Florecillas

A little more than a year ago, I lost one of the most valuable possessions I’ve had.

It all started 12 years ago. My dad, a watch addict, gave me a very classic and classy one as well for my highschool graduation. It was silver and gold. Although I’ve had colorful and different ones througout my life, somehow I became very much attached to it. This was MY watch. I wore it all the time. For 11 years. Of course I loved the way it looked, but mostly because my dad gave it to me.

I still remember that everytime I went to a spiritual retreat, they always asked me to think of the one thing that would be hard for me to give away, and it always was that watch. Whenever I thought I could have been robbed, I honestly prayed they would never take my watch away.

Last year, my parents went on one of my dad’s work trips to the country. By 7:30 am they were having breakfast in another city. Two hours later I tried to call them and of course it wasn’t strange that my mom didn’t pick up the phone, she rarelly doees; however my dad didn’t either, and that felt weird.

At that time, my sister was studying in another country, so I was alone at home chatting with her. An hour later, I got a phone call from an unknown number. I rarelly answer those, but somehow that day I did. It was my dad. His voice shivering and in a hurry. “Do not answer the phone, do not open the door to anyone, be very careful,” I was very scared. “We’ve been robbed, they took the car, your uncle is coming to pick us up; they took everything, even my personal documents, be careful.” My heart stopped.

The wait to see them took forever. They had been tied up and bound face down in some kind of downhill for over two hours. They thought they were going to be killed. In the afternoon when I got to see them again….I will never forget that sight. My parents, all dirty, their clothes ripped from the bushes, hands and feet scarred with blood as well. Their faces with a look, scarred forever, shivering still. “We thought we were never going to see you again”, they said to me. But God’s mercy is great and His plan for my parents was not over yet.

On that trip, my mom had in her purse the watch my dad gave me, the battery was dead and she was going to replace it. The watch went with the assault.

Around a year ago, I lost one of my most loved possessions. The watch my dad gave me for my highschool graduation. However, thanks to God and our Holy Mother, I got to keep my most dear and loved possessions, my parents.