Recalling Trina Paulus' Hope for the flowers

I always have this spontaneous fondness for butterflies, especially yellow and white ones. I remember as a grade school student, I'm interested with "metamorphosis" or a "caterpillar-transformed-into-a-butterfly" thing. As I reminisce my anecdotes for this, lemme' share 2 wonderful experiences about butterflies.

Lola's pure soul

 August 1, 2008

I sat in front of my blue and brown eyed, curly chestnut brown, grayish haired, Spanish- French grandmother, who sat on a mono block chair as my mom put an ointment on her back bedsore. I held both her knees to support her as she faced and felt this overwhelming and terrifying pain. As my mom applied another ointment it equates another lola's affliction. Lola Violet looked up in the ceiling, closed her eyes, without uttering any painful words, just seeing her face's exasperation almost made me asserting my mom to stop it. But at the verge of ceasing her, death did my supposed action.

I diverted my shocked eyes into mama and said, " Ma, tingnan mo si lola." ( "Mom, look at lola.") Lola bowed her head with this yellowish, bluish fluid in her mouth and paled face. As my curiosity grew, I even lifted up her face, sometimes slapping it, assuring myself if this was true. And I'm sure it was. Mama said, " Nakatulog lang sya, dahil wala syang tulog kagabi." ( " She's just sleeping, cause she doesn't have an enough sleep last night." ) There was an air of denial floating in our once loud house.

Until lolo Nitoy decided to put her on her death bed (as for counting, lola was bed ridden for 4 years). As she lied down on her bed. I assumingly looked at lola's lifeless body. Then lolo instantly picked up the phone and hurriedly dialed our doctor's number. He discussed how looked like, telling him that she has no pulse rate anymore. Silence enveloped our house, yearning for lolo's announcement. Until he uttered, " 15 minutes ng patay si Violet." ("Violet is already 15 minutes dead .") I heard Tita Mary's loudest cry, everyone followed, and me putting my calmest and graceful posture over my family's grieve. 

While everyone was having  a commotion with sobbing cries, I went in my room, picked up 25 pesos from my coin purse, got my cellphone and went out to consume a load in texting my friends and relatives. I left our gloomy house with my certain alertness. I walked straight up ahead and then one bright yellow , big sized butterfly flying up and down and circling on our leafy masetas (plants), and it caught my attention for few seconds, then flew vertically into the sky. All my stiffed emotions softened as I realize how beautiful my lola's soul was.

She turned into a yellow  butterfly is my heart's belief.

While walking along our compound, no single tear fell, I was filled with amazement. As I continued walking tears surrounded the corner of my eyes, letting few drops of it to fall.

"Is that a sort of divine intervention?", I asked myself.

If it is so, I'm blessed, for God gave a sign that lola's soul is already in BEST HANDS.

Struggling to catch the bouquet of flowers

 January 25, 2010

It was Ivy's, one of my special friend, wedding. Pressing fast forward to the scene. The emcee at that time asked all the single ladies to stand and and be geared up for this wedding tradition, catching the bride's bouquet. Admittingly, I was one of those who wished to catch it. As I walked along the way, surprisingly one yellow and white butterflies playing around or maybe accompanying my footsteps. Then, my imagination worked parallelly with my heart's desire. I think I was hearing those butterflies telling me that I could catch the bouquet. 

Yes, I was  partly hopeful and almost lunatic lady.

Finally, my beautiful friend and bride enthusiastically threw this whitish, reddish, peachy rolled into a bouquet. Every single women including me and my friends, Sab, Mean and Claud rolled our sleeves up. (Though almost all of us were  wearing sleeveless dress). Unfortunately the bride threw the bouquet at the farthest corner of the earth. And we sighed or maybe solely  me or few of us. 

But since no hands caught the bouquet, no smile painted on one lucky lady and no teasing of "You'll be the next bride." Second attempt was made, this time the bride was both apologetic and reassuring that someone might catch it and secretly glee was in my heart.

