Kaliyah's long curly eyelashes fluttered as she tried to open her eyes. There were some aftereffects of the medicines, and her eyes were dazed for a few seconds. Her eyes roamed around, and the rundown house that wasn't familiar made her even more confused. She blinked awake, unsure of where she was. Slowly, she pushed herself upright on the bamboo bed, its thin slats creaking beneath her. This place was nothing like the home she remembered. The window was a simple wooden panel, rough to the touch, and sliding it to the left was the only way to let in the morning light. Instead of a proper door, a thin curtain swayed gently in the breeze, marking the entrance to the small room. The floor was woven from strips of bamboo, cool against her feet, and above her, the roof was a patchwork of dried leaves, rustling softly like whispers in the air. Water from the leaking roof dripped steadily into a small black bucket, its surface scratched and worn as though it had served the household for decades. The wooden walls, weathered by sun and rain, stood thin and uneven around her. Everything about the place—its makeshift repairs, its tired materials—seemed to scream of poverty. It was a humble and fragile hut.
But rather than being disgusted, she felt grateful that she still had a bed to lie on and a shelter to rest in. Kaliyah clasped her hands and shut her eyes to pray, "Father God in heaven, thank you for giving me another day to live, though I would love to live in the land that you promised for your children and me. I would still like to thank you for saving me from death. I love you, Lord. May I glorify you in every part and every second of my life. I ask of you, Father God to hold my hand and to straighten my path towards you, and help me navigate this new life that you have given me, that may I make discipleship and spread the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and that your Son died for our sins and whoever that accepts him will not see death but live in your presence and goodness. I love you, Lord, I love you, Jesus Christ, and I love you, Holy Spirit." Kaliyah made a finger-shaped heart and raised it to the roof to show her heart to the Lord.
Yet as she gazed upward, it wasn't the frail, leaf-woven roof that filled her vision. Instead, she felt the gentle certainty of God's presence settling over her—steady, warm, and unwavering. In this humble hut, where everything felt fragile and worn, He was the one thing that did not waver.
Her eyes roamed around the room, and in the corner of the wall were her bow and arrows that she bought from a shopping application. On the left side of the bed is a drawer, and on top of it are medications.
"You're awake?" A deep voice came from behind the curtain. It was JB. Seven years had passed since she last saw him, and those years had shaped him. Now he looked at her, his eyes hollow, as if life itself had been slowly drained from him. His body is skin and bones, and his lips are parched. Kaliyah's heart ached when she saw his state.
"You look terrible. How are you? Where's Mom and Dad?" Kaliyah asked continuously.
His eyes sharpened, and his voice dripped with venom. "Who wouldn't look terrible if there's nothing to eat and I have no choice but to find a job? I should be studying right now, but because of you—because of Mom and Dad—I have to work, and the money I make isn't even enough to buy food for the four of us! Dad is sick! Mom's outside looking for money!"
He spun sharply away from Kaliyah and walked off in hurried steps, huffing with anger. Kaliyah stood frozen, stunned at his reaction.
How long had she been lying on the bed for him to have that kind of reaction? They weren't rich to begin with, and she had also been doing a part-time job at seventeen to provide her own allowance for college. However, she dismissed her own grievances and resolved to speak with JB again after a little while.
As Kaliyah slipped on her slippers, the curtain was thrown wide open, revealing her aged parents with tears in their eyes, their bodies trembling from excitement and relief. They were nothing but skin and bones. Her mother wrapped her in a tight embrace.
"Kaliyah, thank God, you're awake." Mom's eyes were full of tears and her grey hair and wrinkles showed how much she had aged. Her calloused hands were hard to touch, but it showed how much she had suffered for the past few years. Kaliyah prayed in her heart to God to provide for them and thanked Him in advance
"Good, it's good that you're awake now." Dad tried to hide his tears by holding it back, but his eyes were full of relief and gladness.
"I'm sorry for making both of you suffer, Mom and Dad." Kaliyah's chest tightened at ached at the sight of her aged parents. She resolved that she would work hard to give them a good life after this.
"As long as you're awake. Come and eat." Her Dad urged her to eat.
Her mom prepared the plates and put the casserole in the middle of the old wooden table.
She seated herself on the chair, and the only food available was rice porridge and some vegetables as a side dish. JB also followed silently and watched her. She started praying, giving thanks to God. She devoured the porridge and drank water as she had never tasted it before. Her parents watch her with relief.
"By the way, Mom, wasn't I involved in a car accident? How long have I been asleep?" Kaliyah asked after settling the spoon on the plate.
"You were in a coma for seven years."
The loud clanking of the spoon distracted everyone. There was a buzz in Kaliyah's head, shaken at the thought that it had already been seven years since she had been hospitalized. She was just eighteen back then, and now she's 25?! She was flabbergasted; she didn't even get to college because she just graduated when she got hit by a car.
She pursed her lips, "What about the person who hit me? Don't tell me they ran away?" She asked critically.
