Myth and Legends

Crosses on the Graves

Some hundred years ago, in a very far-off village, there lived a poor couple whose name were Mercy and Juan. They were so poor there were days when they simply had nothing to eat. At times Mercy and Juan envied the fowls of the air and the wild animals of the forest for they could easily find food and never to suffer from hunger.

Yet in spite all of the hardships they faced, they never totally lost faith in God. Every day they kept their prayer vigil that the almighty God would look upon them with favour and bless them with good fortune. One evening, while Mercy was reciting her prayers fervently, an angel of the Lord appeared before her and instructed her to go up to the third mountain next morning to look for a native olden plant.

She was cautioned to dig up the plant, take good care of it’s roots for beneath those roots was a kettle of gold pieces that would make her and her husband very wealthy. The following morning Mercy did as the angel has instructed her. Upon her return, her husband was pleasantly surprised to see the great wealth she had brought down from the mountain.

Mercy excitedly revealed to her husband all the wonderful things that happened and led to her discovery of the wealth. From that time on, the couple lived in comfort and luxury. Yet, while blessed with this newly acquired wealth, it occurred to Mercy that all these good things they now have would end when she dies. She did not wish to die and be stripped of all the pleasures she now enjoys.

Mercy thought long and hard over the matter. Finally, Mercy suggested to her husband that they moved to a place where death is unknown. Juan was reluctant to comply at first, for he knew that everything has an end. She gave to anyone when the time comes. His thinking left Mercy very downhearted. She left on her own and for two months travelled far and wide, looking for a place where death is unknown.

Soon after reaching a thickly populated town. She learned from the folks living there that in that place there is no so-called death. It was just that whoever is called by a mysterious voice never came back. Thinking it was so, Mercy started for home to fetch her husband and they both settled in their new-found home. Yet, she was mindful to caution her husband not heed any mysterious call if he did, he will return no more. Though he did not quite understand the warning, he agreed to follow the advice.

Years passed. Everything went smoothly for the couple. They continue to lived in luxury from the wealth Mercy obtained from the mountain. One cold evening, Mercy heard her husband answering to someone’s call when there is no one else around but the two of them. It struck Mercy that it must be the mysterious voice calling him. She tried several times to call the attention of Juan hoping to stop him from responding to the call.

Suddenly, Juan open the door. Mercy rushed at once to the door to lock it up to prevent Juan from going out. Unfortunately, one saving act was not enough to stop Juan who was already completely overtaken by the voice. In the next instant, Juan rushed upstairs and jumped out of the window. This time, Mercy did not manage to follow him as fast. When she ran upstairs to the room. Juan had by then jumped out of the window. She dashed to the window and looked down.

It was dark outside and she could not see any trace of Juan. The next minute, she rushed out of the house to look for Juan. She searched relentlessly into the wee hours of the night and even went out of the gate to look for him but all in vain. He had completely disappeared. Hungry, tired and with a heavy heart, she went back inside the house. Loneliness filled her heart. The she did realize that her husband must have been called away by mysterious voice.

Yet, she held on uncompromisingly to her belief that had Juan heeded her warning and ignored the voice, he would not have disappeared. Nonetheless, she was deeply embittered by the loss of her loving husband who was already considered dead. Years passed and Mercy started growing old. Her dark hair turned gray. With each passing day, she became weaker and weaker. She, too, began to experience the pangs of old age.

Yet, in spite of all these, Mercy kept strongly to her wish never to depart from her wealth. She never forgot what happened to her husband that made her resolve even more never to answer any strange call whatsoever. One day Mercy visited her barber for her regular haircut. She chanced to get into a conversation with the barber on the topic about the mysterious call. Mercy swore to the barber that she would never be fooled by the mysterious voice.

That she would not listen to it and suffer the same fate that had befallen her husband. Sometimes later, the barber noticed that Mercy was not answering some of her questions. She judge Mercy was angrily refusing someone. Nervously, the barber insisted on asking Mercy whom she was talking for no one else was in front of Mercy but her own reflection on the mirror. Instead of answering her, Mercy suddenly grabbed a pair of scissors from her and started chasing the mysterious voice out of the barber shop and all the way into the streets.

Fearing that Mercy might do something drastic with her pair of scissors, the barber quickly followed her. The barber followed Mercy for some time until they reach a short distance from the edge of a deep cliff. At that point, the barber stopped her advance and gave up the thought of ever recovering her scissors. “No, don’t do it, Mercy!” shouted the barber. But it was too late, there was no stopping Mercy who ran on and fell over the edge of the cliff.

Feeling sorry for Mercy, the barber headed back to town to spread the news of the strange death of Mercy to the townspeople. Wanting to witness for themselves how Mercy died, hundreds of them rush to the site. Looking down from the cliff, they found many graves below that made them conclude that all those who were called by the mysterious voice must have fallen into the precipice and were then laid to rest in peace beneath it soft grounds.

Even more surprising, they found the white crosses on top of the graves laid along the slope of the cliff. Then they realize that whether one liked it or not, one would die by whatever it means. From then on, it also became the practice of the townspeople to place crosses on top of the graves of their departed loved ones. To this day, that practice is still observed everywhere.