Flowers in the Crypt

by Catherina Garcia Dario

1.
The writer’s grandfather, Exequiel Garcia, grew up in a household where his parents had
fought often. Exequiel’s father moved out of their house when he discovered his wife’s affair
with the boy’s piano teacher. Afterwards, Exequiel lived with his stepfather and three
stepsiblings. He left home for the war and later came back to his mother, now alone since
Exequiel’s piano teacher has died of lupus. He then went to Manila to study in a university. He
took all sorts of jobs including selling handwritten poems so he could pay for his expenses.
Eventually, he became a journalist and a businessman. After two months, he married the
woman whom he referred to on his article as the most beautiful girl on campus, Narcissa Cortez.
Both of them worked hard to have a stable life.

2. Referring to someone as a shell could mean that a person might seem well and beautiful on the
outside but because of the horrible things this person has gone through, he/ she is left empty on
the inside. The narrator may have referred to herself and his Lolo as shells because both of them
have seen and experienced so much in life that their inner self feels empty and they are not
what they appear to be.

3. After the narrator’s Lolo got married at a young age, he worked very hard to support his family.
He got a steady job in the newspaper which kept him busy day and night. When the narrator
said “It was almost inevitable that Remedios would come along”, I think she meant that due to
her Lolo’s heavy workload, he had no choice but to hire a secretary or another journalist that
would help him with his job. This secretary or journalist happened to be Remedios.

4. The narrator despised his Lolo for having a family with another woman, Remedios, even after
his death. However, when she saw her leave flowers and a letter on his Lolo’s crypt, she started
to realize how hard it must be for Remedios to mourn alone. This woman was not there during
the last days of his Lolo and also wasn’t able to attend his wake. The narrator thought she
could’ve just torn the flowers, but she realized that his Lolo loved his other children just like he
loved her. She thought that it’s not because her Lolo didn’t know how to love, but it was
because he loved too much. At the end, the narrator finally understood her Lolo’s side and
decided to join her family to pray for his soul.