The leaves of the avocado tree rustled softly as the chilly wind blew on that cold December night. Just a stone throw away, silhouetted against the light of the full moon stood a native house with roof made of weaved nipa leaves and bamboo slabs for walls modernized for comfort. In a distance, a hushed blast of a bamboo canon was heard adding to the joyful sound of the carolers whose singing were muted occasionally by the shrill sound of the passing motor vehicles. The singing of the cicadas from the trees behind the native house added to the cacophony of sounds evoking festivity to the hearers of this early December night.

Inside the house, the atmosphere was foreboding and eerie, a direct contrast to the festive air outside. Three figures cried softly as they gathered before the fragile-looking woman whose frailty was well defined by her emaciated body defeated by a four-year struggle against heart disease. With eyes dimmed, her bony hands reached out to grasp the glass of water handed by her sister to quench her thirst but missed. Her sister sang her requested song without a hint of raw emotion yet tears freely flowed from her cheeks. One of her daughters was kneeling before her, applying a therapeutic massage to her already pale aching limbs while the other daughter laid her head on the crook of her arms. Between the sporadic breathing of their dying mother, their teary eyes locked in recognition of an impending death knowing that this precious moment will be their last together. Seconds turn to minutes, minutes to hours...... until in the stillness of the dawn, where only the tickling of the wall clock and the singing of the cicadas remained to be heard, the sick woman summoned all her strength calling the attention of her sister and daughters. Bidding goodbye to her love ones, she took the final gulp of air, bowed her head and breathe her last.

They all wailed in agony as they witnessed her demise. Her sister cried unashamedly now without reservation while calling her name. The voice that sang beautifully a while ago trembled with emotion and her proud shoulders sagged in resignation. With so many tears flowing from their eyes, the daughters hugged and kissed their dead mother goodbye and laid her down to rest.