SLEEP ON IT: Petrichor

PETRICHOR is the earthly fragrance emitted by dry soil when rain falls on it! How can I ever forget this special word for I first saw this in one of the write ups of my eldest boy whom I lost December 1, 2022!

According to an old folk whom I cannot recall who exactly, that once there is this smell of petrichor, it is a must to cover one’s nose as the scent does some harm to the system like growing parasites in the stomach! Since I fail to research on the scientific sense of this belief, please feel free to fill in the gap in my memory!

Growing up with my maternal grandmother was all heavenly to me as I was an apple of someone’s eyes for once! Haha! Like rain taken as positive, the shower of love poured in for wherever grandma was tail-like, people saw me especially as I was wearing the same dress as lola did! If she was invited by her sister to man her house in Manila or her offsprings asked her to stay with them there or in Baguio, I, too were there to accompany her! The analogy of which is whether you like the scent or not, my presence or not, you have to live with it!

My maternal grandfather died when I was just three years old. He was an epitome of generosity and of love. All I can remember were the stories grandma told me like when my mother would pick me up to stay in our house in Ma-ao Barrio, but I had to call grandpa to pick me up and to bring me ice cream which he did as soon as possible! When grandpa died, I wailed hard enough for I wanted to join him when his casket was being lowered down in his final resting place. The analogy of which was no matter how love is showered to us and no matter how young or old a person is, his petchicor comes when death opens its doors to him while to the person left behind is the scent of grief that pierces endlessly!

The innumerable unsympathetic retort of the universe to my existence was the bombardment of adversities which sharpened me to retaliate with the will to outwit such mischance on hand!

At a month old, I survived a car accident, yet my eyes suffered causing both not to agree with each other, hence, strabismic, I became. Seeing my face on the page of a yearbook when I graduated Kinder II, my spirit remains grief stricken up to this day! Monster-like the appearance on that page is like a ghost that haunts and a humiliation which rifts the soul! Such a scent compelling to forget!

Marrying young had its many downs than ups especially when one of the parties is indulged in so many desires and wants and cannot live without them! Peer groups with their spouses who are also carefree become the petrichor of the party whose aim is to better the welfare of the family than being out there gallivanting with the wiles of the selfish existence! When opposites attract there should be a balance scale that the two parties must meet to be in harmony. If friendship was not developed between the two, however, the clash stays as a constant grinder of peace! The pungent irritating scent of life and of living may create havoc if love is not the strong foundation!

One quote from my high school Spanish class with the late Fr. Vicente Montinola who was the director of OLPA then, was, ‘No hay rosas sin espinas’. Yes, the beauty of our existence does not guarantee perfection without the clinches of adversities!

Despite the downpour of unpleasant odor we call misfortune, let us rise above them with resilience as our shield!

SHALOM!*