Iginiit ng munting Jomar na hukayin ng kanyang ama ang libingan ng kanyang ina, at nang mabuksan ang takip ng kabaong, natigilan ang lahat.

Little Jomar insisted that his father dig up his mother’s grave, and when the coffin lid was opened, everyone was stunned

“That night, little Jomar suddenly dreamed that his mother walked out of the grave in the barangay cemetery, her eyes filled with tears as if she wanted to say something. When he woke up, he insisted that his father dig up his mother’s grave, even though everyone in the family tried to stop him. And then, when the coffin lid was opened, everyone was speechless…”

A small barangay in Central Luzon was once peaceful. After Jomar’s mother died of a serious illness, the house of the father and son became empty and sad. His father – Mang Ramon – was a man of few words, and after his wife passed away, he became even more silent. He quietly worked in the fields, and when he came home, he took care of his children, never mentioning the past.

Jomar was only 12 years old, an age when he still longed for his mother’s arms, so the loss was too much for him to bear. During the day, Jomar tried to act normal, but at night, he often tossed and turned, remembering the voice and gentle smile of his mother – Aling Lorna.

One night at the end of the month, Jomar dreamed of his mother standing right next to the grave in the barangay cemetery, her face pale, her eyes filled with tears, her hand raised as if asking for help. She pointed to her chest and shook her head slightly. Jomar woke up in a panic, his heart pounding, sweating profusely. That dream haunted him for many days.

At first, Jomar thought it was just because he missed his mother so much. But then, strange things began to appear: for many nights in a row, he dreamed of the same scene. His mother was still standing there, her eyes increasingly urgent, her lips moving but making no sound. It felt like she was trapped in a terrifying silence.

One afternoon, Jomar dared to say to his father:

– Dad… I want to open Mom’s grave. I’m afraid… Mom is not at peace yet.

Mang Ramon was startled, his face darkened. He shouted:

– Don’t talk nonsense! The dead must be left alone.

But the more he was stopped, the more uneasy Jomar felt. He began to refuse to eat or drink, kept crying and insisted:

– If you don’t let me dig up my mother’s grave, I’ll run away from home!

Mang Ramon felt sorry for his son, angry, and scared. He thought: “Maybe he missed his mother so much that he had this crazy idea? But… could there be anything real in that dream?”

Finally, after many sleepless nights, Mang Ramon decided to dig up his wife’s grave, at least to stop his son from being haunted. In his heart, a vague fear began to grow, as if there was some truth hidden under that layer of soil.

That morning, the whole barangay was in an uproar when they heard that Mang Ramon had asked the barangay council and the cemetery management board for permission to dig up his wife’s grave. Some people sympathized, others gossiped:

– The boy must have dreamed something… – a neighbor whispered.

– Doing so is immoral, not letting the dead rest in peace… – another clicked his tongue.

Mang Ramon ignored all of this. He just quietly prepared offerings, burned incense and asked his wife’s permission in front of the grave. Little Jomar stood next to him, his eyes red, his hands tightly holding his father’s shirt.

The cemetery workers began to dig up each layer of soil. The sound of shovels and hoes echoed heavily, making the atmosphere even more tense. Everyone gathered around, waiting anxiously.

When the last layer of soil was pushed aside, the wooden coffin appeared. Mang Ramon trembled as he lit another stick of incense, then signaled to open the lid.

A pungent smell immediately rose, causing everyone to cover their noses. But what made everyone speechless was not the smell, but the scene inside:

The body of Aling Lorna – Mang Ramon’s wife – had not decomposed as usual. Her face was still intact, her eyes were wide open, her lips were slightly pursed as if she was enduring terrible pain.

A shrill scream rang out from a neighbor:

– Oh my god, she… she’s still intact!

Mang Ramon fell to his knees, his heart pounding. Jomar burst into tears:

– I told you! Mom is not at peace yet!

The atmosphere was filled with terror. People began to gossip: did Aling Lorna die unjustly? Was she buried while still breathing?

An old man with white hair and beard trembled as he said:

– Many years ago, I heard of someone who had “false death”, whose heart stopped beating and was thought to be dead, but after a few hours, he came back to life. Could it be that Aling Lorna…?

That statement made everyone shudder. If that was true, it meant that Aling Lorna had woken up in a dark coffin, buried alive…

After that shocking event, the town government immediately intervened. They invited a forensic doctor from the provincial capital to conduct an examination. The entire result shocked everyone: Aling Lorna had actually died of suffocation in the coffin, not from heart disease as initially diagnosed at the barangay health station.

The doctor explained: this was an extremely rare case. The patient fell into a state of clinical death – heart stopped beating, breathing stopped – but was not completely dead. Due to limited medical conditions, the family and the health station staff made a wrong diagnosis…

The whole village was filled with gossip, both sympathetic and fearful. Everyone shuddered at the thought of Aling Lorna waking up in the dark, screaming hopelessly but no one heard her.

Ramon was in inconsolable pain. He collapsed before his wife’s portrait, sobbing:

– Lorna, I am a sinner! If I had kept you a little longer that day, if I had not rushed… you would not have suffered that…

Jomar hugged his mother’s portrait, his eyes dazed. From now on, the memory of that dream and that scene would follow him for the rest of his life.

After the second funeral, the family decided to cremate Aling Lorna so that she could truly rest in peace. The fire broke out at the city crematorium, and everyone shed tears. This was the only way to end the tragedy.

The story became a painful lesson for the entire barangay. People began to be more cautious in determining death, especially in rural areas lacking medical facilities.

As for Mang Ramon, he became more withdrawn from life, but he devoted all his love to his son. He always told Jomar:

– You must live a good life, that is the only way to make your mother feel at ease.

And Jomar, even though he was young, understood that: there are pains that never go away, but they teach us to cherish life, to cherish every moment with our loved ones.