Aquamarine

The origin of where the ring came from is not clear. Some family stories say that it came from a Lady in waiting to the Queen of Spain. The ring has an aquamarine stone in the middle. It is oval shaped and very shiny. The sides of the ring have heart shape patterns. On both ends of the ring there is a heart. The ring is made of gold.

As far as we know, it belonged to Felina Ablaza Villegas, my great grand aunt. She is the older half-sister of Precilla Ablaza Buenviaje, my great grandmother. They shared the same mother, Rosario Ablaza Villegas, my great great grandmother.

During World War 2, Precilla and her husband Amando Buenviaje already had an eldest daughter named Carmencita. One time, they had to hide in a bunker because the city was being bombed. Precilla was carrying Carmencita on her lap when Rosario asked them to exchange places in the bunker (so Precilla and Carmencita can sit beside Amando). After a few moments, a bomb hit the place where Rosario is now sitting. Everybody had to run. Precilla was shot in the back and Amando was shot on the foot. Carmencita herself had head injuries. This story is a reminder for the family: if Rosario did not ask to exchange places, we will not be here today. They were never able to bury the body of Rosario.

After the war, Precilla and Amando had 3 more sons, including my grandfather Rene Antonio Buenviaje. Felina never had a family of her own. She lived with Precilla’s family for the rest of her life. Felina took care of her niece and nephews. She was always there in their lives. She gave the ring to Carmencita.

Even if there was war during the childhood of Carmencita, she grew up to be a very good person. Like Felina, she is very important to all her nieces and nephew, including my mum, Maria Teresa Buenviaje Corpus. My mom describes her as a “gentle, wise, and kind-hearted woman”. She became a pediatrician. She is one of the best in our country. She does free check-ups to poor patients in her city. She also does a lot of charity work. When she spoke about her experience to my mom, Carmencita said “Can you imagine the anguish of ‘Inay’ (Precilla) to keep running and could not even bury her mother? The 5 years of war especially towards the end was terrible.” She still has a shrapnel on her skull from the bunker explosion.

Carmencita gave the ring to my mum. In the tradition that the ring is given from an aunt to a niece, my mom will someday pass it on to one of her nieces. Not to me. I’m ok with this because I got to see the ring. I sometimes ask permission from my mom to wear it for a few minutes. I also got to know the story of my great great grandmother, my great grand aunt, and grand aunt. Someday I will tell this story to our next generation.