The Curious Cat Killed the Bird

Silhig-Tukog

One day, I was sweeping our backyard when an old man came by.
He was selling brooms. I saw wisdom between the wrinkles on his face. Of old age, he was still industrious.

“Asa imong mga anak, tay? [Where are your children, grannie?]” I asked him.
They were busy and that they had their own family already, he answered.

He coughed hard, and his hands were shaking. “Okay ra ka, tay?” I asked again.
He confessed he had a Tuberculosis but he was doing fine. His family did not know about that but he was taking herbal medicine, it was helpful he told me.

What an ungrateful people, I said to him.
But he just told me, “Kabalo ko nga gusto sila makakita nako, naa lang jud siguro sila’y gipangbuhat. Dili baya sa ato lang magtuyok ang kalibutan sa atong mga anak, dong [I know they really want to see me, they just must be busy. Not all the time children’s world revolve around their parents, young man.]”

He continued to talk about his children and made an analogy that perhaps it is the circumstances; like for example, a soldier who had not able to come home because he had fell in the foreign land. That does not mean he did not want to go back home, but time had not let him go.

I knew that was a defense mechanism hidden underneath pretention and false positivity, but I understood him. After all, it was his children.

Our conversation went to many things. We talked about wars which he had fought. He said that the Japanese were more savage than the Americans, and that Communists were once a strong movement until it stooped its ethics. That should it not be for American invasion, Mindanao would not be part of the Philippines.

After a while, he bid goodbye. He had to sell all the brooms for his food. If I had money I would surely buy those, but sadly I had not any.

Months went by, and I already forgot about that talk until recently. Mum asked me why he was not coming anymore.

I just kept my silence. Maybe his family brought him home.

Or perhaps he had fought his last battle already.