By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo 

 

THE last time I had my glasses on was a few hours ago, while reviewing the files of three NGOs where I used to be a Trustee. I recall having gone down to the ground floor to cook. That was around 7:00 p.m.

After having dinner, I mashed “pitik”, a variety of taro root, to feed the kitten whose mother refused to be suckled for milk. I went to the dining area to clear the table. I was tired after clearing the table, so instead of washing the dishes, I picked up my mobile phone and proceeded to the second floor. I rested for a while, decided to read my messages, and reached for my glasses on top of my head, where I usually leave it, it was not there. Quickly, I looked where I might have left it, nada.

Emma was also looking for her reading glasses. I told him to check downstairs, but she said it could not have been there because she distinctly remembers not bringing it there. I asked her to check anyway, and also to find mine. She found hers, not mine.

Worried that I may not be able to communicate on my mobile with written words, I went down to recheck where I might have left it. There was nothing on the ground floor, so I decided to sleep. Upon waking up in the middle of the night, I stood on the working table, re-imagining my every move from the time I charged the mobile phone up to the time I noticed it was missing. There, during that process, I found the case containing my eyeglasses neatly placed on top of a book. But I looked in that area four times earlier and saw nothing.

I’m sure this happens to many of us, even the younger ones. Why do we forget these things when they are essential to the functioning of our daily routines? While brain injuries are a common cause of forgetfulness and memory problems, most of the young people who forget as seriously as adults are younger and never had them.

One possible reason is that the digital age demands a great deal from young workers, especially those in call centers. Aside from being stressful, the time of work often eats up on the time of sleep, and because the job often requires them to be alert and awake, some resort to alcohol or drug use.

There’s one other reason my sister Emma pointed out that has nothing to do with medical or work-related conditions. There’s a playful presence in this old house that has a curiosity for our things and hides them on a whim, she said. Some of my siblings attest to this. I never shared my own observations with them for their own sanity.

There are a few visitors who tell us a similar story. The late Dr. Ma. Victoria Maramag Abesamis, sister of my brother-in-law, and Chief of the Medical Professional Service Staff at the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC), glimpsed a silhouette of a woman wearing white and asked: Who is that woman by the well?

I surrender to the mysterious and beguiling.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments