The Fragrance of a Rose

Beep…

My message tone sounded. I tried to catch my cell phone out of the dark. I opened my eyes and saw a glimpse of light coming from the backlights of my phone. I reached it and read the message. It says,
Please pray for the soul of Rosalinda Rosal. She passed away at 2:30 this morning.

I looked at the clock from my phone. I was 4:00 a.m. I closed my eyes again to sleep because the message did not register in my mind.

Six o clock in the morning when my alarm clock made noise. I was awakened by David Cook’s Always be my Baby. I fixed myself for the morning job. It was past seven in the morning when I finally left the dorm and took a ride to the workplace.

While sitting on the jeepney, my attention was caught by the design of a rose pendant hanging down the neckline of a young lady passenger on the other side. What a beautiful design! A symbol of purity, fragrance, beauty and life full of mixed emotions: the ROSE – a beautiful flower. It symbolizes womanhood too. It reminds me of how beautiful life is because of its naturally perfected petal architecture. It reminds of how fragrant life is because of the fumes it shares. It reminds me of the purity of one soul because of its finest feature. It reminds me of how difficult life could be because of its thorns. It reminds me too of a woman named after the flower – Rosalinda Rosal. Her smile, her happy face, her voluptuous body, her fashion, her very own trend, her “kikay” talks, her wit, her proudness, her music and her … death? Ahhhh … her DEATH!

I suddenly remembered the text message I received 4:00 a.m. this morning. I opened my cell phone and read the message again. And this time it was confirmed because two text messages read the same content. The first message was received 4 o’clock in the morning; the second message was received 7:00. They came from two different senders.

At that moment, few lines from this woman flashed on my mind. Two weeks ago, I got a chance to talk to her. She was sitting uncomfortably on a rocking chair. The respirator lies on her nose. Obviously, she felt very hard in breathing. But she still managed to smile and tell me the words:
“If God wanted to take my life, I will let Him. But one thing I’ll ask from him is take my life in a peaceful manner. I just wanted to sleep and die. No more struggle, no more pain.”

I was almost crying at that time but I hold my tears. Then I ask my self: “Why will I cry for the death of a person? Death, I should define is an end of one chapter in a person’s life. But the journey of existence do not end there.” I may not be a good Christian but I believe in heaven and hell. Death is also an escape from the present life to an eternity. It is the split up between the sinful body and the pure soul.

My mental flashback stopped for a while when the jeepney did a sudden deceleration. That causes all the passengers to lean forward. A young lad bumped unto my shoulders. I looked at him and told him: “Have a strong grip on the steel handle, boy. Hold on to your position not to stumble.”

Then I saw a different face from within the lad, he is transforming into the face of Rosalinda Rosal. And her memories got back into my mind.

“Hold on!” Her mother told her crying. “Fight death, for you are still young to die.”
Yes, Rosalinda Rosal was only 43. So young that death should not come yet. Then she told her mother with a smile:
“Mang (mother), I wanted to die to set you free from the agony of taking care of me. I am supposed to take good care of you!”

Her mother would just shrug her shoulders and give her a bitter smile. And some teardrops would fall down her eyes. Rosalinda Rosal was right. The whole family has been sacrificing for her since four years ago. She diagnosed of having colon cancer in 2004. Then she had her first major operation in the same year. It was declared successful. Though there were many doubts of having the illness back, the strong woman continued to live a normal life. And she’s happy to take good care of her two sons. After three years the illness came back. And this time not on the intestines but it affects her lungs and other respiratory organs.

She underwent several chemotherapies; she even once considered a patient-tester for a brand of cancer medicine. But it did not last long, when her doctor announced, there is no way for her to get over the malignant illness.

But despite of that, she still continued to share her fragrance, beauty, smile and most of all her virtue.

During her battle with the illness, she fulfilled many things. She made a marriage with the man who is her long time live-in partner. It was her dream to be married. She bridged the gap between her families conflicts. She made a very beautiful inspiration to Gabriel.

Ahhh… Gabriel, the son of her son. Her first grandchild. She may lost her soul but one came.
The petals of Rosalinda Rosal fell down, and her thorns no longer strong, her colors faded along with her wonderful scent. She may be gone but her memories remain into the hearts of the people who loved her very much…

Then I let the jeepney stopped for my workplace is already on site. Then I go down and I saw a white rose on the stairway up the building where we used to work together. The scent of the white rose is the fragrance of Rosalinda Rosal.