(short for a novel...long for a blog...inspired by true life instances)
Sonia lives in a town almost adjacent to the big and busy city of Manila. At 39, she remained single, working in a Provincial Hospital as an Accounting staff for almost half her life. She was hired initially by the same hospital as an accounting clerk; she got the job, her first, when her mother, then a government employee working at the Municipal Hall accidentally bumped into an old friend who worked at this same hospital as a manager of one department. Had it not been a referral, she would still be buying at least two nationally circulated newspapers every Sunday and endlessly mailing out her resumes to companies who would prefer graduates from prestigious universities than take a chance on her, a product of a local college. She never knew how it is to work for other companies; she knows nothing about other industries as she is so afraid to leave the comfort of her known world and mastered routine at the hospital. To her, why waste time looking for another job when there are a lot of college graduates in the area who are more competitive than her but cannot land a job. After all, she is thirty nine and in her country, employers preferred younger people who can put in more energy and time to the job, despite being passed out for promotions twice because her boss thought she couldn’t handle bigger responsibilities, Sonia decided she will stick it out with this hospital, the only place she imagined herself working for the duration of her career. There she goes, nineteen years, with just two records of absences and no tardiness, working quietly and without complains in her little station.
Sonia keeps a small circle of friend, most of them she had known for years, co- workers basically. Her being with a sick and aging mother, her father passed away when she was still sixteen, won’t allow her free time to do much after the regular eight hour work at the hospital. Her routine is generally work, home, and church, with little extras like showbiz magazines, movies with her mother, going to market, cooking and gardening. Sonia had a friend in High school, Tony, whom she secretly adored, although they were really close, sharing secrets, problems, food, books, and neighbors at that, their relationship remained purely platonic, at least to Tony.
Tony’s family moved to New Jersey right after he finished High School. To Sonia, the day Tony left is like the whole world turned black on her. To make matters worst, Sonia’s father passed away of a stroke a year after Tony left. Five years later, Sonia heard from another neighbor that Tony married another batch mate in High School, the one whose family moved to New Jersey too a year after Tony’s family did.
Sonia’s life without Tony and her father evolved with College and her mother. Although she didn’t get excellent grades in school, perhaps because she is naturally timid, she usually gets high scores in written examination and despite being unpopular and the least teacher’s favorite, Sonia did very well in most of her subjects. She was a diligent student, and could have won a lot of awards in Accounting if she didn’t shy-out of competition. She knows this, as the quizzes and contests were mostly held in the open and she knew the right answers to most, if not all of the questions. When she finally got her degree in Accounting, Sonia didn’t even bother to ask her mother is she will be going to the CPA Review classes in Manila. She thought to herself they don’t have the financial resources to pay for the tuition or the everyday allowances as a commuter, and her lack of spirit made her think that she will end up failing the examination anyways. She heard of a couple of honor students who failed in the past and she wouldn’t want to take a chance. Her mother after all, is preoccupied with paying old debts they had incurred when her father was sick, and later the internment expenses. These, plus the monthly payment to the bank for their small house and lot which for many years, they could hardly make up to pay the principal, but made just enough payment for the interest, to keep the property from being repossessed, is too much a worry for a widowed public servant.
On her tenth year of working at the hospital, Sonia’s mother retired from work due to a weak heart and other symptoms of aging. For all those years until the present, her nineteenth year of working, Sonia took care of all the expenses at home and for the maintenance medicines of her mother. Despite the increasing cost of commodities and her meager salary in the hospital, she still managed to keep a few hundred each month in her savings account which was opened by her parents when she was just ten.
