Mga Istoryang Sinauna: Milagro Sa Agoo

Sino sa inyo nakakaalala kay Judiel Nieva? Itaas ang kamay!
Eh sa Agoo Apparition? Itaas ang paa!
Joke!

Well, apparently, it was all a big joke lang daw. Quite frankly, I don't know what to believe. On the one hand, it was declared as Constat de Non Supernaturalitate (Latin, "clearly evident to be not supernatural") in 1993 by a theological commission, taking into account the financial corruption of family and Judiel's transsexualism, but I hardly think transsexualism is mutually exclusive with apparitions. On the other hand, purporting pig's blood to be divine blood does raise a red flag.

Oh, I'm straying from my kwento.

Si Madear, member sya ng DMI, and they organized a trip, and excursion if you may, to Agoo. Syempre, moi is the dakilang alalay. Ewan ko ba kung bakit lagi akong isinasama ni Madear sa mga excursion nila -- I'm not exactly the extroverted sort, wala halos akong peers na kasama, tapos usually big groups talaga yun, kanya-kanyang reklamo (maiihi, matatae, bibili ng buko pie, bibili ng bagoong, etc.). Dutiful daughter that I am, sumasama naman ako.

Mabalik tayo sa kwentong Agoo. So we rented a bus, brought food, and trudged on to Agoo. We got there mid-morning. Akyat kami sa bundok (or was it a hill?), even the old-timers and Thandercatz. Napakaraming tao. Napakainit! Glamour ceased to exist that day. (Ang tanong: Meron ba in the first place?!)

Tingin kami sa kalangitan, hoping for a miracle. Then, biglang nagkagulo!




"SUMASAYAW ANG ARAW!", sigaw ng mga tao.

Ako naman, parang tingin ko nga eh sumasayaw nga.

"HAYUN ANG BIRHEN!", sigaw na naman ng mga tao.

Click-click-click! I'm not even sure kung saang titingin at mag-focus ng picture. Film pa nun. In retrospect, I think, nahihilo na lang ako sa init kaya feeling ko ay sumasayaw nga ang araw.

When the hysteria died down, around lunch, naisipan naming bumaba sa bus to eat and freshen up. So we trooped down the hill. Pagdating namin sa parking area, wala ang bus. Wala pang cell phones nun, so hindi namin matawagan ang driver. Hanap kami ng hanap. There were so many buses, but none ours. We were all uncomfortable and very hangry.

After a few hours, dumating na ang bus. Sakay ang iba naming trip companions. NAGPUNTA NG BAGUIO ANG MGA HITAD! Grabe! Grabe sila. So inconsiderate. They never even thought of the welfare of their co-passengers, their DMI "sisters" -- some of whom were very old. I don't remember much what happened after, though I'm fairly sure it was a frosty trip back home.

I think that singular experience changed me. I rarely joined large group trips from then on. Siguro the occasional family and company outings na lang. Aside from the fact that I am an introvert who is barely functional in big groups, I want to be able to decide (and be actually heard) where to go, when to go. Saka yun hindi na lang basta-basta na lang nawawala (along with the food!).

Note: Naalala kong lahat ito kasi nabasa ko ang trip to HK ni Diane, and that part about her companion going missing (apparently to shop at the Coach store) sounded all too familiar.