The old mother’s belly grew bigger and bigger as if she were pregnant, her children were embarrassed to take her for a check-up, what the doctor took out made the whole family pale
In a riverside village in Pampanga province, people often talk about Mrs. Dolores – a woman over seventy years old, with a hunched back and white hair, but her heart is still as patient as the earth. All her life, she has been attached to the fields and her young children. Her husband, Mr. Ramon, died early from tuberculosis, leaving her the burden of being both a father and a mother.

People praise Mrs. Dolores for being healthy and diligent, rarely seeing her sick. Every morning, she still gets up early to light the fire to cook tsaa, then goes to the garden to cut some vegetables. Her children and grandchildren often tell her to rest, but she just smiles:

— “If you sit still, you will miss your hands, and your father… you won’t be able to bear it.”

But in recent years, strange things began to happen: Dolores’s belly grew bigger and bigger, tight and round like a pregnant woman’s. At first, she didn’t pay attention, thinking it was due to old age and bloating. But then the sudden cramps came, and sometimes she held her belly and sat down on the porch, sweating profusely.

Rumors spread quickly in the barrio. Some people whispered that she was old but her belly was strangely big, others mocked and doubted her. Every time she went to palengke, she could clearly hear whispers behind her back, the neighbors’ scrutinizing eyes. Her children were visibly upset, both pitying and ashamed of their mother. One time, her second daughter said harshly:

— “Nanay, go see a doctor. We can’t stand people gossiping about it.”

One winter morning, while she was sweeping the yard, she suddenly held her belly and sat down. Her face was pale, her eyes were closed. Her children panicked and took her to the San Fernando District Hospital.

In the cold room, the ultrasound machine’s sound echoed steadily. The young doctor frowned at the screen, then

turned back, her voice heavy:

— “There is a strange mass in your belly, like a calcified fetus, which has existed for a long time.”

The air was thick. Her children were stunned, no one could say a word. The eldest son asked with a trembling voice:

— “Ibig sabihin, ano… doctor?”

— “It is a petrified fetus. Based on the size, it is probably more than 40 years old.”

The whole family was stunned.

Memories returned

Mrs. Dolores closed her eyes, old memories flooded back. That year she was over thirty, after giving birth to several children, she became pregnant again. But the strange fetus, before it could move, stopped. She was in pain for several days and then stopped, thinking it had miscarried. Her family was poor, her husband was sick, her children were young, she did not dare to go to the hospital. She buried the pain deep in her heart, continuing to work hard to live.

Forty years passed, the little creature still lay still in her mother’s womb, silently turning into stone.

— “Anak ko… I’m sorry…” — she sobbed, her skinny hands clutching the blanket tightly.

The children burst into tears, holding their mother’s hands. They suddenly understood, for all these years, their mother had carried a secret, a pain deep in her heart.

The moment of farewell

The surgery was performed. The thing taken out was small, cold and hard, looking like the shape of a calcified fetus. Everyone stood still, tears streaming down. They lit incense, placed it in a small wooden box, as if bidding farewell to a forgotten soul.

The day Dolores was discharged from the hospital, the whole village knew about it. No one was whispering and mocking anymore, only eyes full of sympathy. Many people quietly came to visit, sat with her for a while, said nothing, just held her hand and comforted her.

That afternoon, she sat on the porch, gently stroking the wooden box on her lap, her eyes looking far away towards the sugarcane field where her youth had been left. Her children sat around her, quietly beside her.

The golden sunlight shone on her silver hair, the afternoon wind brought the smell of straw into the porch. She smiled slightly, a tear falling down her wrinkled cheek:

— “You finally left my womb…”

And in that moment, everyone understood, Dolores’s whole life was a motherhood, even though she had to carry the pain for forty long years.

Part 2: The Change in Everyone’s Eyes
The Family Awakens

After the successful surgery, Dolores was brought home. The children, who had sometimes been upset by their mother’s unusually large belly, had completely changed.

The eldest son – Arturo – held his mother’s hand, choking:
— “Nanay, we’re sorry. We were ashamed before, we thought wrongly. I never thought you would carry such great pain within you…”

The second daughter – Lucia – burst into tears, hugging her mother:
— “I used to blame you, but now I only feel more sorry for you. You’ve lived your whole life for us, and you’re still carrying this pain alone. From now on, we promise to take care of you like you took care of us.”

Dolores just smiled, her cloudy eyes shining with kindness:
— “You understand, I’m satisfied. I don’t need anything more.”

The Changing Village

News of the “petrification” spread throughout the barrio. People who used to gossip and doubt now bowed their heads in silence when they saw her. The mocking laughter of the past turned into respect.

A neighbor who used to sell goods outside the palengke came to her and held her hand:
— “We are so sorry. No one knows that you have suffered like this. From now on, if you need anything, call us.”

The young men in the village, who used to point at her behind her back, now bowed politely:
— “Magandang hapon po, Lola Dolores.”

Symbol of Motherly Love

During mass at church, the priest recounted Dolores’s story as an example of eternal motherly love:
— “A mother can carry pain for forty years, just to keep something for her little child. That is an incomparable love.”

From then on, she became a living symbol of the barrio. People no longer looked at her with suspicion, but with respect. Young mothers often came to visit, sitting under the porch listening to her tell her life stories. They were filled with tears, whispering:
— “Being a mother is truly a sacrifice, but also the greatest strength.”

The peaceful moments of her life

Mrs. Dolores often sat on the porch, the wooden box placed beside her, watching her grandchildren play in the yard. In the small house in Pampanga, laughter replaced the sighs of the past.

One afternoon, when the sunset covered the sugarcane fields in gold, she smiled, tears of happiness falling:
— “Finally, I am no longer alone.”