<h3>Lola Laget, Part 2</h3>

One time I asked her, what could be the secret for her long life. She held her ears. I laughed. But she was serious. She said long and big ears mean long and fruitful life. I found myself wanting for a bigger ear. But really, I think life loved her so much and she has lived this long because she has given back so much to life itself. And there are angels who take care of her.

Some of these angels came to life in 1992. That day, she was alone cooking food for her pig in a vacant lot across her house. Now you see how driven she was until that age. She sat there mindlessly beside the iron-stove when all of a sudden the cauldron full of boiling hog food fell on her. The weight of the pot was just too much so she was pinned to the floor, in the middle of hot and steaming water. Since this was far from the house, no one saw her. She relates that, later on that there was a man who passed by and saw her. The man carried her, brought her home, and quickly left. She said she was able to thank the man.

What was startling was that the place where it happened was far from where people would go, not being accessible. And yet, there was that man at the right time. When my tita saw Lola drenched in steam, she screamed to the heavens. But my Lola was just sitting there calmly trying to fix her blouse. She has managed to take off her drenched dress and changed into a new one. That turned out to be a bad decision because as soon as they got her to the hospital, the doctors had to remove the dress --- and the skin peeled off with them. She spent many months in the hospital. And she never walked properly after that.

Small miracles

But then she would create a miracle everytime I go home for vacation. Because on the day that I arrive and the time I would finally leave for the city again, she would make sure that she is strong enough to walk over a hundred meters from her house to where we live. It is a daunting task for her, I know. But she says, she wanted to see me off. And I would be always deeply touched. My cousins would throw piercing looks at me. I don't know if it's because of envy or because of worry for Lola.

I don't mind. I feel special everytime. More especially because I'm the only grandchild she allows to cut her nails. This has been a running tradition between us from the time I was in college. I would spend the last hour with her before leaving the province. I'd take out my nail clipper and would cut her nails in both feet and hands. And then she'd ask me when I will be home again. I'll just say in no time. She would pledge to have her nails cut only when I'm back. My cousins have time and again tried to persuade her to have them cut it. But Lola Laget would always say she'd wait for me even if the nails grow really long.