SO CRUEL BUT LOVE IS LOVE TO THE END

I had just arrived in Manila from my home town in Mindanao sometime in April 1966, and I found my unintended destination at my auntie’s rented apartment in a place called Sampaloc, where she lived along with her sons and daughters, whose eldest son was Joe. He was our bread winner from a teaching profession in one of the exclusive colleges in the biggest city of the country, the Philippines.         Barely a week from my uncertain stay having run away from home, I was told to watch over my cousin’s operation in the hospital for a suspected cancerous growth in his back… One sunny morning, a knock on the door of the occupied private room, I saw a man wearing a Sutana when I opened it! And I said, good morning! And he said, good day too, and is Joe awake? Oh! Brother Tyrone, Joe interrupted. Nice to see you and good morning too! Come on in and please sit down and he settled beside Joe’s bed and I gently closed the door and listened to their long-time excitement, having not seen each other for quite a while!         Bro Tyrone was his name in the Abbey and it was the first time I saw a person in Sutana wearing, but not a priest but look like one! He was quite lanky and had aging signs on his face and his hair dotted with white from the monastic life inside the monastery. He’s been there more or less eight years!         From their long talk, Bro Tyone asked, who is this boy? And Joe said, oh, brother, he just came from back home and is venturing here in Manila to get a job. He’s a High School graduate only and willing to work on anything fit to his qualification. He once worked in a sawmill and a big oil depot as a Yardman tending to the needs of customers!         Oh, I see! Bro. Tyrone responded and by his brown well cooked skin he has been in the open field under the heat of the sun. Joe laughed and continued, yes, brother! He is an energetic young man who is out to look for his future here and Joe joked: Brother, he wants to work in the college! Joe, actually I need a utility man in the library and we can give him a try if he wants to. And so after Joe was released from the hospital, right away, I went with him to the college where he works along with brother Tyrone. Brother Tyrone is the In Charge of the Library and I am the new guy to do just about anything he wants me done and so I started sweeping, dusting books and lots of documents and records of the school!         Later on, I helped in the search for the books wants borrowed by students and serve them including the reviewers of law courses and the academe!          A very routine job week end and out for so many years and from my unschooled background learning only basic education, I gained new insights and interest on books and truly , classic stories were my favorite readings on light hours in the library; and it is in these idle moments, I came to know Bro. Tyrone more closely. His original name was changed inside the monastery and before he joined in the service of God, he was a former bookkeeper back in our home town!         Like any struggling young man then back in the 50’s, he worked so hard until he gathers few more clients in the line of business he learned during his two-year schooling in bookkeeping, typing and stenography! His working attitude was excellent thus, he gained admiration from his clients and because of his impressive working habits, his personality evokes potentials to become a promising professional and indeed ONE BEAUTIFUL FAIR SKINNED WOMAN by the name of CARMEN, trained an eye on him!