Before you were conceived she wanted you...
Before you were born she loved you
Before you were here an hour she would die for you
This is the miracle of life. -anonymous
In the 512 earthquake,
a friend was fortunate enough to survive, walking out of the ruins
alive and with a story. It was a story that surfaces in every disaster,
a story so common, yet it touches us all while we go about our lives.
When the rescuers found her, she was already dead, crushed by the
collapsed building. They could see her through the debris, on her knees
with hands flat on the ground, holding up her body. It was almost as if
she was bowing ceremoniously, but her body was misshapen, crushed by
the building. Rescuers reached a hand in to check that she was dead,
shouting and using a stick to lightly knock on the bricks, waiting for
a reply or some sign of life from her that never came. When the group
turned their attention towards the next pile of debris, the team leader
suddenly rushed back, shouting, “Over here, hurry!” He once again
stopped in front of her body, trying his best to reach a hand in to
feel the ground sheltered by her torso, shouting, “There’s someone
here, a child, still alive!”
The rescuers worked to move the debris carefully, finding her
child sheltered beneath her torso. A baby, about four months old,
wrapped in a red blanket with yellow flowers stitched on. Sheltered by
his mother’s body, he was unscathed. They carried him out from the
debris, sound asleep, his sleeping face warming the hearts of everyone
at the scene in the face of death.
A doctor rushed over, undoing the blanket to check for signs of
injury on the baby. He found a handphone stuffed under the blanket, and
instinctively glanced at the screen. There was a message on the screen,
“My darling, if you live through this, please remember that I love you.”
Despite having seen death countless times, tears rolled down the
doctor’s face. The handphone was passed around, evoking tears from
everyone at the scene.
The young mother must have tried calling for help using the
handphone, but in disasters of this scale, telecommunications often
fail. She spent her last moments leaving a message for her beloved
child.
My darling baby, if you’re alive, then Mum is too
My darling baby, you are still alive
It was Mum who had given you life
It was the second time Mum had given you life
The other time Mum was in great pain
This time Mum is in heaven above
–but now Mum can kiss you no more
My darling baby, you are still alive
It was Mum who had given you life
It was the second time Mum had given you life
Mum gave up her future for your future
Mum sacrificed her life for your life
–and now Mum will only appear in your dreams
Mum must have fed you for the last time
Mum must have changed your nappy for the last time
Mum must have kissed you again and again, till her last breath
Mum must have kept talking to you, till the last moment
My darling baby, you are alive, this was Mum’s hope
My darling baby, as long as you’re alive, Mum’s hope goes on
–a hope that was sheltered by a delicate body
–a hope that was raised up by an immortal life
My darling baby, if you are alive, then Mum is too
Mum’s blood is running in your vessels
Mum’s genes are thriving in every one of your cells
My darling baby, if you are alive, then Mum is too
You are Mum’s dreams in heaven
You are the resurrection of Mum’s life
My darling baby, if you are alive, then Mum is too
You are the extension of Mum’s life
You are the eternity of a mother’s love
My darling baby, if you are alive, then Mum is too
Forever alive, in your life
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