From the railroad Tutuban Station in Manila, Pat and I took a Calesa to Aoring’s Apartments on Avenida Rizal, corner Batangas Street. There I was met by Pat’s mother and Aning and the kids, Roy and Ruth.
Our neighbors came to greet me, including Dr. and Mrs. Proceno Arenas, who later on became our Compadre and Comadre when Tony was baptized. The first one I greeted and hugged and kissed and kissed was my little boy Tony! He was born on February 7, 1942, and was already six months old. He greeted me with wide “singkit” eyes and a smile, with dimples!
I was so happy to be back home alive. Praise the Lord!
A boiled heavy soup was waiting for me. It was almost night time. I was very hungry. The first food I ate was “balut.” Then the fried chicken, then the “arros caldo,” then the bananas!
The whole family barely had any sleep, relating and hearing stories from each other covering our eight horrible months from each other from December 25, 1941, to August 4, 1942.
Everybody felt sad about the death of Elix. We all loved him because he was a “very jolly old fellow,” more lively than me. We missed him a lot; his jokes and laughs!
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