Family. The only people in the world who will love and care for you unconditionally . Be it taken for granted. They will always love you regardless of our misgivings and would often remind us of our birthdays.
Tonight my friends, this is a tale of a man who spares no occasion just to visit his nephew for the last time, even if he is 7ft-deep under.
Remember to cherish your loved ones. For their presence is all there is to have and their absence will remind you how time waits for no one.
Best spend it wisely.
So now just sit back, relax with your favorite drink and…
Listen.
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December 24, 2006
From: Louie 10 yrs old
To: The Big Boss of the North Pole, Santa
“Dear Santa,
How are you today? I’m Louie, wishing all the best for delivering me the most exciting gifts for this year. I’ve been a really good boy this time of the year. And I wonder what present will I get from you?
I don’t have any preference for anything really. I just wanted to feel special. From you
Keep up the good work,
-Louie”.
This is the first and the last time I would write to Santa. Being the little kid that I am, my mother took care of the letter for me. I was always curious about Santa but more so this year. Because I heard from mom that he was going to a place where all the ice creams and all the cakes are made.
Oh how I wish I could join him.
But mom told me I should be patient, it’s not my time yet. I should wait until I get a bit older so I could finally get to see him again.
You see, I suspect that my uncle is Santa. For some reasons, his name does sound like one. Augustus instead of St. Nicholas . I think Augustus for a Santa sounds more like a Santa to me.
Whenever it’s Christmas even on my birthdays, I would receive gifts. I never saw him brought me one as he was cold as he was the type of man who’s seen it all. Never bothered staying during dinner nor visiting to say HI to me. He was just there, he kept mostly for himself whenever he sees me. But at the end of every occasion, there my presents would show up. Be it under THE Tree, or beneath my pillow. It was all a boy like me could ever dream of. A box of Fox candies, puzzles of various kinds such as portraits & chains, and most especially the coolest battery-powered car a kid could ever afford. It was almost every year when I would receive them, until this year.
Because this year, my uncle Augustus suddenly passed away…
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July 04, 2022
Before I tell you what happened on that faithful day after my uncle Augustus’ passing, I would like to let you know about me and my country.
I’m a college undergrad, living in existence for 25 years. Always struggled for a job and had a struggle with on & off addiction on cigarettes. I was never the bright kid but I was however named after my great grandfather who was known to have influence over a shipping company. The time before Amazon set sail. He was at the time, an admiral for this shipping company and all his life he has saved his fortune investing on various kinds of businesses. throughout the world. A time has come for him to settle and chose the Philippines as there he found a family. Settling down, he bought a land and provided jobs for the natives there during the early 1900’s. Now, being the one bears the name, I was adored by my family by default. As I grew up, I was taught that the family name that I carry was something special, that I myself, is almost considered as royalty.
It was an exaggeration no matter how I think about it now. Kids grew up and learn how the world can be sometimes cold and unforgiving.
A heck a lot of things happened and I’m here as a full-blown adult. I can’t say I’m living the dream but I’m trying to. Working 6-9 on the clock, 6 days a week will completely change you however important you thought you were in the past. Can say Amen to that.
I have been always a fan of the deep, dark & mysterious. But never been excited to tell the horrors that I lived through.
From the mysterious mountains I’ve traveled during my early years, to the dark forests I’ve navigated through my adult years. The Philippines is quite the place for the supernatural if you ask me. Instead of skin walkers here you get Kapre or “Giant Humanoids” that likes to smoke cigars on trees. It may sound like it came from a hippy but trust me, based from our history with slavery, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are things that manifested during the 300 years of colonization from the Spaniards.
It was cruel irony and we strongly believed as Catholics, that the devil’s spawns breeds in this very country.
I was a kid when I first experienced it. I never attended my Uncle Augustus’ funeral when he died. One time on November 1st, my family went to the cemetery in the afternoon with the intention of offering up prayers and lighting up some candles. There was my mom and me. My dad couldn’t make it since he was working outside the country.
Instead of Halloween, here we get to visit our loved ones on Grave Care! Only in the Philippines.
My mother had to leave and left me alone for a time. She told me to light up a candle for my uncle’s tomb, As she went off the store, I stumbled upon a plethora of tombs being top of each other but in a disorganized or disproportionate manner. Our cemetery ran out of space so people started building Graves on top of the other. God I even saw a grave that’s been littered with trash. Talked about respecting the dead and sanitation. But this is just a walk in the park for me, I never knew how ‘normal’ was back then.
