The Day The Flood Determined Our Fate
Barely two months have passed since that incident of massive flooding that brought Metro Manila to a standstill. People have just begun the long process of settling back to some semblance of their life prior to the flood. Where once thoughts of gloom and despair abound, it was now time for healing.
One hard-hit place is Marikina city. Seated on a valley where a river runs through, it was once the premiere shoe producer of the Philippines. Over time it would also become one of the country’s cleanest and greenest cities.
Touring this place, one realizes that he need not go far to see places of interest. For one, there’s the River Park, its banks lined with many fascinating edifices and concrete sculptures. Not too far off is the Shoe Museum, home to the infamous Imelda Marcos shoe collection. The city also boasts of a Doll Museum with dolls coming from different nations of the world. There’s also a Butterfly Farm which is a leisurely 20 minute drive from the city center.
One of the recently established attractions, located in a busy intersection at the heart of the city, is a peculiarly designed wall that houses chimes of different sizes. Each hour, these bells would play native tunes, all in perfect harmony. Complementing this structure is a fountain where residents of all size and age tend to hang out to enjoy the cool mist and lovely melody. On occasions I would take a walk and observe people as they lolled about. Whats typical is seeing young people running around, and elderly citizens engrossed in their thoughts while lounging the time away.
And the flood came. Rich, poor, young, old, male, female, Christian, Muslim, houses, buildings, stores, churches, schools, hospitals, and yes even the proud attractions all bore the brunt of the massive flooding, quieting the proud hearts of Marikes; silencing even the Fountain Chimes. It seems the flood waters are not particular about its victims.
The waters took a few days to subside, but left a considerable amount of mud upon its exit. It took weeks on end to complete the clean up job; though it took a while longer for the air of despair to melt away.
Forty three days have passed since that day, and there I was passing that landmark yet again. While crossing the street, a familiar clanging tune suddenly resounded. It was the sound of the Fountain Chimes, resurrected from the grave and back on-line. Seemingly, the air of gloom began to disperse. Even with a heavy laptop messenger bag in tow, my pace quickened a step as I noticed young boys monkeying around the fountain, while a graying haired person lolled about, probably with thoughts of retiring, or how to source out a retiring income. I thought, ahh yes, back to normal.
Tags: Brunt, Butterfly Farm, Chimes, Churches Schools, Concrete Sculptures, Cool Mist, Doll Museum, Edifices, Elderly Citizens, flood, Flood Waters, Gloom, Heart Of The City, Imelda Marcos, Massive Flooding, Metro Manila, Perfect Harmony, Places Of Interest, Semblance, Shoe Collection, Shoe Museum, symbol, victims