Miguel passed away at the age of 30, the grass on his grave had turned green. The entire village near the small town in Cebu mourned Clara – the young widow, whose husband had d:ied in an accident after only two years of marriage.
But no one expected that, just five months after her husband’s d:e:ath, her belly was clearly bulging.
Rumors spread like wildfire.
Some said she had remarried, others said “she was still young, she couldn’t bear the loss of her husband so she had an af:fair with someone else”.
When her mother-in-law – Mrs. Dolores – heard this, she went crazy.
She rushed over, grabbed her daughter-in-law by the hair, sl:a:pped her repeatedly, and then shouted:
“A woman like you doesn’t deserve to live in this house! You are a wh:o:re, your husband just d:i:ed and you are already having an a:f:fair! There is no such disgusting thing in my house. Go away!
Clara knelt down, tears streaming down her face:
“Mother, I did nothing wrong, the baby is Miguel’s child…”
“My child is de:ad and you dare to say that he is my grandson. I am not stupid.”
“Mother, we don’t argue anymore…”
But Mrs. Dolores became even angrier when she heard this, and drove her daughter-in-law away that night.
From then on, Clara took the fetus back to her parents’ house, lived quietly, and did not dare to return to her husband’s house.
On the first anniversary of Miguel’s de:a:th, Clara took her newborn son – the boy who looked exactly like his father – back to ask for incense for his father.
But as soon as she reached the yard, Mrs. Dolores blocked the door and shouted:
“Get out! This house has no room for you and your son!”
Clara burst into tears, bowed down and begged:
“Mom, let me light incense for my husband, then I’m leaving…”
“I said go away! I don’t want to see your face, this is not my grandson. Go away…”
A scream echoed in the dark space. Clara choked and hugged her son and turned to leave. When the mother and son reached the gate, suddenly they heard the sound of a motorcycle braking suddenly, her brother-in-law ran in, his face pale:
“Mom! I just met the doctor at the city hospital… They said before Miguel died, he sent… a sperm sample for preservation! Clara was the one who made the procedure to preserve it, saying that she wanted to give birth to a child for him…”
Everyone was sh0cked. Dolores fell down, only able to say “God” before immediately losing consciousness. Everyone hurriedly took her into the house, massaged her for a while, and then she woke up.
At this moment, everyone remembered Clara and her son and rushed out to look for them. But that day, Clara never returned to her mother’s house. Clara’s parents were crying:
“She packed the belongings and left. She said that when you saw your grandson who looked like his father, this time you would not drive her away. Since I didn’t see her return, I thought you had already accepted her and her son. Oh my daughter, oh my grandson…”
The entire family, father and mother, were anxiously looking for Clara and her son, but for a month there was no news.
Dolores was so sad and remorseful that she fell ill. Because of her, she lost her daughter-in-law and her eldest grandson.
Ten years have passed, Clara and her son, who were once small, have now grown up, smart, agile, and strong. They left their old hometown in Cebu, to live in another city – where no one knew their past. Clara became an elementary school teacher, life was simple but full of love between mother and son.
Clara’s son, Miguel Jr., was always proud of his father. Whenever he heard about his father, his eyes would light up but he never got angry with him.
Clara taught her son: “Your father was a good man, but sometimes people make mistakes. What’s important is that we know how to love and maintain our self-respect.”
For Dolores, her former mother-in-law, after that incident, she lived days of sadness, full of endless regret. She no longer saw laughter, she could no longer hug the grandson she once rejected. During holidays and happy occasions in the village, she only sees people, seeing Clara and her son passing by, happy and confident, but her heart aches.
One day, Dolores asked an acquaintance to invite Clara to their old home for a “family reunion”.
But Clara politely refused:
“Mom, I and Miguel Jr. have a new life. All the mistakes and the past are over, we don’t need to make up or argue anymore. I just want to live peacefully with my son.”
Those words were like a knife piercing Dolores’ heart. She realized that neither money nor power, nor threats nor beatings could keep a family together; the only important things were love, trust and respect. And she herself had pushed them away.
Clara and Miguel Jr. grew up in the hot sunshine of the city, knowing how to love and appreciate simple but honest things. They didn’t need anyone’s approval, but every day, mother and son were happy and content.
As for Dolores, in her final years, all she could do was watch from afar, filled with regret and remorse, realizing that life is sometimes fair: those who hurt others will live in sorrow and regret, while those who know how to be strong and maintain self-respect will find true happiness.
And so, in the vast Philippines, a family that traded their youth, tears and suffering, finally found peace – not through money, power or fame, but through patience, the love of a mother and child and the power of true love.