A 10 year old version of myself alone late into the afternoon.
I never knew fear of being left behind so I was pretty much in the same good mood.I never got anxious or anything about being alone, I just appreciated the serenity or solemness of the place . I never had a 6th sense nor I was taught stranger danger. I don’t know. It’s a small town where everybody knows everybody.
I was trying to light up a pretty thick candle which was colored dark green. It wasn’t my first ime lighting a candle but on that moment, the match wouldn’t lit up.
It wasn’t the wind because there was no wind that day.
It wasn’t that the match either because it wasn’t wet, actually it was still brand new. After a dozen tries without even picking up the slightest clue of what’s going on, eventually the wind pick up and finally I set the match stick on fire. For once in my life I’ve never felt relieved but there was no time to dawdle as the flame on the match began to dwindle, I needed to hurry up. Eventually the candle lit.
Beginning from a small kindle, slowly but surely it light up into a flame. But the wind began to blow so strong that the flame on the candle danced around so violently it started to die out. Placing both of my palm around the candle, handled with care, caressing the flame while it flickers ever so slowingly, I suddenly hear a voice.
It was so familiar as if
It sounded like my dad.
-“Louie”
the voice said sweetly and ever so softly.
-“Louie”
the voice said repeatedly. This time it was louder.
I tried to looked back, wondering who was calling me. As I wonder around, there was no one there but only me along with the Graves that are still and quiet as they should be.
But when I looked above..
There I realized where the voice was coming from.
-“Louuuieeee”
Stretching out my name, the voice yelled in excitement.
There I saw.. in that moment when I looked up made my heart sank.
It was empty. The sky was empty, the clouds were gray, it was the the middle of the day for God’s sake!
Except for that voice. It doesn’t choose night/day. It just there, it’s just IS.
I don’t know where it’s coming from, I don’t t see the man who’s supposed to be right beside me who’s supposed to be saying that.
Then all of the sudden it stopped.
A moment of silence.
I was holding my breath for a while
And just when I was about to let out a huge exhale-
The voice ever so closer blew a whisper in my right ear.
-“Louie? It’s Santa”
I just ran. My heart was beating so fast I was sure it was about to explode.
The voice kept calling me louder and louder, I ran as far as wherever my feet would lead me to. I called my mom of bloody murder. I ran and ran as fast as I could far far away from that voice until I finally I saw a figure into the horizon. It’s mom.
She already bought some groceries and was already heading back for me when she heard me scream for dear life. She thought that I was being molested or being murdered on the spot. She ran towards me as fast as she could, there was no one saying how fast, but the instant that she saw me crying and unharmed she knew, I was safe. Relief washes over her face as it was filled of horror just seconds earlier. Shaken and afraid from what happened, I relied on her side. I poured every ounce of my strength to keep her very close to me.
I embraced her tightly with my sma little arms aaI buried my face into her shirt and let it all out.
At that moment,
There was just me and her.
We stood there for a while.
On the way home, I never spoke anything to her. She didn’t asked anything. She might be aware of what happened but I could never be sure.
Back at home, I was still thinking about that voice. I couldn’t just brush it off nor I even had the power to do so.
(The human brain just tend to focus on the unpleasant experiences and whenever it can. Even if we don’t even want it to) .
I was spacing out. No matter how I think about it
I just couldn’t understand or explain it. It was beyond me for what had happened.
Even to this day, I never knew why was that voice was calling me. Maybe he just misses me, I don’t know.
But all I know is that, my uncle Augustus.. from what my parents told me after the incident, I was his favorite nephew. All through out my childhood. I’ve always get presents from him and I’d always get my presents on my birthdays and especially on Christmas. It was strange.
I never saw him interact with my parents nor me. But Just now, I realized that he maybe the one who’s secretly sending me presents.
But who knows why he does what he does. Even in Death I never got to know him better.
One thing is for certain.
Thank you for making my childhood memorable. The toys didn’t make up for the time we could’ve spend together but the toys that you gave me are all I have in memory of you. Once again, Thank you, with all my heart.
You will be forever missed, but never forgotten.
Your loving nephew
-Louie
*Fin*