The Most Precious Thing God Bestowed Upon Us

By ppruel, 22nd Aug 2010 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1lqkhk2k/
Posted in Wikinut>Writing>Short Stories

Nobody could oppose God conviction, what He had said was final. When He created man, it had been for His love to nourish man’s heart. He had created him according to His will and had taught him to appreciate the beauty to all His creations. Is it fair to see men controlling everything?

The place where I grew up
To see Grandpa was Exciting and Memorable
Nine Years later, I turned 20 and I met Cynthia
Uncle George had Grown Up Differently
Grandpa Died with Hate in his Heart

The place where I grew up

Somewhere in 1971, in my home province Samar, Philippines, I would always remember the place where my grandpa and I got used to live in a small village. It was approximately nine to 10 km away from the proper town of Guiuan. To get there, you had to have motors cycles. It would take you 45 minutes to one hour or by a long walk, which was a good exercise.

The folks were friendly and would welcome you with their sweet smiles. Around the village, you could see mountains with green virgin forest - a jump-off point for treks. The villagers were religious people. They had a primary and elementary school where the kids used to love studying. They had a catholic church where there was mass every Sunday. They had a village hall for parties. They had a play ground for children. I really missed the village, a congenial place to live in and to enjoy.

To see Grandpa was Exciting and Memorable

It was summer. Classes were closed for the children to enjoy the summer. I turned eleven. During that summer, I had always used to visit grandpa’s place, which was 3 km away from our home. Grandpa was a widower. He had two sons. One was my father. My grandpa was 65 years old. He used to live in a hut, built of nipa woven leaves and scraped bamboo poles. It was surrounded by a bamboo fence. Surrounding his nipa hut was a vegetable plantation. At the back of his nipa hut was a big mango tree where he got used to sit with his old rocking chair that was made from narra tree.

That morning summer, to see grandpa was exciting and memorable. At his age of 65, nobody could tell he was that dirty old man. He was strong and still could lift up a 50kg of rice. He could be strong to rule over the villagers: they called him "captain". Grandpa was a religious man. He always loved and used to preach the words of God in the village.

Sometimes in that summer, I had mingled with the villagers for my grandpa’s preaching. He had preached that man would always stand in his nature, in his heart and all his control especially in times of troubles. His preaching was well remembered by the villagers. It had taken us couple of hours for meditations and listening to his preaching before we left for home.

Nine Years later, I turned 20 and I met Cynthia

It had been so exciting and memorable. I had enjoyed gimmick with some of my classmates and close friends. I had attended parties. I had serenaded ladies with the guitar. Sometimes, I had gone to swim with friends at the white beaches: it was so alluring to feel, to touch and feel the sea breeze on my body and met beautiful young women of my age!

One day, I was attending a party that night at my classmate, Larry’s house. I was standing on the corner of the dance floor, when a beautiful lady came around. She was dressed in red, with long hair down her back. Her eyes were full of life, love and expectation.

She was Cynthia. I had invited her to dance with me. While dancing with Cynthia, my hands held around her soft and tender body. I could see her cute and beautiful face. I could feel and hear my heart was beating faster and louder. I could feel that I was falling in love with her at first sight!

After I had danced with Cynthia, I took her to her seat and I went to the toilet. After a while, the door opened. It was Cynthia. She rushed in and placed herself on the left corner of the room and kept herself busy, not knowing I was there.

She was holding something at her front. She squeezed it and some water came out spitting on the wall. I walked towards her and saw that the thing she was holding was a man’s life! It had surprised me to see the beautiful Cynthia has abruptly changed. He had expertly concealed his real identity to people like me. Cynthia was a man but living with a woman’s heart.

Shortly, it was exactly midnight and the party was over. Everybody had gone home leaving Larry, who was tired and sleepy. That night I couldn’t sleep. My mind was wondering. I was thinking again about the question that had trembled in my mind when I had attended to my grandpa’s preaching, nine years ago. The reflection of his teaching had obviously defined Cynthia and some others with the same identities. I also remembered Uncle George, my grandpa’s second son.

Uncle George had Grown Up Differently

Uncle George was a math’s professor in a private school in Tacloban, a neighboring province of Samar. He was 30 year old, a bachelor and he also had managed a fast food chain business. Uncle George was 5’8” tall, dark skinned and handsome. When you see him, you could tell that he was really a man in nature for a woman to feel, to touch and to enjoy but he was gay. I was thinking - what would be part of the possibility for Cynthia and Uncle George to live according to my grandpa’s preaching? Some feminine feelings and desires drove them.

At fifteen, Uncle George had discovered that he had grown up differently. He had thought and believed it was just a part of growing up. The changes that were taking place inside him were strangely confusing and desirable for a while. He had tried to live a normal life but he had fumbled helplessly. The more he tried to change, the more obvious became his femininity. At other times he had challenged the Lord, for creating him that way - a man living the life of a woman! It was maybe the reason why grandpa had abandoned him!

I would remember that summer, when I asked my grandpa about Uncle George. I could see his face blushed and his voice roared, telling me "Forget your Uncle, to me he is dead!" I was terrified to hear what he had said to me! It had confused me about his attitude. He's a religious man, who always loved and used to preach people the words of God but he had never loved his son!

Uncle George and Cynthia were human. They were created in God’s own image. Yeah. They were living differently among others. They would have hearts to love and understanding. Would you ignore these people because of their differences? Would you care for them?

Grandpa Died with Hate in his Heart

My grandpa had died in 1985. He was 79 years old and I had known he was a righteous man especially for the villagers. Yet, he had left me feeling confused about his preaching. He had missed the truth, that God had created man for his love, love that would nourish man’s heart and minds to appreciate all His creations. He had died with hate in his heart. His blessings and forgiveness for Uncle George had been closed and locked. But it had kept me remembering the way he was. I missed my grandpa.

Now Uncle George retired from his profession. At the age of 69, he is still a bachelor. He is happy with his life. He said, "Life is the most precious thing that God bestowed upon us. No matter what you are or who you are you have to appreciate it. Know your limitations and enjoy life as prescribed by heaven - that way you fulfill God’s objective.”

Meet the author

ppruel
My favorite Saying: "Dream Big and don't stop without giving it a chance to come true."

I have no specific areas where my writing will focus on. I am Pinoy...