Calmay diary: The sun and the moon play hide and seek
By Rex Catubig
CLASSES had just begun at the Calmay Primary School a couple of weeks earlier. It was a squat, unpainted, four-room wooden structure by the riverbank that housed Grades 1 to 4. It was my first time to attend school as a Grade 1 pupil. I was earnest and yet anxious. But only a few days into regular classes, I was suddenly downed by chicken pox. So I had to stay home. And if that wasn’t enough to make my first year of schooling memorable, albeit disastrous, a rare phenomenon took place almost in sync with my malady.
It was June 20, 1955, a Monday no different from the day before. The rains had not come yet so the sun shone brightly, and by ten o’clock one could tell it was going to be another hot day. Which made it all the more uncomfortable for me as the scabs from the chicken pox were peeling off, making the skin more itchy.
All of a sudden, the cloudless sky slowly darkened like when there was an imminent rain. Without warning, the sun appeared to be chipping off along its right edge–like a cookie being bitten off. I ran out of the house to see what’s going on. “Iklipsi, iklipsi!”, our neighbor shouted. I remember rummaging for broken pieces of glass under the house which served as a bodega. I lit a candle and ran a piece of clear glass over the flame until the surface was covered with soot. This became the spectacle I used to see what was happening to the sun. The black soot cut the glare and enabled me to stare directly at the orange disc.
The sun’s face was being overlapped by the moon. As this happened, the round sun turned crescent shape until its face was completely covered, and only its silhouette ringed with a thin loop of light remained visible. It was eerie as the surroundings appeared as if the sun just set or dawn was breaking .
Sometime at a little past noon, our yard was completely bathed in darkness. Nighttime had fallen at high noon. A total eclipse was taking place. And for around seven eternal surreal minutes it stayed that way. The mighty sun was dwarfed and overcome by the humble minute moon. Then, as if in a magical dream, the dark veil that covered it slowly parted. The sky began to light up again. The neighbor’s roosters must have been so confused by this occurrence that they started crowing–heralding daybreak at past high noon.
Another day just happened in the idyllic barrio of Calmay. Another vignette to add to its colorful storybook.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
