Madonna della Seggiola (II)

 Part 1 | Part 2

“Mom, ano ba kasi talaga ang nangyari?” I asked, as I pull a chair to sit beside her and hold her hand.

“Ganito kasi, anak…”

  

***

She was about to leave, and visit us at our boarding house. When she went out to check the weather is outside, she saw a pile of trash bags near the gate. Being the OC that she is, she immediately took the trash bags to hang it on a dead tree. That particular dead tree is where people along the block hang their trash bags, so that stray dogs and stray cats won’t mess it up.

When she was done, she went back and her first step changed how the day would turn.

“Hindi ko naman alam na mababaw ang pagkakalubog nung batong naapakan ko,” she recounted. She’s put all her weight on a piece of rock, on that first step. Apparently, that piece of rock unearthed and she fell; face first.

“Ok naman ako eh; nagpagpag pa ako ng sarili ko,” she said. She was ok, but not until she saw trinklets of blood on the floor. “Nagulat nga ako, may mga patak ng dugo. Wala namang sugat ang kamay ko, o yung ulo ko. Pero pag hawak ko sa bibig ko, yun na. Dumudugo pala yung bibig ko.”

She cried for help. But it was during that time when everyone is having a rest. It was siesta time. She had difficulty standing up. It was then, that she realized that part of left shoulder aches, and so do her legs and her toes. She crawled her way until she was able to take a grip of the gate. She tried to pull herself up.

“Nung nakapasok ako sa loob ng bahay, medyo iika-ika pero atleast nakakalakad. I made an icepack, tapos pinatong ko sa bibig ko to stop the bleeding.”

“Buti nakapasok kayo sa loob ng bahay, mom,” I said while looking at her wounds.

“Oo nga eh. Nung medyo ok na ako, dun ko tinawagan si Louie na sunduin ako,” said Mom. Then, I thought, so that explains why Louie was in such a hurry and didn’t give out too many details. Maybe he is yet to find out until he was able to get to where mom is.

I examined mom. Her lips were swollen and so were her gums, especially the upper gum. She told me her front teeth felt a bit loose. The bridge of her nose was bruised, maybe because of her glasses and the impact of the fall. Her left cheek was bruised. “Anong nangyari dyan?” I asked. Then she showed me what happened to her glasses, “Eto nga’t nasira oh.”

Her right thumb was swollen; like blackish violet-ish swollen. The toes on her left foot were swollen. She has bruises on both legs. She’s complaining of shoulder pain too.

“Teka, mom, gamutin ko ah,” I said, as I gathered the creams and ointments that I could find in the medicine kit.

“Mom, eto yung ointment na ni-recommend ni tita. Effective ‘to diba?”

“Oo, anak, effective yan..”

I put ointment on my ring finger and gently applied to those bruises on her face. (They say that the ring finger has the weakest pressure)

“Masakit ba mom? Sabihin mo kung masakit ah..”

“Hindi naman..”

“Eto, masakit?”

“Hindi,” she said. But I saw her eyes squint as I applied ointment on her cheek.

“Dito, masakit?”

“Hindi,” another lie. I saw a teardrop. Maybe that part of her face really hurts. I wanted to cry.

“Mom, sabihin mo kasi kung masakit!”

“Ayos lang, Nate, anak… Sige lang lagyan mo lang ng ointment..”

I could crumble anytime. It just pains me that I wasn’t there when it happened; that I wasn’t there to help her.

There were a lot of what-ifs running through my head. What if she passed out during her fall? It was siesta time, and no one would’ve noticed her lying there. What if the injuries are greater than what they look like? What if she hit her head? What if she was fractured?

After putting ointment on her face, my brother’s helped her to get to bed. When she’s settled, I tucked her in.

“Tulog ka na, mom. Magpahinga ka na. Louie will take you to the hospital first thing in the morning. We have to have you checked, just to make sure.”

“Sige, salamat anak.”

“You’re welcome, mom. Good night,” I said, after kissing her on her forehead.

“I love you, mom.”

“I love you too, anak.”

 

***

  Raphael's Madonnadella Seggiola (Sedia), also known as Madonna of the Chair, is one of Raphael's most intimate Madonna paintings. The 1514 image of Italian Renaissance master Raphael's Madonna is bathed in a warm, golden light. Raphael's Madonna engages the viewer directly as she sits closely confined within the circular tondo format affectionately and protectively cuddling her young son, the infant Christ Child.

***

What Raphael’s painting depicts, ring true to how mothers really are. They are protective, yet caring and nurturing at the same time; it’s in their nature.

But there will come a time when it’s the child’s turn to protect and care for his/ her Madonna (mother). It’s a way of giving back. It’s a way of paying homage to the woman who brought you in this earth, and took care of you when you were young until you grow up to be able to take care of yourself.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner.

It’s never too late to show her, tell her, and make her feel that you love her.