It rained hard and long in Cebu the night Sendong came
to Mindanao to claim many things it didn't own. The wind
was heavy like a slap. In my condo's verandah, the rain
and wind reminded me of a similar night so many years
ago; the night Father drove me out of our house. That
night, in a waiting shed few blocks away, a stranger
offered his place upon learning what happened. As I
recall now, I've realized that I have already forgotten
his name and his face. Although I can still make out the
form of his lips and Superman shoulders. My body,
however, remembers more clearly his walls.
They were like an embrace: warm and kind.