“HAIL Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen”
Just when the last words of the “Hail Mary” ended, the supposed final rest of Nana (Lola) on a stormy Sunday night of the fourth day of May 2008 was deferred for three seconds, by the force of nature. The vibration was so powerful that it even shook the ground.
From that moment, the deafening woes of more than 10 people circling Nana, praying, and collectively singing a religious litany stopped after they saw her mixed red-purple color body rise from the bed.
“Jesus, Lord!” Everyone chorused in disbelief.
Nana’s nine-year-old favorite grandchild quivery jumped across the other bed in praying arms, with fright in his eyes.
“Makahadlok!” (scary), he said in an innocent, solicitous tone.
“Kakuga-kuga ko!” (I am in shock), exclaimed Manang, Nana’s apo from her first son.
“Nana, Ginoo ko!” (My Lord, Nana) one of her grandchildren uttered on the other side while in tears.
The people who came into the house prior to Nana’s death already had an idea. They knew that anytime that day, something so strange would happen but little did they know that it would be something like this.
Even the melancholic weather did not stop one of her grandchildren, Eneren, to run as fast as she could, while bare foot, to the Police Station where Nana’s “ikatulo na usog” (youngest son), Yo was on duty to tell him that Nana may have slipped away for a few moments. Minutes later, an ear-splitting sound of a motorcycle was heard, indicating Yo had arrived. The adrenaline could be seen in his actions. He anticipated but he was not prepared.
Eneren followed him a few minutes later. Both were petrified. As soon as Yo moved aside the curtain that covered Nana’s room, he saw everyone holding the laminated pictures of religious saints and crucifixes against their chests. Yo saw Nana’s stiff position as if being cast by a spell.
Innocent and aging eyes of the people were challenged with fear. The room was already filled with different emotions. Too many loud chaotic voices including the noise from open television, weeping, grief, and sorrow occupied the whole corners of the room.
Shock was the only word that could describe that night.
Nana was catching her breath. Everybody harmoniously continued the last Hail Mary, joining their hands together. Nana, about to join the Creator at around 7 p.m. but as soon as the prayer ended, a bolt of lightning struck and its blue and white flash covered the entire house. The thunder seemed like a lion’s roar. Nana’s resurrection happened. The earth's element connected to her veins. Nana’s heart started racing, irregularly at first. Like a horse that gallops, her heart rate was so fast. She had risen, immediately after she was pronounced dead.
“Yauno da sa, Nana. Ginoo ko!” (How come, Nana. My Lord), shouted her favorite grandchild.
“Kilat ngawon, amo yang yakabuhi ng mga ugat ni Nana!” (The lightning revived Nana) in unison, the people in that room cried, claiming that the lightning was responsible for the three- second resurrection of their 84-year old Lola.
The heavy rain continued. Neither people nor vehicles were seen because of the weather. The external ambiance was so gothic but the shivers were different and worse inside.
Later on, Nana was finally pronounced dead, again, at 8:30 p.m.
Everyone gathered. My cousins, and other close relatives came to see her body. She was lying in her banig (a traditional woven mat made from dried leaves of pandan) while wearing a white top and long skirt. Surrounded by her loved ones, grandchildren, and children, Nana made it to her eternal rest, leaving her family and friends memories.
The next day, the first of nine nights of Nana’s funeral wake was held. Gratitude and grief felt every night.
It was the shortest miracle that ever happened to us.
Fifteen summer seasons have passed, people who witnessed the event are still perplexed. The coincidence was unearthly. It was a secret that was no longer a secret to her family members.
Consorcia Penanueva Abarca known to her family as Nana, born in 1924, just before the Japanese occupation, died due to natural causes only days before her birthday in a small placid hometown where she spent half of her life. DEF
