Missing the Blast

I left for Makati early this morning for a series of meetings and I was basically shuttling from one place to another including the Greenbelt and Glorietta area. I was amazed with the white stars strewn all over posts and trees in Makati Avenue, Ayala and Paseo de Roxas. They were quite pretty and I thought they looked like snow clinging on tree barks (malabo po kasi mata ko). I thought I'd take some photos and blog about it when I got home.

Little did I know that just a few minutes after I left Greenbelt that the blast happened. My meeting ended at around 1:10 p.m. and I was glad I had a bit of time to run to the restroom before proceeding to Salcedo Village. I even managed to appreciate again the stars on Paseo de Roxas Avenue, but forgot to take photos.

During my meeting my phone kept buzzing and towards the end of the meeting my Mom kept calling and calling. I only finally excused myself to answer the call after seeing some Twits about the incident. My Mom was apparently in a panic because she knew I was in the area (sorry Mom for not answering immediately!) and when I answered her call she demanded to know where I was and ordered me to go home immediately. I was really planning to go home after my last meeting because I've not been feeling well since Thursday night and postponed my Glorietta date with my best friend.

I had a hard time getting a cab at Salcedo Village and I rode the first FX I saw. It was on its way to Glorietta/Landmark. Traffic!!! Went down at the terminal area and skirted the area. I didn't know what exactly happened so I just quickly walked towards Pasay Road, but there were policemen, ambulances and media people all over the place. Run Aileen run!!! But I did a quick stop over at Wendy's to use their restroom and that's where I overhead an old lady tell her story -

"Nasa third floor ako ng Glorietta nung may marinig ako na malakas na pagsabog. Tatlong pagsabog, sunud-sunod. Umalog yung buong building. Oo, grabe, anlakas talaga. Tapos everything was black. Dumapa na lang kami nun. Tapos yung mga gwardiya sinasbihan na lang kami na huwag magpanic tapos tinulungan kaming makalabas."

Gulp. I missed what she said after that coz I had to attend to a very pressing matter (#1!). I was kinda dazed, feeling feverish and I just wanted to go home. Everything felt surreal, weird and blah. The white stars all over the place just didn't seem to fit anymore. It's like having brown-out while you're singing a happy Christmas carol during Christmas eve's midnight mass.

Miguel had tears in his eyes when he arrived from school. He was very worried about me because I asked his permission the night before to have early dinner with Anne. So, he knew I'd be hanging out in the area after my meetings. I was greatly surprised and enveloped in a huge hug when he saw me. Awww baby, don't worry, Mommy's okay.

I'm lucky again. I just hope and pray that whoever did this would stop and allow our country to move forward. And I hope they remember that they have families and loved ones too.