I remember a time when Grandfather was sitting in his long hoary chair. He was holding an old book that he usually reads. In that old book, between its leaves, lies a Sampaguita; quite flat and dry. It was not as pretty as the Sampaguitas in their garden, but then he smiles at it nicely, and tears eventually came into his eyes.

I wonder why?

So one time, I came to ask him.

“Why do you always stare at that withered Sampaguita fasten in that old book?”

Grandfather looked at me, and then he smiled. He gently tapped his vacant side to let me sat beside him. Then he said,

“I will tell you a story that took place a long time ago. Do you want to hear it?”

I bowed my head eagerly. “Yes.”

I instantly took the vacant seat beside Grandfather. I felt a bit excited to what kind of story he’s going to tell me. He took a slight breath first, and then he started to talk. And his story went like this…

There was a time in history where the Philippines was invaded to occupy its islands. In those dark days, many were annihilated and damaged. People were forced to abandon their home, as well as their friends and the people they cared the most.

One of them was a young boy who was enforced to move with his family to a certain town in Masbate, year 1940. Being placed in a new environment takes a lot of adjustment and it took him months before he already adopted himself to his surroundings. But all thanks to a young urban girl named “Idang” who lives with her family next to them. Their families became close, and the two young children became close friends too. They became best friends and they often played ‘Hide and Seek’ at the old backyard. They also found delight in catching beetles, as they tied strings through them as if they were like flying kites. But most of the memories they shared together was at the ‘Garden of Sampaguita’; where they held each other by the hand, and kissed the Sampaguitas as they looked at the bright sunshine.

“Sampaguitas are sweet, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are!” the young girl answered. “That’s why I like them! How about you? Do you like Sampaguitas too?”

“Of course I am.” The young boy replied. “But I like you more than them. Because you’re much sweeter than they are…”

Yes. There’s no one sweeter than the beauty of Idang. She was definitely beautiful---very beautiful to perceive. She had such a sweet smile like honey, and her eyes were like candies with a mild taste of expression in them when they look at you. The young boy, who secretly fond of her, was in fact lured by that sweetness and naively fallen into her.

But one day, a group of soldiers visited their town. Town leaders organized its people to welcome the visiting soldiers. Selected children from the residence were instructed to perform. The young boy was assigned to dance, and Idang was made to sing. Town people entertained them, and welcomed them with their earnest greetings.

After the performance, a soldier went to see the children. He was quite old. He had visible wrinkles on his forehead and his eyes were half moored. There was an obvious army armband tangled in his left upper arm; it’s a pure white cloth with a red, sun-like shape in the middle. Gold and silver decorations were also evident in his uniform asserting that he’s a soldier of rank.

The soldier paused in front of the children, then he twisted his sight straight to Idang.

“She’s pretty. I like her. I want to give her a reward,” said the soldier while giving Idang a very odd gaze.

The boy felt something’s wrong and immediately asked Idang to leave. But the soldier asserted, and promised Idang that he would give the gift at the quarters. Thinking that it’s just a simple token of gratitude, Idang went along. But when she got there, she was immediately taken by the soldier to a small, dark room. The soldier pressed her in the floor, took off her clothes, and punched her in the stomach. Idang instantly felt weak, so she didn’t have enough strength to struggle. The wicked soldier continued his deed. He grabbed the poor girl’s legs and seized them apart.

And so the bitter hours of this young girl’s life was about to arise.

The punches were salty…

The screams were tangy…

Every single struggle she made was full of pungent.

There’s no room for her begging; and so the caustic taste of hopelessness increased.

She even tasted fear. Yes, she tasted it horribly. It tasted like fresh blood that slid through her lips and barred her tongue.

So yes, she really had been a sumptuous dinner for the wicked wolf.

After feasting, the culprit soldier brought Idang in the middle of the forest and left her alone. Tired and throbbing, Idang suddenly went unconscious. The next morning, a fellow citizen found her almost lifeless, and immediately brought her home. Idang’s parents felt the deepest heartbreak after learning what happened to their only princess, and feared that the soldiers would come to seek for her. So the parents decided to hide their daughter in a faraway town and planned to never…ever come back again.

“So, what happened to the young boy? What did he do?” I suddenly interrupted Grandfather’s dialogue. Grandfather hooked his head and beheld at me, as he spoke, with mild, solemn eyes.

“Of course, the young boy turned out to be so sad, for he knew there’s no way for them to see each other anymore. So he wanted to witness, for the last time, the sweetened smile of that young girl he adored so much. Hence, he picked a fresh Sampaguita from the garden to where they used to play and gave it to his beloved Idang.”

“Did she smile? Did the boy saw her smile?”

Grandfather paused for a while, and all of a sudden---he chuckled.

“Yes, my dear. She smiled. A very…honeyed smile.”

“But…wasn’t it a bit sad?” I said in slight disappointment, “How about the soldier? Did they catch him? He’s the reason why the two parted ways.”

“No,” Grandfather replied. “After the war, the soldiers disappeared. Many victims like Idang concealed the truth for seven decades. Although some of them went out to strive for justice, but in the end---they failed. The government promised to help, but nothing came out of it. Sad to say, but some of them had already passed away without obtaining the justice they were struggling for so long.”

After that, Grandfather faintly leaned his back and stared upon the withered Sampaguita fasten in the book he was holding. He drew a deep sigh, and then he whispered…

“Justice at times, is similar to tears. It falls smoothly into your cheeks, and even tastes its saltiness when it reach your lips. And in the end—it will demolished fully on the ground, so no one could ever retrieved it.”

I didn’t understand wholly what he meant, so I just stared at him blankly after what he said. He felt weary, so he closed his eyes, and fell asleep. I could hear his breathing as he slept; it was quiet and calm. Happiness and peace was clearly drawn into his entire face. I carefully pulled the book he was holding and placed it beside him. I stayed at my Grandfather’s side for a couple of minutes, and imagined a beautiful young girl who was seated beside him. She gave my Grandfather a fresh Sampaguita and after that---she smiled. Surprisingly, my Grandfather responded in a slight smirk. I never saw him smiled like that before? It looks so sweet, and special…

I never thought…it was his last.

The next day, a news just came to my knowledge---

Grandfather is dead.

Then all of a sudden, I thought about how he smiled in his last hours, and made me realized what it means.

Yes, he smiled---not for any other reasons, but for the memory of his old days, and for the thoughts and memories of the past that he shared with his beloved urban girl “Idang”. Grandfather will smile once more, because finally, he will meet her beloved Idang in the surface of the heavens, where they can hold each other by the hand and kiss the Sampaguitas.