"They paid for your hospital fees and gave us money generously, worth thirty million pesos," Dad says in a heavy tone. His eyes shifted, and he pursed his lips guiltily.
"I should have filed a case against him, but the family wants to settle things with us, and the Typhoon and earthquake shook us badly that we don't have a house or a shelter to come into. That family took us in and gave us some land to build on, but war happened, and we had to flee." Dad continued in a heavy tone.
Kaliyah's mind was filled with so many questions that it would take hours just to sort them out.
"If they paid for the hospital fees, then why am I here at this house?"
"There has been a recent earthquake that damaged the whole city and hospitals were also badly damaged, and most of the employees and patients died. The magnitude of it back then was 8.4." Her Dad answered in a grieved tone.
8.4?! That's a severe earthquake. She knew her country was prone to typhoons, droughts, and earthquakes, but one of this magnitude was unimaginable. The worst she had ever experienced was a 7.5, and that had already shaken the roads sideways. How much worse could an 8.4 be?
"How on earth did I survive that?!" Kaliyah was shaken up again, her mind blown, but realization dawned on her; she began raising her hand and screamed, "Praise the Lord!" She thumped her chest with her fist and a kiss on it and raised her hand again and said, "Praise to the Almighty King, the Lord Almighty. Thank you, Father God, Thank you Lord Jesus Christ."
Such actions of their daughter no longer surprise them. Because their daughter had already been strange ever since she converted to a Born Again Christian.
At fifteen, she raised her hand in worship to God, lifted by the music. She read the Bible more than her schoolbooks, attended every church service, and when asked about her plans, she would say, "If the Lord deems it fit."
"How did you find me then? And where were you during that earthquake?" Kaliyah asked earnestly, such a reaction made her parents sigh in relief, thankful that she didn't blame them for what they did, and accepting the money that the family offered.
"Strangely, after visiting the ICU and playing the worship music you loved, we left the hospital and went to a park about thirty minutes away. That's when the earthquake struck. The police wouldn't let us return to check on you. We were terrified, yet somehow, we knew you would be safe, because the Lord Jesus Christ would protect you." Her mother added, thankful that her daughter was safe.
"Though some parts of the buildings collapsed, you and the other patients were safe, as well as those who helped the patients. It was said that the worship song in the ICU was so loud that it was heard by the patients and when the earthquake started to shake, they started to pray and worship God."
Mom muttered while she was dazed, but her eyes turned to Kaliyah, who was amazed and smiled, "God is good all the time."
"You kept them safe and made God spare their lives." Her mother stared at her as if she were some kind of deity.
What on earth??
A growing pride welled up inside her, but at the same time, a voice inside Kaliyah spoke, saying, "You'd better correct her." She knew instantly that it was the Holy Spirit speaking within her.
Kaliyah's eyes widened in emphasis, and she nervously says, "I'm not a deity, Ma. God is hearing you right now. I was in a coma during that time, and I'm practically useless. It wasn't me who saved them! It was God!" She immediately humbled herself by not taking the credit for saving the people. Kaliyah might as well kill herself if she dared to claim the credit before God.
Her mother thoughtfully said, "Then was it because of me that they were saved? Because I had that song played?"
This is going nowhere. I'd better correct her thoughts, Kaliyah thought. She pursed her lips and said, "God used you to play that song; now whoever hears that song, it's up to them to seek refuge in God or not. The reason that they were saved is that they seek God, not because of you."
As if a bucket of water had been splashed on her, she immediately regained her senses, and her face blushed in embarrassment. She felt ashamed because of Kaliyah's words. She chastised Kaliyah in her mind, but knowing that she was right, she couldn't refute her.
"How did it go with that family?" Kaliyah asked.
Her father looked at the window and said, "They were also gravely affected and had no time to pay attention to us. I've heard that their buildings collapsed because of the earthquake, and many people died. But they do send us medicines and as well as doctors and nurses to check on you from time to time."
Kaliyah's heart softened at the family who had taken responsibility for her, even going so far as to have a doctor come to their home just to check on her. People who truly take responsibility for their actions are rare. Many others get into car accidents and run away; if they are caught, they often try to settle the matter with money, just to keep the other party quiet.
Her father remained silent after saying that. He didn't tell her that the driver who hit her had actually tried to run away and avoid responsibility. It was the son of that family who insisted on paying for the damages and making sure she received proper medical care, even arranging for a nurse and doctor to visit her at home. The driver was later fired for his actions. The son of that family had once said to Ronald, Kaliyah's father, "It is one thing to make a mistake, but to run away from it is cowardly. I will take responsibility for it."
As long as she's well, that's all that matters, her dad thought. The reason she woke up in the house instead of in the hospital is that the war happened, and they were not able to bring her home due to that, but they only found her in a cave after a few months of running away. Thus, they looked for a house that can accommodate them and this is where they ended up, a hut.