Rest

He was trembling. The thin blanket was embraced by him as if it was life itself. His blood sugar dropped once more – hypoglycaemia. The teeth chattered as I cajoled him to eat more chocolate. He bit the chewy bar and continued to shiver.

When a cousin lifted him from the bed the other day, I saw how wasted his body was. The gray hair and the unkempt whiskers on his face seemed to add to his overall look – sick.

I tried to remember the times when he was young. I could reminisce how detached he was… especially with those times when he had some drinks. He would sit on the porch for hours and do nothing. Also, he had money those days.

Things got blurry when he decided to "follow his heart" with someone disliked by his peers and family…

But seeing him old and trembling, I said to myself: all those things are in the past. What is important is now. If I wallow in distress and bitterness, what would it give me? I have learned that if I do something for others, I’m actually doing it for myself. This is a passage of becoming human and functioning like one.

While my father continued to shake, I refilled his glass of soda. I had lots of things to do. But this was probably God’s message to me. You see, every time that I would be out of town, he would often be sent to the hospital. I needed to have more time with him now.

As he slept on the old bed, I could see that he seemed to be shrinking. He looked helpless. That was the time when I saw myself some years from now. I will be old like him.

And if I choose not to serve him, I might not have the chance to assure myself that I HAVE BECOME A BETTER PERSON.

My father passed away two days later... the same day when my mother succumbed to death twenty four years ago.