Do This in Memory of Me: A Dagli

Do This in Memory of Me

In the middle of the night, I was walking with two of my friends to go to the memorial service of Lucia Alegria at the church we serve at. Everyone called her "Sor Alicia" for short. While we were walking, one of my friends suddenly asked me a question.

"Hey, um... do you know the meaning behind the things that priests always do during mass?"

"What are you talking about?" I hesitated to ask.

"You know, where we get offered to eat the holy bread and drink wine, and then, they say 'do this in memory of me' after?"

Oh. I thought to myself. I then answered, "Well... if I'm certain, we do this because, in Catholicism, I think it 'brings us closer to God' with the holy bread and wine signifying the body and blood of Jesus Christ."

I may be the most religious of our group, but I was uncertain about my answer because I don't know everything about my religion. Not to mention that his question was so random.

"And speaking of God, Sir Alegria, huh? It's somehow off-putting because from what we've observed, he really is treating Sor Alicia like one..." another friend of mine called out. "Man! I'll miss Sor Alicia. I'll surely miss her special menudo during free lunch."

Menudo, a traditional stew made with meat, liver, and vegetables cooked in tomato sauce, was indeed Sor Alicia's specialty.

"Well, you know how Sir Alegria is, he's always been... interesting. But you're right, Sor Alicia's menudo will be missed," I replied.

After a long walk, we finally arrived at the church and took a seat. Sir Alegria, the husband of Sor Alicia, entered to address the people who are visiting the memorial service.

"Thank you all for coming here today," Sir Alegria addressed the crowd. "I'm sure that my wife will be happy because of your visit. Because of all the support you gave her, she helped out a lot of people when she was still here. So, for her memory to live on, let's all stand up and eat her well-known menudo that I've made. For Lucia, everyone!"

All of us stood up to eat menudo. My friends and I took some in a small bowl with a side of rice, and then after, we sat back to our seats. They did not like the menudo though because they said it tasted different, whispering that Sor Alicia's was better. I also noticed the odd taste of the dish. It was not bad, but it was not tasty either. With that said, I continued eating so it doesn't go to waste.

As I was about to finish my meal though, I felt a hard piece of meat while I was chewing. I disliked it, and so, I spitted it out on my plate. As I got a glimpse of it, what I thought was meat was actually not meat.

It was a finger of a person.

I shrieked in fear and was disgusted afterward. Everyone heard my scream and was shocked at what they saw.

"Is this serious?"

"This is disgusting!"

"What the hell is that?"

Some vomited on the floor and some left the memorial. Everyone was filled with disgust and disbelief. We had no idea what we just ate, but all of us were blaming Sir Alegria.

One of my friends called him out to explain his cooking."Sir, why is our food like this? What the hell did you feed us!"

...

Everyone became silent. Sir Alegria just stared at us without saying a single thing. But after a few seconds, he finally spoke. He lifted his head and raised his hands into the air.

"I did not do anything wrong. Lucia died just for the sake of others. You should be thankful." He then smiled at us. "We are all becoming closer to God. Do this in memory of her."