A Deadly Episode!

July 24, 10 AM

July 24, 4 PM!

It started as a very hot Sunday when I took the first photographs Sunday morning. I took a break from supervising the activities around our busy, messy, noisy and dusty "still under renovation" Heaven and noticed something very different about the sky. I took a shot and previewed the shots and sighed when I realized I was not able to catch the hazy effect in the clouds that appear as if the clouds were blazing and melting under the heat. But then I figured I must have imagined it because when I looked back at the clouds, the formation and effects I saw earlier was gone.

By late afternoon, as I was about to water the plants for the second time I noticed dark rainy clouds approaching from the distance. I warned the construction workers to pack their stuff and leave early. The workers normally stay and eat in our house but they go home to their families in the weekends. However, they returned to work this Sunday to complete all the finishing work which Luchie expects to be done this week.

10 AM:

4 PM:

The skies darkened as the workers hurriedly left. The dogs howled beside me. Something is not right. I went out the house and saw this wide expanse of black rainy clouds enveloping the subdivision so I hurried back to the house. "Brace yourself for stormy winds!" I shouted to everyone but I have not completed the sentence because by then the rains started to pour in torrents followed by angry winds that seem to tear the whole house! The dogs howled like mad and I hurriedly ushered them to their house as I watched the scary winds helplessly, the lightning breaking everywhere in the dark skies, the roar of thunder making the dogs howl in fear, the rain slashed around the house and visibility turned to zero as I hurriedly secured windows and doors. In prayer I stood up in our covered driveway, hushed the winds to be still, my whispered prayers trying to calm the fear in my eyes and heart. . . .

The violent episode lasted a few minutes, we lost power but the skies cleared. We surveyed the surroundings after and checked the house and all the plants. Nothing seemed amiss except a whole mess of fallen leaves and trash all over the house and the streets . . . Later, the neighbors gathered and reported some deaths in the nearby subdivision due to "ipo-ipo" (tornado?!!)

I told Luchie that we have to brace for this type of weather now. The extreme heat and sudden rains and stormy winds are now upon us. July in my country is a rainy month although we have sunny weather lately. But the earth is changing and healing itself. And for us to cope with its natural but deadly process of revitalizing itself, we need to understand and find the means to survive and weather the process.

I know the deadly process that Sunday was over when the dogs suddenly calmed down and started cleaning their paws (a de-stressing sign since dogs can hear and feel calamities a mile away!)