The Stories of Lola Lydia

She's 78years old, white haired with a fluffy short hair cut.  She does look like any old people her age. However, not that old compared to people who had hard lives.  She on the other hand, had it good in her earlier years.  She was, in fact, a daughter of an elite family.  A daughter of an elite filipino and a mestiza, a term coined to women who have a foreign blood, and were most likely regarded as the good looking bunch among the locals.  A turn of events highlighted at the point where their lawyer somehow stole her family's mana, or assets,  meant to be passed on to the kids when the man of the house dies.  This forced her to live like any ordinary kid.  

Being old as she is, she would likely remember the things from the past as opposed to the recent.  We knew that was normal.  Another 'sickness' her old age gave her was osteoarthritis, causing pain from her left waist down to her calf, which brings her discomfort and this is what she usually complains about ever so often.  We had gotten used to this.  Osteoarthritis is incurable by the way, only treatment however is painkillers, which was something she takes on a regular basis.  There's also stomach pains which she usually feel most days.  She said it started when she underwent a major operation.  Her doctor saw the need to do it because of the build up of cysts in her stomach.  By then, she was shortly diagnosed to have cancer.  She was 29years old.  By some kind of miracle, the cancer was gone.  We thought she was blessed to have lived this long.

Nana continues to spoil us with snacks, softdrinks, a loving care when we get sick, and usual full attention everyday.

That is lola Lydia that we know.

Most of the time, lola and I would be left in the house spending our time the way we wish to.  She in her room reading some magazine or the in living room watching tv, and I? I was almost always locked in my room, drowning myself in a good book or surfing the net.  A number of times, she would knock on the door and come in and tell me one of her tales of her past, all of which I've heard countless times but she always tells it like it's the first time.

Crazy Patting

A beautiful spanish mestiza in a traditional filipino dress. Source

Beautiful and rich, a typical description of that who is born and bred from a Spanish family, a mestiza.  Back in the days, daughters from those family were almost always kept away from people, and remained hidden in their own rooms, forced to be satisfied in the comforts of the living room area.  My grandmother recalled playing with other kids and more often than not, Patting would be at her usual place -- leaning on her window pane of her room, looking at the other kids doing kidstuff from afar.  Out of curiosity, she would try to ask plenty of questions, what are they playing, what is it they're eating, and the likes.  Kids, including my lola, would feel  sorry for her situation and would try to let her in somehow - throwing candies at her, some balls, just to let her feel part of them, somehow.

By the time she grew up, she turned into a lovely lady.  That's when her wealthy family put her into the convent.  Out of the prison she called home and into another prison which she would be spending the rest of her adulthood.  Beautiful as she is, it wasn't long that a doctor asked her hand in marriage.  Coming from a prominent family himself, her parents agreed. 

They soon had 2 kids.  At a relative's home, she and her sons went out to the back field trying to enjoy the place.

She saw a pool and so she got excited and had her kids bathe there.  Several minutes later, one relative saw everything and came running towards them.  It turned out, her 2 kids got drowned in a cow mud pool.
Many people who heard the news learned of her family's mistake- never again would they put their daughter in seclusion.

A Great Surprise

He was just the mayor dumo or the head of the helpers, but he did his job well serving a Spanish family for years.  Time came when the remaining owner of the house passed away, the lawyer gathered the workers of the house in the huge living room area, secretary, executives, sitting up front while the gardeners, drivers, and the head helper, nana's uncle, were standing at the far back.

Everyone was quiet this time.  When the lawyer reached to the part when he would announce who will get a portion of their master's asset, everybody was still and holding their breath.  He loudly said that all belongings would be given to one person only, and that would be the head helper.  At this point, everyone except the lawyer was laughing hard as if hearing the most absurd joke they've ever heard.  When he clarified to everyone that it wasn't, their faces started became pale, more so the head helper standing at the back, he was so still like a bucket of cold ice water drenched him.

When he went to his wife who was waiting for him outside of the house.  Her wife asked him when they could start packing to go back to their province and go home.  He smiled and said,

'Sweetheart, we are home.'

Forbidden Love

Married couple back in the days. Credits

This is a case of  rich woman, poor man, who fell deeply in love with each other.  Family opposed, so they  secretly fled, or what was popularly known as tanan, and settle in somewhere where nobody knows them.  Marriages before were arranged.  This obviously was not.  It's a story of my lola's aunt who fell for their driver, her first love.  Her parents felt deeply ashamed of their daughter's decision to leave them to be with their driver, a lowly class.  They were upset to the point that they were willing to disown her, even gave her a funeral so that townspeople would think she already died.  Not technically, but she was, in their hearts, that was how deeply offended they were.  

Years had passed, the couple had 4 children and lived simply among the locals.  Every now and then, her parents, now old and gray, would dock from the port to go to town.  The 4 kids, who knew about the entire story and their connection to the old couple, would welcome them.  The two old folks always loved the warmth given to them by the children and had come to love them gradually.  They knew there was something about the kids that really draw them.  One day, the young couple have thought of a plan to finally mend all things.  As the old folks stepped down unto the port, they saw that two familiar couple were trying to hurt the kids they had come to love.  Up until then, they knew who the kids were and were quick to come to their defense.  They decided to adopt the kids as their own.  The plan worked.  As years had dwindled away, so was the hatred, and happened what would naturally happen in time - forgiveness.