when water is not a friend

the floods came to our house in late morning. then it rose and rose and at around 11 close to midnight it had reached the 2nd floor of our house, about 14 feet. it was the first time that i had felt afraid of the waters rising inside our home. in the past, it rose only by 3 to 7 feet and i could still laugh with my housemates. but last saturday it was different. the people living with us were worried -- they had children and some belongings which were very precious to them like the radio, tv, and the
Bible.

as the waters still rose and rose, the others started transferring to the next house where there was a third floor where they could all stay. our house had only a second flood and they were worried that they would not be able to sleep anywhere should the waters enter fully. they asked us to join them but i did not. the house was bequeathed to us by my mother who died telling me to take care of it. a relative stayed with me there while waiting for the waters to subside.

so i prayed hard that the rains would stop. and then i texted brother melo, a born again christian pastor to help me pray also to make it stop. he has the gift of prophecy and so i had been thinking that he would be a good go-between to Christ and God to please stop the rains. after 15 minutes of praying, it did.

at 2 am i checked if the waters had receded. it had but only a foot. then at 4 am i woke again to see and it had, about 3 feet. at 6 am, the waters were still on the road -- about four feet, rushing to the south, carrying with all the filth and dirt of the northern residents -- from Kamuning, Talayan, and possibly Kamias as the creek parallel to our house after the lot in front of us winds its way from those places.

today, i tried going to makati, from here - sta. mesa, but along e. rodriguez, the traffic was snarled. so i took a cab to go through san juan. again clogged crossroads. i told the driver, i would just go home and wait another day. going through aurora boulevard, i saw the wang-wang brigade, carrying guess who -- the moled one. what an easy life she has, having a group of men in black in the most modern vehicles plying through the streets, very easily while we have to suffer through all these.

who or what caused the floods? it is easy to blame - climate change, garbage, but those responsible for unleashing the waters from angat dam, la mesa dam -- why did they have to wait on the day itself before releasing them. why didn't they do it slowly, emptying them so that when the rains had fallen, the dams need not be emptied right away?

so many questions to ask, so many facts to be extracted before we can get a clear picture of why this tragedy had to happen. is 2010 nearing, or is its stoppage starting?

no, water is a friendly element, if only humanity would learn how to harness it. only those who are detached would use it for evil ends.