30/04/2026
Episode 2 English
“A Mother’s Silent Battle”
“When Love Endures Everything”
“The Weight of Nine Lives”
“The Story of Jris: Born in Hardship”
“Silent Sacrifices”
During the rainy season, the whole family experiences hardship and distress brought by different emotions. Whenever it rains, the roof of their house leaks because it is already old and made of cogon. They try to cover it with banana leaves or pieces of plastic just to keep themselves from getting wet. The siblings squeeze themselves into corners, each trying to find a spot where the rain cannot reach them. Their belongings and clothes are placed inside sacks or plastic to keep them dry. The walls of their house, made of bamboo, already have holes due to age, so they cover them with sacks and other materials to avoid being seen from outside. During storms and strong winds, fear and worry fill their hearts because their house is not sturdy—it is fragile and easily shaken by the wind.
In that barangay, they were the only family living there as caretakers. In times when they had absolutely nothing to eat, they would eat sugarcane for breakfast. They searched for wild bananas or anything edible near the river just to have food for the family. Whatever they could find would be cooked for lunch. For dinner, they would make porridge out of corn or rice if available. They made sure that Jris, being the youngest, would have something to eat, even if it was just porridge once a day.
There came a time when they met someone they considered a family friend. During that period, Jris and his family had nothing at all, so they tried to borrow rice at dusk.
However, they were not given any and were told,
“Why are you only borrowing now? Where were you when the sun was still up?”
The family felt hurt but did not show it. They were already used to hardship.
At the age of nine, Jris was enrolled in Grade 1 at a mountain school and was among its early pioneers. On his first day, his mother guided him. He was innocent, yet filled with fear and nervousness. He only had two pesos in his pocket as allowance, and not even every day. He went to school without a uniform or shoes—only worn-out slippers. His food was dried fish or fermented fish, and sometimes nothing at all. He had no proper school bag. During rainy days, he used banana leaves or a woven covering as protection. The school was about 2–3 kilometers away, and he walked through mud and crossed rivers just to get there.
Sometimes, Jris went to school alone, especially when he was late and their neighbors lived far away.
At around 4:30 in the morning, his mother would already be cooking food. The children woke up early to bathe in the river, without shampoo—only using basic soap like Tops or Blue soap. At that time, Jris did not realize that they were a broken family; to him, everything felt normal. Whenever people asked him where his father was, he would answer, “He drowned in soup,” because that was what people jokingly told him. He grew up remembering that answer and eventually became indifferent to not having a father. He had no resentment—he simply accepted it as part of life.
Every Monday, Jris would fetch his teacher from the habal-habal drop-off area because motorcycles could no longer reach the school due to the muddy roads. Only people and carabaos could pass. So every Monday, he and some students would fetch their teacher, and every Friday, they would accompany the teacher back. At that time, there was no electricity—they only used kerosene lamps, and Jris did not have a cellphone.
Despite all these struggles, Jris finished Grade 1 with honors. He received awards such as Best in Drawing, Most Behaved, Most Punctual, and Most Responsible.
Episode 3: to be continued!
