What The Blind Man Sees

We only needed to walk a couple of meters to get into the house. It was a simple bungalow with a mini sari-sari store by the entrance. The sala welcomed us with a charcoal portrait of the charming king and queen of the Segismar clan.

Lola welcomed us with a warm tight hug, just like she did last year. They have been waiting for us since early afternoon however a couple of unexpected events prevented us from getting there as early as we would've wanted. But we were there, and I've been eager to meet the man whom I've heard a lot from. I didn't know what to expect but I looked forward to it.

Lolo is 83 and could no longer walk around like Lola does. He sat at one corner of the receiving room. I approached him and gave him a hug as Ray introduced us. He held my hand as his eyes looked straight ahead for he could no longer see. He lamented that he could no longer see my face, so I joked that at least my voice was beautiful enough.

From then on he did not let go of my hand. He started with "kanus-a mo mag-minyo?" (When will you get married?), followed by nervous laughter from me and Ray. He then sat up straight and reached his other arm to his grandson and said "Ang importante sa tanan, magka-sinabot mo" (Most important of all, is that you understand each other).

As he gently stroke my arm, he talked about marriage, having kids (he urged us to have a lot, lol), the hardships of life, and the importance of good education.

All of these revolved under one simple lesson: "Ang importante sa tanan, magka-sinabot mo"

And while lolo shared his life lessons with us, it slowly made all sense.

Romance is overrated. And love, while it does make the world go round, is hardly ever understood. And I realized why: Most us, are too caught up with our own needs, and our selves, that we haven't made it a priority to really understand our partners. Our "Mr. Right" wishlists compose of items that would fulfill our ideals, our wants, our dreams, and when they fall short we get disappointed. How many of us have actually made lists on the kind of girlfriend/ wives that we would like to be for our partners?

"Ang importante sa tanan, magka-sinabot mo"  In any relationship, more so in marriage, there will always be surprises. No matter how deep the familiarity, one can never know another completely, not even oneself. Times change, and so do people. Tough times come and go, but the key is to understand. And this goes both ways. Love drives us to understand, and by understanding, we reinforce our love.

You do not need the perfect person to love, you only need someone who loves you completely.

For about twenty minutes, lolo held my hands and gently stroked my arms. And it felt like I've known him for a lifetime. His every warm touch was filled with love. And it's something I could barely explain. All I know was that I felt so much, so much love. It felt like a warm river rushing from his hands directly to my heart. I was so moved that I found it hard to hold  my tears.

And then for a moment, he looked at me straight in the eye. I knew he couldn't see me, and yet I knew he could see through me. I could feel the hair at the back of my neck.

"Ang importante sa tanan, magkasinabot lang mo".

This would have to be one of the most memorable emotional encounters I've ever had. It was so intimate and so tender. I am blessed to be loved by his grand son, and by lolo. Even without alot of words, you just knew it, that was love at its purest.