16/10/2025
LIFELINES | THURSDAY FEATURE
They say when a woman loses her husband, she is called a widow.
When a child loses their parents, they are called an orphan.
But when a mother loses her child, there is no word for it.
Because no word can ever describe that kind of pain.
Sometimes, the hardest kind of love is the one that continues after loss.
When the 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Bogo City that night, 34-year-old Jesiel Malinao woke up to the sound of the ground trembling beneath her. Her small home on the hillside began to crumble as rocks started to fall. In fear and instinct, she ran to her two young sons, just 10 and 5 years old, hoping to protect them. But before she could reach them, the hillside gave way. Within seconds, the landslide buried their home and took away everything she loved.
By morning, Jesiel sat quietly between two small coffins. Her eyes were tired, her hands trembling as she traced their names. She didnβt say much. Only tears spoke for her, a mother who had given everything and lost everything.
Jesielβs story reminds us that love does not end when life does. It stays, softly, painfully, but faithfully, in the heart that loved deeply.
Grief has no timeline. Healing takes time, and itβs okay to take it slowly. Let yourself feel, cry, and remember. Pain may change you, but it also teaches you how strong love can be.
Her quiet strength shows that survival itself is an act of love. She may have lost her children, but she carries them in every heartbeat. Her story teaches us that love, even when broken, is still the most powerful thing we can hold on to.
Jesielβs story reminds us that love does not end when life does. It stays β softly, painfully, but faithfully β in the heart that loved deeply.
Because love like hers never fades; it lives on in every heartbeat, every memory, every quiet act of courage. π€
ποΈ Lifelines β life in every line.
πΈ Photos Courtesy of Jesiel and Jhon Steve Malinao
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Caption by Li Reighn Manubag
Graphics by Kate Cybelle Casipong
