief not going through an almost two-hour travel to school. So I went back home. Once again, the loud television was set on news. This time I felt the reporters were panicking. I turned my head to it and saw flooded villages and roads and my first reaction was… what the heck is this about?

Children holding on to their mother’s clothes, animals trying their best to swim, floating cars and appliances, muddy roads, flying roofs, strong wind, mourning people, people stuck on their roofs, people stranded for a day. All these I saw clearly on the news… for a week.

What lies beyond the typhoon and its aftermath? Climate change, probably. Ruthless nature, possibly. Unpreparedness which aroused from lack of technological resources, perhaps? We can never prevent nature from her wrath. When she wants it, she’ll do it. But there’s one thing we can do and that’s what we’ve done: reach out a helping hand.

Security guard jumping off from a roof to save a doctor, actors and actresses saving their neighbor’s and friends’ lives, schools opening their facilities to the evacuees, volunteers repacking and delivering mountains of clothes and goods, people -from rich to poor- donating what they can. These spoke and echoed louder than the dreadful floods.

What lies beyond the willingness to reach out? This is not about politics; I heard one T.V. persona said. This is not about showing off, an actor said. It is far from politics and showing off, really. It is near God and His teachings.

What lies beyond our unity? First thing I thought of was an inner concerned citizen in all of us. Filipinos are known for our bayanihan. This bayanihan spirit is lying deep for so long in every Filipino’s heart. It has always been contained within us; it’s just that we ignore it.

Acceptance of what had happened, reaching out a helping hand, unity, starting anew, trusting Him. These are what truly lie beyond the Bagyong Ondoy and its aftermath.