Her routine continued and every afternoon before going home, she would pass by the city market to buy food or to look for little something that would interest her, like a new hairclip or a new pair of sandals for example. And when she got what she wanted, she would always pass by this little magazine store to check out the latest showbiz magazines, and finally to buy a lottery ticket, which she always does three times a week whenever the jackpot reaches more than ten million pesos. She thought, if she could only win the jackpot, she can pay all their debts and finally claim the title to their modest house and lot. The property is very dear to her parents, and she cherished it too. Infact their house is the envy of the neighborhood because of its lovely flower and vegetable garden. The front path leading to the door is uniformly fenced with green fern plants, and the entire front yard sprinkled with Cosmos and variegated roses. The back yard is filled with plots of tomatoes, egg plants, patani, with alternating vines of upo and ampalaya. The garden kept her mother busy and going. Both her parents have green thumbs, and Sonia inherited it from them. Sonia may not be as attractive, but she is not also ugly, she’s got light brown complexion with black eyes and wears her straight black hair long. She’s the type of person who won’t get a second look but she’s got the sweetest smile and her eyes twinkles whenever she smiles. Sonia like her loving parents, were religious people and would never miss a mass except when they are really sick to catch that jeepney ride to church. She prays, at least three times a day, and every Wednesday she would recite the Novena to the Mother of Perpetual Help. It’s not important what she prays for, good hearted as she is the merciful Lord listens to her.
One afternoon, on her way home, she picked up the daily newspaper and read the portion of the lottery, her heart trembles as she saw the numbers familiar. “It couldn’t be! It couldn’t be! But it looked like…” she said to herself. Sonia didn’t even remember how she got to the jeepney and finally reached home. She just removed her shoes, threw her bag and went straight to her room to check the newspaper and her lotto ticket. She trembles and her heart pounds fast when she confirmed she won the first prize, forty five million, all in all. She was already in tears when she approached to tell her mother about the winnings. They both ended up in tears…
Sonia and her mother wanted to keep the winning a secret, they tried and although the news said the winner came from their place, the neighbors couldn’t really point out who won because they, being naturally quiet and simple, continued living their normal lives. They paid the debts and the loan to the property. They can go wherever they want or do whatever they want but they lived, just like before. Sonia still works at the hospital, and still buys her favorite showbiz magazine and lotto tickets on her way home.
A month later, Sonia’s new department manager, called her into the Manager’s office and informed her that she was promoted as Accounting Supervisor with a corresponding thirty percent increase in her current pay. She couldn’t believe what she just heard, and can’t help but cry at this very good news. Still overwhelmed with the recent developments in her career, she passed by the magazine store and bought lottery tickets. The following morning, she was escorted to her new work station, it is actually a bigger and fancier table than what she had for the past years and she was so delighted to see a congratulatory banner and some balloons from her coworkers who were so happy for her promotion. They arranged for a lunch celebration for her that day. Sonia was about to go back to her desk when her attention was caught by the newspaper sitting on top of her coworker’s desk. Eyes on the winning numbers…she whispered “it can’t be! it can’t be!”
Sonia won the first prize again, this time it is smaller than her previous winnings but still millions, twelve million after taxes. The story of Sonia’s life would go and on…and by the ways, Tony returned, now a widower without any children, looking for Sonia. He confessed that he loved her since they were in High School but was so afraid to tell her because of fear of losing her friendship. They have an altar date schedule already.
Sonia keeps a small circle of friend, most of them she had known for years, co- workers basically. Her being with a sick and aging mother, her father passed away when she was still sixteen, won’t allow her free time to do much after the regular eight hour work at the hospital. Her routine is generally work, home, and church, with little extras like showbiz magazines, movies with her mother, going to market, cooking and gardening. Sonia had a friend in High school, Tony, whom she secretly adored, although they were really close, sharing secrets, problems, food, books, and neighbors at that, their relationship remained purely platonic, at least to Tony.
Tony’s family moved to New Jersey right after he finished High School. To Sonia, the day Tony left is like the whole world turned black on her. To make matters worst, Sonia’s father passed away of a stroke a year after Tony left. Five years later, Sonia heard from another neighbor that Tony married another batch mate in High School, the one whose family moved to New Jersey too a year after Tony’s family did.
Sonia’s life without Tony and her father evolved with College and her mother. Although she didn’t get excellent grades in school, perhaps because she is naturally timid, she usually gets high scores in written examination and despite being unpopular and the least teacher’s favorite, Sonia did very well in most of her subjects. She was a diligent student, and could have won a lot of awards in Accounting if she didn’t shy-out of competition. She knows this, as the quizzes and contests were mostly held in the open and she knew the right answers to most, if not all of the questions. When she finally got her degree in Accounting, Sonia didn’t even bother to ask her mother is she will be going to the CPA Review classes in Manila. She thought to herself they don’t have the financial resources to pay for the tuition or the everyday allowances as a commuter, and her lack of spirit made her think that she will end up failing the examination anyways. She heard of a couple of honor students who failed in the past and she wouldn’t want to take a chance. Her mother after all, is preoccupied with paying old debts they had incurred when her father was sick, and later the internment expenses. These, plus the monthly payment to the bank for their small house and lot which for many years, they could hardly make up to pay the principal, but made just enough payment for the interest, to keep the property from being repossessed, is too much a worry for a widowed public servant.
