Dance in the Rain
The sky won’t always be clear all the time. Same as the sun hiding its rays at least one day. Night sky won’t always be perfect with the stars and the moon. Certainly, there will always be a dark and horrifying times for all of us. This might happen at day or worse, at night. This might be a cause of both man made and natural calamities. But whatever the case may be, what matters the most is how we will stand up after the tragedy and how we will see things at the most positive way we can.
The aftermath of a strong typhoon will always be there such as devastated places, gone livelihood, ruined workplaces, and most especially traumatized victims. Each of us will surely have a story to tell about typhoons whether good or bad, exciting or otherwise. I must say, I have one of the most frightening stories when it comes to this topic. Having that 'bahala na' habit is one of my traits, so as my family. Way back 2006, we believed that we will not be affected by Typhoon Reming (international name: Durian).
Expect the unexpected, they say. Flash floods, even not welcomed in our house, continued to embrace our place, from our garage to our living room down to the kitchen and bedrooms. Water was all over the house. We decided to leave when the water was already half around my body. We stayed at our neighbor’s house as we were left with no choice.
The water continued to rise and I was with my mom and my cousin that time. My brother was left inside our house as he was asked by our mom to get all the house keys before leaving. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to follow us when we crossed the street. When we’re already inside our neighbor’s house, my mom kept on looking outside the window, screaming out her lungs, crying and shouting my brother’s name and I was hopeless.
The flood was getting higher and we needed to evacuate the slab portion of the house. When we’re already upstairs, mom can’t help but look for my elder sibling. The wind was so strong that even we were getting blown up—until the typhoon stopped for almost an hour.
They say that the calm in the storm usually happens when the place is under the eye of the storm. It is a region of silent winds with dull clouds, and is a few tens of kilometers in diameter. That’s mainly the reason why the weather felt like normal again. I was not aware that when the eye of the typhoon passes over, the wind and rain will subside but the heavy storm will still return. We assumed that the typhoon has left already, so we went outside the house and my eyes grew bigger when I saw the lahar of the Mayon Volcano just right within my reach. I was shocked and for a moment, I felt that I died inside.
The moment was cinematic, the place was like a ghost town, and creepy sounds started to float in the air. Then, I saw my brother on our roof. I ran and hugged him as tight as I can. I whispered, “Thank you, Lord!” We left the place and stayed in a house near the main road where most of the people in our barangay evacuated. Somehow, I felt relieved.
Typhoon’s aftermath is one of the most saddening views our eyes can see. It’s like wishing that you were just dreaming. Strong winds are more often the main cause of the saddening aftermath. These aftermaths include collapsed buildings, destroyed telecommunication lines, and damaged crops. Seeing all those stumbled trees and posts along the road, trees that were left with no leaves, houses with no more roofs, tangled electrical wires, and even the sound of the news on how many people died is really heartbreaking.
Typhoon can even cause landslides. This calamity damages buildings nearby a slope, cause death and injuries to people and animals, and might also be a reason of blocking traffic. But Filipinos are strong enough to handle this kind of challenge. Tragedy, while an unfortunate event, is still one way of proving how tough we are. This will portray a full picture of resiliency of the Filipino spirit and how we will react with all the negativity and all those tragedies that we will encounter in our lives with the help of other people and the whole community. Situations like this is really hard, but this will be a piece of cake only if people will be tough enough. Yes, gone livelihood after the typhoon is really a big loss. No one can deny that fact. However, we shouldn’t allow any situation let our head hang down. To stand is a must. Life encourages us to dance in the rain, accompanied with trials and sorrows, yet trust and faith are still visible. That's life. Hard times will surely exist and however hard or devastating a typhoon may seem, there's always a brighter day that lies ahead of us.
Seeing the rainbow after the rain will soon be followed by the sunshine. The aftermath will be there. Most of it will certainly on the negative sides. Cliché as it may sound, everything really does happen for a reason. People who lose their houses will be relocated to a higher and safer place. Crying for the absence and weeping for the loss of love ones will probably one of the most horrifying outcome of the typhoon damage. However, putting yourself in a box and staying in a corner together with your worries and ‘what ifs’ will do nothing but worsen the situation. It’s like rubbing your own wound with a salt. Depression might take place as well. But as they say, time heals all wounds. Leave all the negative things in the past and make a new life because after all, the sun will surely shine again no matter the strength of a storm.
