A Tale From Highland Pacific
In a remote area in the Far East, there lived an old lady who goes up and down the hill. She grew up in the very same area and lived for fifty years. And being an adopted child that she was, she never knew how it felt to live like a normal child living with real parents, brothers and sisters and relatives.
For many years the old lady sells dried fish in the highlands and lowlands. She also sells different stones of different shapes and sizes. These stones come from the brook and the sea where she used to play and swim for many years since childhood. She used to collect different colored-stones at a very young age. She recalled about her adopting parents who usually do the fishing for their daily meal until one day her foster parents perished in the sea. They wanted to give her education so she can help herself uplift her life and live more happily. From that time on, the young child who grew up as a lady was never given a chance to go to school and instead lived a solitary life.
In every mountain and hill where there are people residing, she sells her merchandises everyday.
One morning, there's a young man selling a different merchandise and this young man was met by the old lady-vendor. The two vendors had a talk for a while and asked about their merchandises. Both were proud of their products and both agreed to have stipulated days for them to sell their respective products.
One early afternoon, they met in the mountain. The old lady asked the young man, "Why are you here today? Today is not your day for selling." The young man replied, "I'm sorry, I forgot about the day today. My grandfather is sick. He needed some money to buy medicines, that's why I am here!"
The old lady-vendor replied, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! You are excused today."
A week later, the two vendors met again, but this time in the lowland. The old lady said, "Why are you here today?" The young man replied, "My grandfather needs more medicine because he is very ill." The old lady offered some money to the young man and the young man thanked her.
Many months passed, the old lady-vendor noticed that the young man-vendor is not selling anymore. Bothered about the young man's plight, the old lady decided to look for him. In a remote area where almost everyone knows where everybody lives, it is easy to find an old friend or relative. The old lady reached the young man's place and she was appalled for what she witnessed. The young man was working in a muddy land and with a carabao he was plowing the soil. She approached him and asked, "Why are you not selling anymore?" The young man responded, "I had an injury on my back. Too much lifting of chopped woods on my shoulders made me incompetent for the past months."
The lady said, "There are other means to earn money other than hard labor. The young man asked, "And what is that?" The lady replied, "You can help me sell my stuffs and I want to share something else with you along the way." The young man agreed. The young man rested for about two days and went to the old lady's house afterwards. He was amazed for what he found in the old lady's house. It was full of different merchandises. The whole floor is almost occupied with different stuffs for selling. The young man said, "You are rich. Why do you need to be a seller all your life?" The lady replied, "I have no education in life. Everything I have and everything I am are all inside this old house."
"Why did you not marry?" asked the young man. The lady said, "I need not to. I am already happy with my life, with my myself. And I'm happy helping other people help themselves by selling my merchandises at a very low price."
"That's very unselfish of you!" said the young man.
The old lady added, "If you are ready to help me sell my products, can we go out right now and start selling?" The young man agreed.
Unlike the previous days and months where there were more hours for the old lady to sell all her merchandises during the day, this time with the help of the young man it took only half the effort for the old lady to sell everything. The young man was given a certain amount of money by the lady-vendor for helping her. The young man was very grateful for what he received, more than double than what he usually earns when he was alone selling stuffs months ago.
One day, the lady-vendor got sick and the young man went to her house. The old lady said, "I'm getting old, though I don't get tired of selling because it is my life. But before I perish in this world, there's something I need to know about you... your plans and dreams in the future?" The young man replied, "I'm nineteen now. I still want to go to school. I want to be educated and be a good role model in my community. I want to help others too, the same way that you do."
"I'm very glad to hear that!" said the old lady. "Please come back tomorrow afternoon. I believe I can go out with you tomorrow. I have some things to impart with you."
The young man said, "Okay. Get some rest for now... see you tomorrow!"
The following day when the young man went to the old lady's house, he was saddened because the old lady was not there anymore. But another old lady from a distant land, an old friend of the old lady-vendor was there to meet the young man. Everything about the young man was told to this new lady -- no secrets, all facts. The young man wept after learning from the new old lady that the old lady-vendor just vanished early that morning.
The new old lady said, "Be strong! I am an old friend and the best friend of the old lady-vendor that you used to go out with, selling different products in both lowlands and highlands. I know everything about you, including your aspirations in life. I will be here for you, so long as I live!" The young man thanked the lady for hearing that.
Many days and weeks have passed that the new old lady and the young man were selling in different places. They ate together and shared everything that they have.
One night, the old lady requested the young man to go out in the dark. The young man accompanied her. They went to a hidden cave where no one has ever been. It's a secluded spot and not even wild animals were able to find to be its haven. Inside the cave, the old lady confided, "I don't know if you will believe what you are about to hear from me this very moment?... My best friend sacrificed her life for me. She needed to have my life for you!"
"How?... and why?" asked the young man. The old lady replied, "We are both fairies. You see us and feel us in human form, but we are different from your real world!"
"I'm really confused, but I believe what you are telling me right now. I am just surprised." said the young man.
The old lady continued, "Do you remember about moments when you were selling stuffs with my best friend and she just disappear in the woods when you know she was just beside you?... She was talking to me behind the huge bark of a tree where you used to pass by. All the material things that you see inside her house are true and real. She became rich because of hard work and honesty. And she is giving all these for your education and for your future. My best friend was a lone child and a princess in our hidden land. We played together for many years. There is no sadness, only happiness in our paradise. Until one day, my best friend fell in love with a human. She asked for her parents' approval to love a human, however, they refused to grant her wish. The only thing that her parents can do for her is to let her out of their world. They did, but she can never come back as a princess and as a fairy if she would choose to be a human. The time came and my best friend became a human. She loved an honest and hardworking man, but the man died at an early age. And my best friend never loved any man again. I am here to continue what my best friend asked of me to do for you. She's back in our world. She was forgiven under the laws of the elders of the fairyland. My time will come too when I'm ready to go back there."
Many hours passed and the young man was listening to the old lady inside the cave. The sun is shining, so they decided to step out of the cave.
On top of the mountain where they were standing, the old lady showed the richness and beauty of the outside world. There is so much hope, love and harmony everywhere. The old lady explained to the young man that the present world is a changing environment. And people from everywhere have corrupted themselves, including the natural resources around them.
"One Christmas night, all these beautiful things that you see in front of you will be covered. The wrath of nature will be manifested in form of flood, ashes and mud rushing down from the mountains and molten rocks coming from the silent volcano. The waters will be dried and loss of lives will be inevitable. Even houses and churches behind these mountains will disappear. Cemeteries will be buried deeper and people will disappear in no time. While there is still time for remorse, people must start praying and ask for God's forgiveness and mercy."
This is the story of the highlands and lowlands surrounding the Pinatubo volcano in the Pacific. Three decades have passed and the barren lands still remain the same up to the present time.
Don't forget to say your short prayer to God each day and night!
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