This is a story given by a priest during a seminar that I attended. My thanks to Fr. Bel San Luis, SVD for sharing this story to our group.
One day, a priest, Fr. Vic had some free time on his hands. He looked around the church yard to see what needed fixing and found a broken down fence on the outer side of the church yard, several meters away from the refectory. It was a simple task really, just adding two panels of wood to the posts. It didn’t even need to be painted as the rest of the fence just had plain unpainted wooden panels.
While he began measuring, cutting out the panels and starting to adjust the panels to the posts, a young boy came and watched him work. The boy started conversing with him, asking him so many questions about almost anything. Trying not to lose his concentration on the task at hand, the priest began to ask the boy instead, “Arent’ you going to assist me?” The boy had a ready answer to the question, it seemed, and he said, “Oh no, Father. I wouldn’t want to do that. You see, I have another question for you.” “And what would that be?” Father Vic asked. “Well, I want to know if it is a sin to say bad words.” “Ah, hmm, it’s not really nice to say bad words especially if you say it to somebody.” At that point, Fr. Vic accidentally hit his thumb with the hammer and whispered a curse.
Ate – eldest sister; Ditse – second to the oldest sister; Ikatlo – third to the oldest sibling (Kuya in this case, as he is the oldest brother among the two other remaining siblings); Ikaapat – fourth to the oldest sister (Sanse, in this case, third to the oldest sister to a younger sibling); and Bunso, the youngest sibling ( if a sister follows him, then he is addressed as Diko, but in this case, no one else follows).
There is a household composed of three sisters and two brothers, aside from their parents, of course. There are two older sisters addressed as Ate (the eldest) and Ditse (second to her), a third sibling, a brother addressed as Kuya, followed by another sister, simply addressed as Sanse by the youngest brother, who is addressed by everybody as Bunso. Typical of families, Ate and Ditse exemplify sibling rivalry with Ate ready to pounce on the younger siblings who will be brave enough to side with Ditse whenever they fought.
Ate and Ditse fight over the simplest of things – like Ditse not waking up early enough to leave for school 30 minutes before the first bell; or Ditse eating Ate’s favorite chips; or Ditse wearing Ate’s hairclips without asking permission before using these.
One day in school, a small group of Ate’s friends converged in her absence. It so happened that Kuya and Bunso were eating at a table very close to the group so they overheard what they were talking about, even without meaning to listen. However, hearing their Ate’s name and she being the topic of the conversation, both brothers now intentionally eavesdropped on the group’s conversation. They were talking about Ate having a crush on the boyfriend of another friend of theirs with their Ate planning on enticing him and winning him over to become his girlfriend instead.
Kuya and Bunso knew that their Ate was not that kind of a girl as she has an ardent admirer herself from another school courting her. He in fact has met their parents and they approve of him because of his congenial personality and proper behavior – a glimpse of having a proper upbringing. It therefore won’t be surprising if this guy would eventually become their Ate’s boyfriend.
Ate’s group of friends’ meeting came to an end and left the eating area. Kuya and Bunso decided to tell the rest of their siblings the conversation they overheard. Needless to say, Ate was so hurt and wept. She decided that she will no longer join her group of friends as they have preconceived notions about her.
Ditse gave Ate a piece of her mind saying how despicable Ate’s friends were. Ikaapat seconded everthing that Ditse was saying and she was ready to fight Ate’s friends because of what these so-called friends said about her. Kuya and Bunso also supported Ditse and said that they will give evidence if Ate’s friends deny what they said about her. Ate stayed quiet and was surprised, but at the same time, relieved at her siblings’ reaction to the situation. Ate never realized that her sisters and brothers would defend her at any given circumstance after the way she has treated them. All the more courageous that Ate felt when Ditse said, “Let us give them a taste of the Fabulous Four!!!”
What do you think happened the next day in school?
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