The Story of Mika

Allow me to be the proverbial Granny Goose.

One Tuesday I had my due mani-and pedicure to be done at AdamDoor. The beautician that attended to me was Mika. I came in during the opening hour and so I was tended to promptly. It was customary for me to take a nap while I have procedures like this because then I will have to run to so many errands afterwards.

But this particular moment was meant for me to listen to someone’s heart and soul. Mika opened up first. “Mam, ilang taon ka na po?” To which I answered I’m 41. She was amazed that we’re of the same age but how she wished she looked fresher and younger like me. I won’t agree with the second adjective because people say I look older than my age. I am a career mom, after all. But I understood what Mika meant: she wished she looks less pitiable.

Then I asked her “Ilan ba ang anak mo?” To which she answered eight and chuckled. I exclaimed “Haaaa! Pero ang fit at trim mo at your age ha. Kakabilib.” I told her most women I know at forty with eight children are shapeless and a sorry-sight. She said “Kasi mam batak ako sa trabaho. Kailangang mabuhay walong anak eh” And my awe turned into greater respect. In the midst of buffing and coloring my nails, she started.

At age eighteen, Mika got pregnant with the first man of her life. They had two children and lived together happily at first. Because they were young, they ended up separated due to irreconcilable differences. At 22, she met a guy so kind and meek that he was so accepting of her two kids then and asked for her hand in marriage. They lived in joy together and she bore another two children. Her young spouse have a huge problem though: he was dying with a heart ailment. In their fifth year he suddenly said he doesn’t want to see her suffering much for him and so he begged that they leave him in peace with his parents. That’s how he loved her so much that he liked it best not to see her in anguish when he dies. Mika did not want it for she never minded taking care of him. But the man and his parents begged her and the children to please go.

Out of respect she left. When she was dying inside herself, she got stuck in her ancestral house in the boondocks. Then mystifying things happened. She was seeing a man but without a face who was wooing her and shows at her window every night. Then one day she found herself pregnant. Shocked as everyone was, Mika was the most shaken. Her pregnancy was paranormal as she claimed she cannot remember any time she had contact with someone. Then the baby scared her with its unusual movements she thought it was a monster. She did not think of abortion as an option and she simply gave birth. It was a life episode she cannot explain.

Her thirties came and she remarried with her latest beau. They had three children. All previous five had been half distributed by Mika’s parents and siblings. But the man was beating her and was having affairs explicitly and eventually, he left her. He was not giving financial support.

Now Mika strives for a living to support all her eight children. She felt no one was a curse and believes they’re all blessings. No matter how hard her life had been, she’s blissful that the children all love and respect her even half of them stay with grandparents and aunts. But on major vacations like sem break, summer and the Christmas holidays, they’re a tight pack in her tiny shack near AdamDoor. She has nothing to do with their fathers anymore but she’s got every breathe meant for their welfare.

This leaves me in wonder: why are mothers’ hearts so much bigger than them? I introspected and I said, if I were in her shoes I’d do the same. I’m no more or less than a mother like Mika. Then I asked “How was your child na bunga ng misteryo?” She is a girl.

“Haynaku mam! Hindi ko talaga maexplain hanggang ngayon pero siya po ang pinaka-mabait at napaka-matured mag isip sa lahat. Thirteen pa lang siya pero tingin naming lahat para siyang 30 sa pagkatao niya.”

There are mystiques in life that we cannot explain. When she was telling her story I even doubted if she had substance abuse, drugs or alcohol, or speculated if she has some sort of a psychiatric issue. That could be the episode in her life when she claimed an “engkanto” got her pregnant. Well, my theories may be right or wrong. After all, this is just the first time Mika opened up her bare soul; we’re practically strangers to one another. What do I know of her background? But one thing never changed: I still admire her for her choices in life.

The week immediately after that, she was very grateful to me for listening to her story. Mika claimed she didn’t know why she opened up to me about her story when she doesn’t talk about them to anyone, not even her close friends. She was afraid they would think of her as crazy. “Ewan ko po mam, basta nung nagkwento na ako sayo, ang gaan ng loob ko. Saka feeling ko, hindi mo ako pagtatawanan. Kaya maraming salamat talaga po”

I was the one more grateful, actually. Because a stranger opted to bare her heart and soul to me; I felt so honored. Perhaps Mika felt safe with her chronicle because she will never know when she might see me next. I’m not a blabbermouth though but I sure live with a tale to tell. Perhaps my purpose on earth is to extract the lessons from anyone’s story and share it to everyone so it will serve as our mirrors. We reflect, we deflect and we correct.

Isn’t it that’s what life is all about? We all learn from each others’ saga…

DISCLAIMER: Names are withheld for confidential reasons.