I was in church with my mother
The holy sacrifice of the Mass was not yet over
when I saw the people were in frantic whispers
I just wondered what was the matter.
With my mother we went home in a hurry
I sensed she was in deep worry
The statue of the infant Jesus she placed on the table
then gave me instructions, stay home and be careful.
Hurriedly she took the bus to the city
to pick up a younger sister from school
but reaching there, it was unusually quiet and empty
no teachers or children at all
My sister’s name was on the blackboard by the corridor
she was with the principal of the school.
Back home my parents were like their neighbors
On their faces I saw that sudden overpowering terror
Men were huddled here and there
Then I learned . . . the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
also Camp John Hay, Philippines, near the school
It was December eight, nineteen forty one
the grim start of the second world war
Thanks to the Almighty God, our family has survived
left us no wretched scar
just hazy memories.
~ Rita V Cruz
