Truth or Foul?
Yesterday, I had a very very unusual experience. Until now I don’t know what to make of it, actually.
I continue to go over and over it inside my head, like a broken recorder, playing that clip again and again: A woman, on her late 50s, talked (I don’t know if that’s the word for it, more like pleaded, I think) to us while me and my friends were walking on our way back to our building.
“Mga iha, may alam ba kayong mga pwedeng blood donors dito? Sige na, kelangan lang talaga…”
Nakakapagtaka diba? Completely dazed and unsure, we were like, “Ano po un uli…?”
“Blood donors. Kung makakapagdala daw po ako ng anim na blood donors, hindi ko na kelangan magbayad. Wala akong pambayad eh…” Okay, imagine an old frail-looking woman, talking to you, pleading, getting teary-eyed and already very tired from the looks of it.
“Eh kung magbabayad naman daw po ako, kelangan ko daw po ng P800, wala naman po akong makukuhaan ng ganung halaga. Sige na po, baka naman po may kilala kayo…?”
We didn’t know how to react and as for me, my mind was turning like crazy at this moment: I was watching my friends’ reactions. I was wondering whether this was true or not. I was thinking whether I should just go and donate blood or what. I didn’t know what to think.
“Sige na po… para po sa anak ko. Kanina pa po ako naglalakad dito…”
During the course of these moments, my friends and I were contemplating on the idea of donating blood ourselves but there were only four of us. One was anemic (so she can’t donate), one was afraid, one didn’t react to it so I don’t really know and then there’s me [well, I had the inexplicable urge to consult my mom on this, ha!] XD
“Ano po bang sakit ng anak niyo?”
“Leukemia po. Nag-iisa kong anak…”
Well I can’t actually tell you everything that’s happened, I’m not so sure myself. But to make the kind of long story short, my friends decided to give her money. Yes, they wanted to give her 800php!
My head was a serious jumble. I don’t think my face showed any kind of reaction at that moment, really. It was like I’m still trying to decide whether to believe her or not. Because if she was just acting, then she’s a VERY good con artist, I tell you. So anyway, in a sense, I was the voice of reason.
“Sure kayo, we give her exactly P800?” That’s super big an amount, right?
So in the end, we gave her P500, which resulted to a very tear jerking reaction (REALLY). “Nako…wala po akong pambayad dito -sniff-“, she cried and wiped it with her bimpo (towel), “Nako po…salamat. Salamat po talaga–” More tears, “Hayaan niyo po -sniff- babayad dinako sa inyo”, this was a very heart felt moment where her tears flowed freely, “salamat talaga…hindi niyo alam– SALAMAT.” This moment was the most convincing of them all.
Of course there are a lot of factors to consider here, wonder whether or not it was real… whether she was telling the truth or not. Whether she just fed on the pity and sympathy we instantly gave her. Our only consolation, our only source of peace of mind, is the fact that we know we did our part and we had the intention of helping, if she was lying then that’s on her tab, her conscience, her life. Putting it into my friends words, “basta tumulong tayo, kung hindi man totoo ung mga sinabi niya at niloko niya lang tayo, siya nang magdadala nun…”
I consider this moment in my life to be both dramatic and utterly… surreal. Pwede kaming tawaging good samaritans, hahaha. It was like something out of a movie — literally.
♫Soooooooooong♪:
“Together we’ll cry happy tears.”
– Heal the World, Michael Jackson
We have Our Moments ★ 