Longing

It always makes me cry, those shows on TV where people get reunited.

One such case was this 9-year old kid "Hadi" who was intentionally left by her mother in a mall. When concerned citizens found him, he was clean, and had a backpack filled with clothes. The poor little boy was led to believe that they were out to shop.

Hadi barely even able to talk except for short phrases was lucky enough to have been found and brought to a shelter.

Hadi's grandmother, meanwhile, has been looking for him for days (or was it months). She was inconsolable when the program interviewed her. You could see the pain of losing someone and not knowing where they were and how they were doing.

Luckily, one of their relatives saw the program and got a glimpse of "Hadi's" photo. They were sure it was their "Adie" though his name was spelled differently.

So off they went to the station to check.

Once they saw Hadi's photo, they were definite it was him. So they proceeded to the shelter where Hadi was staying.

There, they were reunited.

Adie looked at her grandmother's eyes deeply, as though reconnecting again. She asked him: "Sino ako?"

"Mama," he responded, still looking at her eyes.

"Sino siya?" his grandmother asked as he pointed to a nephew.

"Tito," he said, smiling.

A hug sealed the bond that was once lost. And all those days and months of longing vanished. Adie hugged his grandmother tightly like a shipwreck survivor would a lifeboat. Her grandmother, silently embraced her, silently with a solemn assurance that she would never lose him again.

Each time, when scenes like this are repeated, I'm powerless against the emotion. The tight embrace, the longing looks, and the sweet smile all say: "I have found you, finally."

Each time, when scenes like this are repeated, I am reminded. Aren't we all, like Adie, just lonely souls wanting to be found?