Lailanie’s Homecoming

I
Homecoming.

Lung cancer took Lailanie away
From the crowded hospital at Taft
Avenue.

She went home in the silence
Of the night in the ambulance
That traversed the highway from Taft
Through the mountain passes of Cordillera—
Back to the grieving hills of Andabuen*.

The child within her tried
To fight for her life
but her mother’s time was up.

The creek, like flowing tears welcomed her.
The hills were hushed
by her passing. Everyone hoped
For her homecoming,
but not this way.

II
Promises meant to be broken.

She watched silently as the white coffin
Entered the lawn and settle
In front of their house.

Could it be she’s dreaming?

It was but three in the morning
And she does not usually wake up till
Four thirty to boil water and cook
Breakfast, pack the tools and send off
her father and brothers who will tend
The fields west of the village.
She’s done all this since angcay** Lanie
Went away last May
To have her check-up
at the provincial hospital.
But last month, her Father, frantic,
And worried, packed up his bag, and went
Away again, saying, angcay Lanie must be taken
To Manila for her life to be saved
From the sickness that the provincial
Hospital can no longer handle.

She was the daughter
After Lailanie. She was supposed to be
In college by June next year
and Lailanie will pay
for her tuition, her books, her allowance. Lailanie will
Pay for her dreams.

She’s home. But she’s gone.

She dabbed her tears with the back
Of her hand and rose to heat water
For the coffee of the people who
Brought angcay Lanie home.

III
End of a 300-km trip.

Three a.m. it feels good to stretch
His legs once again.
He is so tired from sitting all night
Inside the cold ambulance.

A week ago, her father went
To ask him for help.
Lailanie was dying, she needed
Expert medical help.

He thought of all the times
That he gave her allowance
Even when his wallet contained
No more than a few red bills.

He was the helpful uncle
guiding them so they can move
away from the poverty
he has barely escaped from.

Four years of college, and of her uncle’s help
All came to naught now—
She could have helped
Her family, she could have…

But the dead can not bear
The burden of the living
Lailanie’s uncle helped them again,
But he will go back to the city later
To tend the businesses he left there.

IV
Aborted Love.

When she returns, he would ask her
To marry him. After all, his child
Already grows within her womb.

He reserved two of his cows and started
Building his own hut in Villa Concepcion.***
His parents granted him his own piece of land.

“It’s nothing serious,” she assured him
So he stayed and waited.
He prepared for their wedding day.

Yesterday, he was informed Lailanie was
on the way home from Manila
so he went to Andabuen with a gold ring.

Dawn came and he saw the coffin
Brought down from the van. He couldn’t speak.
He held the ring tightly till his hand ached.

V
Acceptance.

Such is life. Her parents thought
She would outlive them both and lead
Her siblings to a better future.
Their lives were tied to the land
But hers was not. Now, it’s even cut
Off from theirs: It’s ended.

The sun extends its hands
To the grieving hills of Andabuen.
One by one, the men and women of the barrio drop by
To provide any comfort they can,
Then they leave to proceed
With the daily routine of barrio life.
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*Andabuen: a barangay in the forest region of Benito Soliven, Isabela
**bolinao term for elder sister/brother
***a neighboring barrio of Andabuen