my glorietta 2 experience

It has been more than six months since God led Tata and I, away from danger.....and here's my account of the incident

I had a lunch date with my friend Tata at Glorietta. She had been at the mall with her brother since 10:00AM that Friday, and they parted ways around 12:30PM. I was on leave, so I took my sweet time getting to the mall. Meanwhile, my friend whiled away the time at Glorietta 2, trying out clothes and bracelets at the Atrium.

I may have reached the mall around 1:10PM, just as my friend finished trying out a dress at Plains and Prints. It was around 20 minutes before the fateful incident.

Tata then moved to The Bead Shop where we agreed to meet up. She tried out some trinkets while waiting.

“Glorietta 1. lapit sa YRYS and cindy and carol.” was her text message.

My friend was mistaken; The Bead Shop was in fact located at G2. But we both didn't realize this at the time. Tata simply relied on the only guide signage she saw closest to the Bead Shop, and that signage said "Glorietta 1", so that was what she texted me.

Looking back, that “Glorietta 1” guide signage may have saved my life.

Anyhow, I went straight to the center of G1 but I wasn’t able to find The Bead Shop. I asked for directions and a salesperson pointed me towards G2. For some reason, I doubted his instruction.

I could’ve gone straight to G2 from G1 but some unseen hand seemed to guide me back to the mall’s Activity Center. I remember asking myself why I was going that way when the salesperson could be right, that The Bead Shop could be at G2.

Still, I followed where the unseen hand seemed to lead me and found myself at the Activity Center where there is a customer service booth. Meanwhile, I got another text message from Tata saying, “G2 pala.”

Before I could even ask the lady at the customer service booth for the exact location of the shop, I heard an explosion and the sound of breaking glass. Smoke and dust emerged from the corridors of G2. People were running and screaming. I ran as fast I could to the nearest exit, G1.

Nearing the exit, I still felt so unsafe and exposed since I had no idea what I was running away from. I feared I could be running towards a more dangerous zone. So I stopped just outside the mall and looked back in time to see an old lady trip on her way out the door. Had there been more people running, she could’ve been crushed in a stampede. But thank God there were only a few people in that particular area and a guard was able to swiftly help her up.

Then I saw a girl right behind me who suffered some minor cuts, probably caused by shards of glass, just before pandemonium broke out again. People started screaming and running again. Still unaware of what everyone was fleeing from, I ran anyway towards SM where I finally met up with my friend.

Retracing my steps, I realized that God was watching over us that day. He allowed my friend to see the "Glorietta 1" signage which caused our confusion and ultimately led us away from the heart of the blast. The Atrium, where Tata bid her time, was completely blown away but not before she stepped out of the place to get to The Bead Shop. It was still a very close call for her--- The Bead Shop was just three stores away from the Atrium--- but she was nevertheless unharmed.

Tata said that during the minutes of waiting, she almost wanted to text me for a change in rendezvous--- a store familiar to both of us and one we’ve made a meeting point before--– Plains and Prints. We all know what became of this shop after the blast.

God’s unseen hand guided us to safety. In a weird way, I am thankful for the experience. I was reminded of how short life is, that I should value each moment and focus on things that really matter.