After my husband’s funeral, my son drove me to the edge of town and said,
“This is where you get off, Mom. We can’t support you anymore.”
But I carried a secret I had kept for years—one that my ungrateful son would one day regret.
It drizzled the day of my husband’s burial.
The small black umbrella couldn’t shield the loneliness in my heart. I trembled as I held the incense stick, staring at the freshly dug grave where the earth was still damp.
My companion of nearly forty years—my beloved Ramón—was now nothing but cold soil.
I had no time to grieve.
My eldest son, Jun, the one my husband trusted most, immediately took the keys.
Years earlier, when Ramón was still healthy, he had told me:
“We’re getting old. Let’s put the title deed in Jun’s name so he’ll be responsible.”
I didn’t object. What parent doesn’t love their child?
So the house and land were transferred to Jun’s name.
On the seventh day after the funeral, Jun suggested I go for a walk to clear my mind.
I never imagined that walk would feel like a knife in my back.
The car stopped near an abandoned jeepney stop at the edge of town.
Jun said coldly,
“Get out here. My wife and I can’t support you anymore. From now on, you’ll have to take care of yourself.”
My ears rang, my vision blurred.
Surely, I had misheard?
But his eyes were cold, determined—ready to shove me out of the car.
I sat in shock by the roadside, clutching a small cloth bag with a few clothes inside.
The house where I had raised my children and cared for my husband no longer belonged to me. The title was in his name. I had no right to return.
They say, “When you lose your husband, you still have your children.”
But sometimes having children feels the same as having none.
My own son had cast me aside.
Yet Jun didn’t know—I wasn’t empty-handed.
In my pocket, I carried a savings account—the fortune my husband and I had secretly set aside, worth tens of millions of pesos.
We never told our children. Once, Ramón had warned me:
“People only show kindness when there’s something to gain.”
That day, I decided to remain silent.
I didn’t beg. I didn’t reveal my secret.
I wanted to see how life—and Jun—would play out.
The first day, I sat on the porch of a small store.
The owner, Aling Nena, took pity on me and offered a cup of tea.
When I told her I had just lost my husband and that my children had abandoned me, she sighed:
“There are many stories like this these days, dear. Children value money more than love.”
I rented a small room, paying with the interest from my savings account.
I was cautious—no one could know about my fortune.
I lived simply, wore old clothes, ate cheap food, and kept to myself.
At night, curled up on a bamboo bed, I missed my old home—the squeak of the ceiling fan, the smell of Ramón’s ginger salad.
The longing hurt, but I told myself: as long as I live, I must endure.
I adapted.
By day, I worked at the market—washing vegetables, carrying loads, packing goods.
The pay was small, but I didn’t mind.
I wanted to stand on my own two feet.
The vendors called me “Kind Mama Teresa.”
They didn’t know that every evening, back in my room, I would open my savings book for a moment before hiding it away again.
That was my secret.
One day, I ran into Aling Rosa, my childhood friend.
Seeing me in a rented room, I only told her that my husband had passed and times were hard.
She pitied me and offered work at her carindería.
I agreed.
The work was tiring, but it gave me food and shelter.
It also gave me another reason to keep my savings secret.
Meanwhile, news of Jun reached me.
He lived in comfort, bought a new car, but had fallen into gambling.
An acquaintance whispered:
“I’m sure he already pawned the title deed.”
My heart ached, but I didn’t reach out.
He had left me on the roadside. I had nothing more to say.
One afternoon, while cleaning the carindería, a well-dressed man came in, face tense.
I recognized him—Jun’s drinking companion.
He looked at me sharply.
“Are you Jun’s mother?”
I nodded.
His voice turned urgent:
“He owes us millions. He’s hiding. If you want him saved, it’s up to you.”
I was stunned.
The man sneered bitterly.
“I’m broke too. I can’t help him.”
Then he left.
I thought for a long time.
I loved Jun. But he had abandoned me.
Was this fate? Was it fair?
Months later, Jun finally appeared.
Thin, haggard, eyes red.
The moment he saw me, he fell to his knees, voice shaking:
“Mom, I was wrong. I was cruel. Please save me one last time. If not, my whole family is doomed.”
My heart twisted.
I remembered the nights I cried for him, the sting of his betrayal.
But I also remembered Ramón’s words:
“No matter what happens, he’s still our son.”
I was silent for a long time.
Then I walked into my room and brought out the savings account—the life’s work of my husband and me, worth tens of millions of pesos.
I set it before Jun and looked straight into his eyes.
My voice was steady:
**“This is the money your father and I saved. I hid it because I knew you wouldn’t value it.
I’m giving it to you now. But remember—if you trample on a mother’s love again, no amount of money will ever let you hold your head high.”**
Jun trembled as he took the book.
He wept like a child in the rain.
I knew he might change—or maybe not.
But at least I had fulfilled my final duty as a mother.
And the secret of that money—at last—was revealed when it was needed most.
