A Last Visit Before Moving On

The mother of my mom took care of me when I was young. Back then, where she go, I go. I'm her tail.

We went to my aunt's place in Sangandaan, Quezon City that afternoon. One will pass a huge acacia (or was that a balete?) tree on the left side of the road before the way in of a dead-end road, also on the left side. Toward the inside of the blind alley, there were just three houses, one on each side. My aunt's was the one at the right, and a three-storey house with a veranda on the third floor at the end of the road. (Honestly, I'm trying to recall where the veranda was, on the third or second, or maybe both floors have balcony.) I can no longer see the big tree after we entered the road leading to the house of my aunty because the house on my left side was blocking the view. And I don't have, in any way, interest with that tree so it never bothered me.

I was looking straight ahead, my eyes were fixed at the boy standing with his elbows resting on the railings of the balcony, and looking at the direction of the tree, or so I thought. He's just looking intently at that path while I vaguely looking at him. I only focused my intention to my aunt when she greeted me with, "Don't play at the back of the house without wearing your slippers. Al died this morning because he stepped on a rusted nail a week or so ago while playing at the back (of the house) and tetanus got him." (What a welcoming remark!) I asked, "Who's Al?" "Al," she replied, as if I really knew Al, "was your playmate next door", pointing at the three-storey house outside. "Al?", I was starting to feel a little confuse, "the black boy with curly hair, like this, like that, blah blah blah, and about the age of Jeffgard?" (Jeffgard is her son and a year younger than me.) "Yes!" she answered. "No, aunty, he's there at the balcony. I saw him just before we entered here. And he's still there!" I was jerking her to come along with me and to have a look but she paid no heed to my plea.

Well, who would believe a child for telling the truth? Of what he saw?

"Al" was there. He's there, like, really, flesh and blood. I didn't saw a "floating Al" or something. He's just like an ordinary child, human, I mean, just staring blankly at the direction of that tree over there. I didn't see any irregularity whatsoever. I only realized the lapse in ordinary when my aunt made that hospitable statement. Al? Dead? That morning? Tetanus? I saw Al at the balcony that afternoon. Period.

I read stories of Near Death Experience (NDE) and in some cases, when a child is involved, an angel will accompany the child, let\'s the child to see the loved ones, and visit a particular house or place before moving on to the "light".

I made that incident clear to my aunty just the other month, long after they move from one place to another and decades after she didn't believed me when I was a child telling her what I just saw. And now, she believes.