This time, I was equipped, same as my expectedly vigilant friend, Sab. Then, "pack!" the bouquet was on the ground and me together with Sab looked on it and struggled to get it. I think, Jake, Sab's beloved boyfriend captured that combating bouquet catching. While Mean and Claud were at the back ,maybe silently betting who could get it. And Madz was busy taking pictures.

Then..

I caught the flowers. Whoah! Later on my imagination functioned again, "Were the butterflies right or was I so focused on catching it?" Then I almost jumped for joy.

And, I was luckily (?) teased. (blush. blush.)

  (photo taken by Jake)

Lending one book means getting 2 books

After months of doing all my routines. I met a wonderful friend in our office named, Leah. She has an average lenghty hair with a rounded eyes and face. She has a very sweet and melodic voice and my hunch was right. She's a Christian, God's warrior by her gracefulness. As I kept on sending to all my co -teachers Julianne Tarroja's (Christian, indie and underground artist) songs "Grateful," "Choose to believe" and "Queen in me" in our message popped-out. She always gives her endearing comments. She loves the song and the singer too. Then, I know I would put her close to my heart.

Nevertheless, one of my proudest habit is the exchanging of books, and Leah became my instant customer.

I impulsively lent her one Christian and challenging book and she entrusted me 2 lovely books. One was Trina Paulus' Hope For The Flowers and Philip Yancey's When Life Hurts.

Wow. I lent her one and hers was 2. Whatta very generous lady.

Giddily reading and understanding Hope for the flowers

The main characters from the story were the 2 caterpillars named Stripe and Yellow. Both of them just met at the caterpillars pillar hoping to find out what was there at the top. As they continued climbing and smashing one another together with millions of caterpillars. Yellow blurted out that there must be more than knowing what's on the top, she wants to go down. Stripe wasn't convince so he unstoppably climbed, sometimes ignoring Yellow. Then she was hurt and cried for Stripe's behavior to her. She taught that Stripe was her companion and she taught wrong. Stripe felt guilty and said sorry for her, so he decided to climbed down with Yellow. They both curled into one , so that the smashing caterpillars won't stepped on their body, stomach and eyes. Alas, they were on the ground and took time to look at each other. 

As they walked along the grassy ground. They did the normal routine that they once had before getting into the pillar, like eating the grass, sleeping on the ground but never they realize that they would become couple. They were happy being together, but Stripe a normal hunter was never satisfied, so he looked again at the pillar, began to wander "what 's on the top?"

Yellow became worried again with Stripe's determination, but since she loves and supports Stripe, she lets him feeds his curiosity.

He climbed up again and this time, he's fiercer. While Yellow was left alone, thinking how is stripe doing. Days passed by and Yellow met a caterpillar surrounded with cocoon. She asked the newly acquainted friend what was he doing. And he said he's waiting to become a butterfly. Yellow wandered what's a butterfly and the butterfly wannabe answered. " That's what you're supposed to become." So Yellow is amazed and she told herself that if she has this stuff in becoming a butterfly.


Then Yellow took risk, made a cocoon around her and waited till it's time for her to have wings to fly. And the day came, she turned into a bright and yellow butterfly.She flew high and remembered the Strike at the pillar. She went to see him there while struggling to get on top. Then Yellow finally saw him looked him deeply in his eyes and Stripe felt unworthy of her glance. He remembered the words, "butterfly alone." And he decided to climbed down the pillar.


He didn't bother the commotions from other crawlers. Alas he was down, he did his normal routine, and of course he searched for Yellow. But he failed. Until one night, this familiar creature glanced at him and might be telling him to follow her lead. Then Strike followed. He saw other crawler's cocoon wrapping around him and he imitated.


While Yellow was drinking the flower's nectar and waited for him.


Alas' he became a striped white and black butterfly and the place was surrounded with many butterflies wherein the flowers add another beauty on it.  


The end.

 Lemme tell this story to the world

Right after that, I'm fond of telling this story to anyone who's lending an ears to me. Seeing butterflies along Edsa, taking with friends who love butterflies, reading stories about butterflies, imagining how this beautiful creature made me cry, and recounting my friend's stories about butterflies.


I would spend time in looking at them.