Tragedy

The Philippines was hit by typhoon "Ondoy" (Ketsana) over the weekend. My apartment was affected and good thing The Cook and I were there. He just arrived last Friday amidst pouring rain. Saturday morning, the day where we plan to go to the province, that was when the flood hit our area.

We (correction, He) quickly moved appliances to the cabinets and put my books and shoes in plastic bags. Me, I was standing at the center of the room looking at the flood as it quickly seeped into the bedroom. I was almost crying in disbelief that the place which I call home is suddenly being ransacked by flood. I was in shock. In short, I was a damsel in distress (* kicks meself).

After putting important things into safety, The Cook and I hurriedly left the apartment. He left his luggage above the cabinet since it was heavy. We were shocked at what we saw outside. The flood inside the apartment was knee-deep, outside, it was chest-high! We bravely crossed the flood, holding our bags above our heads. There was no flood outside our street and we waited for a ride there.

We left the apartment at 11am and finally got home at 11pm. 12 hours of waiting rides, commuting and traffic! I was sad that The Cook had to be welcomed by a typhoon. I know he was tired from his flight but he was the one who did all the work in ensuring our safety. He kept assuring me that it was a good thing that we were still in the apartment when the flood happened. We were able to safekeep some of our belongings.

Even it rained hard and flooded in many cities, I still believe that God is merciful. The typhoon could have happened during office/school hours, or at night. But the typhoon hit us on a weekend where everybody was at home, with the family. Stuff that we lose can be replaced, our loved ones, irreplaceable.