Liza

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Today I will start to put into words the many memories of beautiful people that have touched this short life.

Yes. 

In retrospect it is truly a short life. 

Years have just gone by and there are not too much left I am sure.

~;~

Liza was my help bee. In Brunei Darussalam. 

She was a Filipino. She told me her mother was a Muslim from Mindanao. She came to Manila to work and married her father, a Catholic.

~;~

Liza lived in Bandar Seri Begawan, staying in a rented room along with her sister, brother-in-law and some female cousins. It was a small room. It looked very crowded to me. But I understood the main purpose for their being in Brunei was to earn and sending their earnings back to their families in the  Philippines. 

They were young and full of energy.

Liza came almost every Sunday to help me. She took the bus from Bandar Seri Begawan to Tutong where I lived. About forty minutes. By 8.00 AM she would be calling out to me to throw the house key from my bedroom window on the second floor to her.

She would let herself in. After asking about her welfare and showing what needed to be done I left her. She would then be busy as a bee. 

Hand washing all my clothes. 

She would only use the washing machine for heavy items. Towels. Bed sheets and pillow cases. Everything else by hand. And was she a fast bee. 

Then the vacuuming and mopping. 

It was a huge double storey house. The Government's provision. 

I lived alone. 

But I used every room and every corner for different purposes. 

Didn't they say that one should not leave any room or corner unattended, then something else would come and reside there. 

I had three radio/tapes running at various time through out the house. 1 upstairs in the family area (although I had no family then). 1 in the big living room downstairs. And 1 in the kitchen. I use them to listen to Quran recitals.  

Truth be told having Quran recitation where ever I was in the house gave me a lot of courage.

I love Liza. 

She kept every inch of the house clean and tidy.

Working through the house sincerely.

No instructions needed. She just knew what needed to be done. And did it extremely well

By 10 in the morning I would be down to prepare some heavy brunch for the both of us. We would miss lunch. Because by 4.00 PM I would be sending her back to Bandar Seri Begawan and I would give her early dinner on the way in Bandar. These were special treats for her.

I miss Liza. 

When I left Brunei she was the last person to meet me as I passed on my Passport to be checked before leaving the public lounge. She was late. And she was running. Calling me at the same time "Kak Hajjah, Kak Hajjah".

Just a minute or two more and we would have missed each other.

Those were not smartphone days. And  I was not much into photography. I don't have a photo of Liza. 

But I have a beautiful vision of her.