When the book The Five People You Meet In Heaven came out, I decided to list five people I thought I’d be meeting in heaven when my time came. One of the people I listed was Severino Reyes–the person behind the Lola Basyang stories. When I found out that I was actually related to the Ama ng Sarswela, I was beyond myself. I’ve since attributed my love (and whatever talent I had) for the written word to him.

I remember Lola Aging would tell me all about him. I also remember watching Walang Sugat on stage with most of my extended family. Boy, was I proud!

The last few months, our family has been planning a grand reunion. So grand, that I’m technically the 6th generation of the clan. One of my distant relatives brought this well-kept vintage collection to a meeting.

The original book was split into three and had to be rebound to keep it in good condition.

I flipped through the pages and was so tempted to bag one of the three volumes.

Oh, what I would do to have this in my book collection!

Timely as it is, today is my Lola Aging’s 92nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Lola!