On her tenth year of working at the hospital, Sonia’s mother retired from work due to a weak heart and other symptoms of aging. For all those years until the present, her nineteenth year of working, Sonia took care of all the expenses at home and for the maintenance medicines of her mother. Despite the increasing cost of commodities and her meager salary in the hospital, she still managed to keep a few hundred each month in her savings account which was opened by her parents when she was just ten.
Her routine continued and every afternoon before going home, she would pass by the city market to buy food or to look for little something that would interest her, like a new hairclip or a new pair of sandals for example. And when she got what she wanted, she would always pass by this little magazine store to check out the latest showbiz magazines, and finally to buy a lottery ticket, which she always does three times a week whenever the jackpot reaches more than ten million pesos. She thought, if she could only win the jackpot, she can pay all their debts and finally claim the title to their modest house and lot. The property is very dear to her parents, and she cherished it too. Infact their house is the envy of the neighborhood because of its lovely flower and vegetable garden. The front path leading to the door is uniformly fenced with green fern plants, and the entire front yard sprinkled with Cosmos and variegated roses. The back yard is filled with plots of tomatoes, egg plants, patani, with alternating vines of upo and ampalaya. The garden kept her mother busy and going. Both her parents have green thumbs, and Sonia inherited it from them. Sonia may not be as attractive, but she is not also ugly, she’s got light brown complexion with black eyes and wears her straight black hair long. She’s the type of person who won’t get a second look but she’s got the sweetest smile and her eyes twinkles whenever she smiles. Sonia like her loving parents, were religious people and would never miss a mass except when they are really sick to catch that jeepney ride to church. She prays, at least three times a day, and every Wednesday she would recite the Novena to the Mother of Perpetual Help. It’s not important what she prays for, good hearted as she is the merciful Lord listens to her.
One afternoon, on her way home, she picked up the daily newspaper and read the portion of the lottery, her heart trembles as she saw the numbers familiar. “It couldn’t be! It couldn’t be! But it looked like…” she said to herself. Sonia didn’t even remember how she got to the jeepney and finally reached home. She just removed her shoes, threw her bag and went straight to her room to check the newspaper and her lotto ticket. She trembles and her heart pounds fast when she confirmed she won the first prize, forty five million, all in all. She was already in tears when she approached to tell her mother about the winnings. They both ended up in tears…
Sonia and her mother wanted to keep the winning a secret, they tried and although the news said the winner came from their place, the neighbors couldn’t really point out who won because they, being naturally quiet and simple, continued living their normal lives. They paid the debts and the loan to the property. They can go wherever they want or do whatever they want but they lived, just like before. Sonia still works at the hospital, and still buys her favorite showbiz magazine and lotto tickets on her way home.
A month later, Sonia’s new department manager, called her into the Manager’s office and informed her that she was promoted as Accounting Supervisor with a corresponding thirty percent increase in her current pay. She couldn’t believe what she just heard, and can’t help but cry at this very good news. Still overwhelmed with the recent developments in her career, she passed by the magazine store and bought lottery tickets. The following morning, she was escorted to her new work station, it is actually a bigger and fancier table than what she had for the past years and she was so delighted to see a congratulatory banner and some balloons from her coworkers who were so happy for her promotion. They arranged for a lunch celebration for her that day. Sonia was about to go back to her desk when her attention was caught by the newspaper sitting on top of her coworker’s desk. Eyes on the winning numbers…she whispered “it can’t be! it can’t be!”
Sonia won the first prize again, this time it is smaller than her previous winnings but still millions, twelve million after taxes. The story of Sonia’s life would go and on…and by the ways, Tony returned, now a widower without any children, looking for Sonia. He confessed that he loved her since they were in High School but was so afraid to tell her because of fear of losing her friendship. They have an altar date schedule already.
It’s hard to detect good luck – it looks so much like something you’ve earned.
Frank A. Clark
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