Of flowers and a funeral

Went to Rosario, Batangas yesterday for the funeral service of Manang Auring, a neighbor and mother of my friend Mylene.

I don’t really attend funerals, but I knew I couldn’t pass on that one. Mylene’s so dear to me I just had to be there.

The commute Saturday morning was so fast. Barely three hours. Been there last year to attend Mylene’s wedding but we chartered a jeep that time.

We also chartered a jeep for the funeral but they left Friday night. Couldn’t afford an overnighter so I just went there alone Saturday.

It was an easy feat, I even altered Mylene’s directions so I could get there fast. LoL! Went near Lipa market where jeeps bound for San Juan pass, instead of waiting for the jeep at Robinsons terminal to get full.

Walking alone from where the jeep dropped me off to Mylene’s house made me nostalgic of my solo out-of-town trips. Passing by farms, the smell of fresh grass and soil, the sun’s heat on my skin… And then I wondered what K and the rest of the kids were doing in Anawangin that time. LoL! No regrets, though. I knew I’d regret it more if I went to Anawangin and didn’t attend the funeral. As much as I value communing with nature, I value my human relationships more.

Arrived at Mylene’s house a few minutes before 9 a.m. After the pleasantries and stuff, I joined my younger neighbors. Time passed by so sloooowwww. I just amused myself with the flowers and the trees.

And then I realized flowers were more beautiful in pictures than they really are in physical form.

Everyone got emotional at the church, especially when the casket was opened and everyone cried. Seeing Mylene, who’s an only child, crying broke my heart. Haven’t seen her cry before, not even during her wedding (I always see brides cry during wedding speeches but not Mylene). And I guess the fact that she’s 8 months pregnant with her first child made it more painful. Had her mom lasted even just a month and a few days longer, she would’ve seen her first grandchild.

Anyway, superstition prevented Mylene from going inside the cemetery. She just stayed outside the gate with some cousins.

Her mom just got sick for eleven days before dying. According to the family, Manang Auring was in an El Shaddai service that Friday when she found it hard to breathe. She was rushed to the hospital and they found out her hemoglobin went so low. She had blood transfusions but her lab tests showed a lump inside her stomach. Doctors said it was malignant but barely in stage 1. They advised the family, though, not to have it removed cuz it had already caused complications in other organs of her body. They were told she only had a few days left.