The Aftermath

Bryan O. Fruto

Jose couldn’t concentrate on the mid-term examination he was taking in the last accounting
subject in his fifth year in the college. He could hardly grasp the meaning of every word that seemed
blurred in the mimeographed examination sheet. He had to read every problem five times, for cobwebs
of thoughts formed in his subconscious. He must pass this difficult subject in order to graduate and he
knew that the last ounce of patience he has was his only saving grace.
He took a deep breath, followed by another and another… until he realized that he got a mild
cold. He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and quickly wiped off the tears in his eyes and the
mucous that came out of his nose.
“Kulang lang ‘to sa ascorbic acid,” he told himself then turned his fluctuating attention to the
examination sheet that he almost crumpled in desperation. Unfortunately, the buzzer rang loudly along
the hallways and corridors. The loud noise distracted him greatly that he quivered and his ball-pen
dropped to the floor. The tension in him grew stronger as he crammed to think of ways to solve the
problems neatly typed in the examination sheet.
He hastily grabbed the pen from the floor and scribbled on his answer sheet all the letters he
could imagine and all the numbers he could conceive without any doubt or hesitation that they could be
wrong… just to fill up the blanks in the answer sheet.
“God knows, I want to pass this subject. I hope any of these letters I’ve written on the answer
sheet will be correct. Anyway, this is not a ‘correct-minus-wrong’ examination,” he thought.
His parents knew nothing of his negligence of his studies. He’s so unmindful of the fact that his
family is suffering so much with the slack in the economy. His mother, Aleng Eling has been embarrassed
by Aleng Tubeng every time she asks to borrow money for Jose’s allowance or loan rice, sardines or uga.
His father, Mang Erning, spat blood two times caused by the hard blows of the two coconuts that hit him
when reaping coconuts during the copra-making.
Jose went out of the gate of the college. He bought a pack of his favorite light menthol
cigarettes in the store situated just in front of the college. With his peers, he puffed and puffed smokes
from the cigarettes he bought unmindful of the hardships his parents face everyday just to send him and
his siblings to school.
The next Monday, November 21, is his birthday. His only wish was a simple Honda motorcycle
that could bring him and his girlfriend and his barkadas anywhere they wanted. If he could own a
motorcycle, he could now have something to brag about to his barkadas and classmates. He could even
have several girlfriends at a time, or so he thought.
Erning, his father, told him that it would be very difficult for them to buy such an expensive thing. He
could commute through normal conveyance from their home to school. There are many tricycles and
jeepneys around.
“But Papay, I really need a motorcycle. I’m already on my fifth year now. Among my barkadas,
I’m the only one without a motorcycle. It’s awkward that my peers are roaming around with their
motorcycles while I am riding on a tricycle for hire.”
“But you know how poor we are. You know we can’t afford it! We even break our backs just to
earn the money we give you for your tuition!” his father said.
“And besides Nonoy, the buying of copra is too low. The prices of the basic commodities are sky-
rocketing but the copras that we sell are bought at very low price. We do not dictate the price of our
products. It is the copra dealers! I think you know that. You are a business administration student.” Aling
Eling added.
 “Badaw Mamay, do not divert the issue. The course that I am taking has nothing to do with the
issue at hand. Just give me what I want. Sell the land that I will inherit from you,” he arrogantly
answered.
“You don’t know what you are talking about! This land that we are farming is not ours. We are
just tenants. Do you understand that? Your hardheadedness will send us early on the grave!!!!” his
father shouted.
Without a word, he hurriedly went away.
For four days, he was with his barkadas, hopping from one boarding house of a classmate to
another. He went home when he realized that his clothes are so stinky and dirty that he can’t even stand
his own smell.
As he entered the doorstep, he heard a loud noise from the stereo playing a song familiar to
him. When he opened the door, he was surprised as his family greeted him “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSE!”
His heart palpitated. He was not sure what he will say or do or feel during that very moment. He
wanted to show that deep inside in him, he was happy but pride in him overwhelmed everything. He
decided not to show any feelings.
“Nonoy, happy birthday. We miss you so much,” said his father.
Aleng Eling embraced his son tightly. Jose felt the warmth of his mother’s embrace. “Oh my
dearest son. Where have you been for a long time?” Aleng Eling said with tears in her eyes and kissed
her son’s cheek. “We’ve been searching for you. But I know you’ll come home for your birthday. I know
you always wanted to see our gift for you,” she continued.
He saw his father got something from the table.
“Here is your gift my son. Get it,” Mang Erning said as he tried to give the gift to his son.
“A book? What on earth will I do with a book Papay? I have read so much! I don’t need a book!”
he said and left with so much disappointment in his heart.
His parents pleaded him to come back and stay, but to no avail. After he left, his parents searched for
him but he succeeded in hiding without being caught. He went everywhere he wanted. He was even
lucky he graduated from college that year and went to Manila and searched for a job. There was no day
and night that Mang Erning and Aleng Eling did not think of him. They were always worrying about their
son. If they could only know his whereabouts, they will get him to take good care of him once more. It is
true that for every father and mother, the child they reared for years will always be a baby for them.
Years have passed but Jose did not come back. He totally forgot his family in the province. For
him, that day when his father failed to give what he wanted was so painful that he cannot go back to the
place where he once was. He cannot go back to the parent who took care of him for many years because
he was afraid he’ll break into tears.
One day, Jose was walking along the sidewalks in Makati when a classmate recognized him.
“Padi, kumusta!”
“Padi, I am fine. But I am looking for a job now. I have been fired yesterday.”
“A, mao? Have you already known that your parents died last year? The neighbors found them
both dead in the farm where they were smoking copra. They were bit by a cobra.”
Jose felt pity, shame, and guilt at the same time. It’s as if he was slapped so hard that he felt dizzy. The
world seemed to be swirling around him. Tears blocked his sight that everywhere he looked, it was
blurred and dark. The world around him seemed to be like the examination sheet he almost crumpled
ten years ago.
“Ten years! Ten years of ignoring my own parent! Ten years of not caring for them! Shame on
me! Shame!!!!” he shouted in his mind. He shouted but he cannot speak. He shouted only in his mind.
Jose did not let time slip away. He went back to the barrio where his family was residing.
In their old dilapidated home, he found the book that was given to him by his father on his
twenty second birthday. It was placed beside his picture in a frame left standing in a table beside the
altar. Pictures of his parents were also displayed there. The tears kept flowing in his eyes. He can’t help
but cry. The memories of the past seeped interminably in his mind. He pictured the past in his mind so
vividly as if it just happened yesterday.
He felt how much he loves his parents but he can’t show it anymore. He felt so much guilt in his heart.
He knows he was only driven away because of so much pride. He embraced the book his father gave him
on his birthday and knelt on the floor. Suddenly, he heard something fell on the floor. It was a key and a
piece of paper inserted in the pages of the book he was embracing. He read the letter written on the
piece of paper.
“Dearest Son, Happy 22nd birthday! This is the key of the most special gift we have for you. We
love you so.”

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