July 26, 2013 – is a sad date for the
citizens of Cagayan de Oro city because of a blast that occurred at Kyla's
Bistro, one of the tenants in the restaurant strip at Rosario Arcade in
Limketkai Mall, around 11:30 p.m. Friday. Six people, were killed, while 46
others were wounded.
That same date, my flight from Davao City
going to Cagayan de Oro got cancelled due to bad weather.
I was pissed at first for the fact that I
don’t have enough sleep, have to be at the airport 2 hours before the estimated time of departure (6:55
am), we have to cancel our scheduled canyoneering activity at Mapawa Adventure
Park, and my two other companions are not feeling well.
I know the weather is not within the control of the airline and I am thankful that they offered other options for us. They offered that we either fly the next day or take the connecting flight from Davao to Manila to Cagayan de Oro. So, we picked the latter and arrived at Cagayan de Oro around 6 pm.
I know the weather is not within the control of the airline and I am thankful that they offered other options for us. They offered that we either fly the next day or take the connecting flight from Davao to Manila to Cagayan de Oro. So, we picked the latter and arrived at Cagayan de Oro around 6 pm.
The Original Itinerary
Our original itinerary for that day was the
canyoneering activity at Mapawa (8am to 2pm), rest at the Hotel (2pm to 7pm),
dinner at Kagay-anon restaurant in Limketkai Mall (7pm to 9pm), and chill and
booze at Rosario Arcade (9 pm onwards) where the bombing happened.
But since we arrived late at Cagayan, our
original itinerary changed. Instead of pursuing our evening plan at Kagay-anon
restaurant and Rosario Arcade in Limketkai Mall, we just dined at Barbecue
Station near our hotel and just sleep as my two sick companions’ condition got
even worse and we are just too tired to roam around.
Next day, I woke up with the sad news about the
bombing, then it dawned to me that if not for the cancelled flight, we may have
pushed through with our original plan, and I could be one of the casualties or
witnesses of that terrible explosion.
Cancelled flights are quite annoying
sometimes but, there’s a reason for everything. As for me, it saved me from
that nightmare. It is also God’s way of telling me that it’s not my time yet
and life is too short to not do the things you love.
My heart and prayer goes to the victims of
the bombing.
