Should have
Past 3am. I just woke up from a catnap. Ang init. As in my whole body was like bathing from sweat. I went outside, gathered 3 monobloc chairs, and laid down to continue my slumber. My mom handed me a pillow because my head was in an awkward position that might stiff my neck. I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep. My sister and my cousin Solomon were still talking about what had transpired the morning my uncle died.
Solomon, or Mon as we call him, works as a driver in some company. But his job was irregular. He gets a call when a client needs him. Anyways, back to the story. I never intended to eavesdrop because i was trying to get some sleep. He told my sister of their conversation with his father sometime this year. He told her that he envies his dad because his dad got to explore a lot of places around the world while he gets to see only a couple of spots in Luzon. He also told my sister that they had this man-to-man conversation weeks before his father died. Picture this: my uncle was lying in the bed, with hands, back and legs aching from arthritis and my cousin was sitting beside him. He told his dad that if he could only transfer the sickness from his dad to him, he would do it because he's still young and he can survive. His dad told him he's still young, he should take care of his children and his own family, and not worry about him for he's old and won't live that much long.
He doesn't want to be a burden for his family. I think no one did. But what kept him from helping is his severe attacks of arthritis that made him bed-ridden for years. His legs thinned that made it difficult for him to walk and his hands deformed that made him difficult to hold things. Whatever happened to him never stopped him from putting a smile on people's faces around him.
I got up. Arranged the seat back to their places and sat beside my sister. Back to Mon's story, when he got home late the day his father was rushed to the hospital, he saw his dad sitting on the bed. He was surprised. He asked him if there's something wrong, if he feels pain again. His father said yes. He told him that they will have him checked up again when the sun's already risen. So he got to his bed and slept. That morning, he was awakened by his mother telling him that they need to bring my uncle to the hospital. They borrowed the next door neighbor's van and drove him to PGH. Onboard with his father was his sister Monette and his mom. He was driving smoothly, careful not to cause bounces and shocks that will make his father writhe in pain. After a few minutes, he heard a loud cough from the back coming from his father. He never minded because it just might have been a simple cough. When he looked at the rear-view mirror, he saw his father leaning at his mother with his eyes closed. He thought he might have taken a little nap. As they approach the hospital, his mom taps his father's face to wake him up. He didn't respond. So they rushed him to the ER. Mon got out of his seat and carried his father to the stretcher. He saw the doctors rushed his father inside so he got in the van again to look for a parking spot. The space was loaded so he left the van carelessly to some spot. When he entered the ER, he saw his sister filling up some form at the station, his mother standing near the corner and his dad on the bed being resuscitated by the doctors. Questions clouded his mind. "This is supposedly just a routine checkup. How did this happen? Why did this happen?" Those questions remained unanswered. Then he saw the look on the doctor's faces. Only one thing popped in his mind. His father was gone.
There are questions unanswered and there are "would-have"s, "could-have"s and "should-have"s. He said if he knew this was going to happen, he would have driven faster, he should have brought his father earlier when he saw him sitting on the bad, and with it, he could have saved him from dying. As these words were spoken by Mon, tears were flowing down his face and his voice was inaudible.
Solomon, or Mon as we call him, works as a driver in some company. But his job was irregular. He gets a call when a client needs him. Anyways, back to the story. I never intended to eavesdrop because i was trying to get some sleep. He told my sister of their conversation with his father sometime this year. He told her that he envies his dad because his dad got to explore a lot of places around the world while he gets to see only a couple of spots in Luzon. He also told my sister that they had this man-to-man conversation weeks before his father died. Picture this: my uncle was lying in the bed, with hands, back and legs aching from arthritis and my cousin was sitting beside him. He told his dad that if he could only transfer the sickness from his dad to him, he would do it because he's still young and he can survive. His dad told him he's still young, he should take care of his children and his own family, and not worry about him for he's old and won't live that much long.
He doesn't want to be a burden for his family. I think no one did. But what kept him from helping is his severe attacks of arthritis that made him bed-ridden for years. His legs thinned that made it difficult for him to walk and his hands deformed that made him difficult to hold things. Whatever happened to him never stopped him from putting a smile on people's faces around him.
I got up. Arranged the seat back to their places and sat beside my sister. Back to Mon's story, when he got home late the day his father was rushed to the hospital, he saw his dad sitting on the bed. He was surprised. He asked him if there's something wrong, if he feels pain again. His father said yes. He told him that they will have him checked up again when the sun's already risen. So he got to his bed and slept. That morning, he was awakened by his mother telling him that they need to bring my uncle to the hospital. They borrowed the next door neighbor's van and drove him to PGH. Onboard with his father was his sister Monette and his mom. He was driving smoothly, careful not to cause bounces and shocks that will make his father writhe in pain. After a few minutes, he heard a loud cough from the back coming from his father. He never minded because it just might have been a simple cough. When he looked at the rear-view mirror, he saw his father leaning at his mother with his eyes closed. He thought he might have taken a little nap. As they approach the hospital, his mom taps his father's face to wake him up. He didn't respond. So they rushed him to the ER. Mon got out of his seat and carried his father to the stretcher. He saw the doctors rushed his father inside so he got in the van again to look for a parking spot. The space was loaded so he left the van carelessly to some spot. When he entered the ER, he saw his sister filling up some form at the station, his mother standing near the corner and his dad on the bed being resuscitated by the doctors. Questions clouded his mind. "This is supposedly just a routine checkup. How did this happen? Why did this happen?" Those questions remained unanswered. Then he saw the look on the doctor's faces. Only one thing popped in his mind. His father was gone.
There are questions unanswered and there are "would-have"s, "could-have"s and "should-have"s. He said if he knew this was going to happen, he would have driven faster, he should have brought his father earlier when he saw him sitting on the bad, and with it, he could have saved him from dying. As these words were spoken by Mon, tears were flowing down his face and his voice was inaudible.