A Pre-Birthday Thanksgiving

Yesterday I woke up on a really cold morning. It’s not raining that heavy yet, just prolly like a little drizzle, but still the coldness I felt was really bone-seeping. Since I don’t have scheduled classes for Fridays this semester, I thought that I would be staying inside our house for the whole day. However, just when I’m getting comfortable hugging my pillow, my mother announces that we’ll be going to Sto. Niño because she didn’t want us to get caught with the rerouting that’ll happen today.

If we don’t visit that day, we will really be forced to make do with the rerouting and walk our way towards the nearest vehicle stop. And the nearest was nowhere near, and since we don’t want to experience the hassle and also the possible danger in mingling with a large crowd, we hastily decided to have the thanksgiving visit on Friday, rather than on my actual birthday.

Fast forward, after hours of prepping and riding public transpo, we were able to finally arrive at the Basilica at noon. There was mass ongoing at that time, but we decided not to attend to it because we had already arrived past the homily. We were already on our way to dagkutanan—the place where we lit candles for our prayers—but my mother needed to use the comfort room first. That’s why even though the line was long, we endured it, and thankfully, after several minutes of waiting, we finally got our turn.

It was already raining when we arrived at the Basilica, but the rain seemed to get heavier when we got there. The dagkutanan was out in the open area; that’s why when we got there, we used our umbrella to shield not only us but also our candles from the heavy rain. Despite the heavy rain, we weren’t alone there because there were several people lighting their candles and praying silently.

The rain became fiercer when it was almost 1:00 in the afternoon. Supposedly, we wanted to attend the next mass, but when we saw it’s still scheduled for 2:30, we decided not to. Finding a ride home beyond 2:00 is really hard, and we knew that because we already experienced that from our previous yearly visits in Sto. Niño.

Since it’s already past 1:00 in the afternoon and we still haven’t taken our lunch yet, we stopped over for a while to eat. I wasn’t able to take a pic of what we ate because I was beyond starving at that time. It’s way past 1:00 when we finished eating, and after that we hastened our way towards the bus stop. I badly wanted to explore the city, yet it’s raining really hard, and even with our umbrellas, I’m quite soaked because of the sudden harsh winds. Cold weather does always really dampen my mood; that’s why I just stick with my mother’s decision to go home right away.

Even though it’s still not 2:00 P.M. that time, it already took almost half an hour for us to get into public transpo. It seemed every vehicle was full, and there was not one where we could sit comfortably. That’s why in the end, we opted for a really packed white bus. It was definitely full of passengers—like even its aisle and doorway were fully occupied with standing passengers. We stood for almost an hour until we finally got the chance to sit in between the tiny available spaces.

Supposedly our stop was streets away, but we decided to move out before it because we need to buy my medicine and also my brother’s vitamins. I was totally exhausted when we arrived at the motorcycle stop, and sadly, it was still raining at that time. I kinda feel down because I initially wanted my Sto. Niño's visit to be packed and fulfilling. It’s not often I visit the city because we’re living in the southern part, which is quite far from it. Plus the fare was pricier than usual, so most of the time I make the most out of those visits.

Perhaps this is the first time I’m not quite satisfied with it, or it’s just the weather messing up with my mood. With all the disappointments aside, I’m glad I was able to do my yearly pre-birthday Sto. Niño visit because even though I haven’t got much fun out of it, as long as I was able to express my gratitude for another year of my existence—I guess that’s fine, for now.

Anyway, I know there are a lot of Cebuanos here, so I’m curious if you already visit Sto. Niño this week? Or will you brave the rerouting and crowd on the actual feast day, tomorrow? Well, that’s it for now, and I hope you somehow enjoy reading my sharing, and if you have something to share, feel free to comment it below.

Prititittt 💃