One Tough Litel Gel

I had just met with the Marketing people, and was on my way out of my office to get water from the dispenser when my secretary Von called to me, “Sir, Ms. Wena fell down the stairs, but according to Sir Eugene, she is alright.”

Von-dot said that to me in the expressionless monotone that is his manner that he might have been telling that me there was a pile of checks to sign on my desk. At that moment, I wondered if he had iced water for blood.

I mean, how does one fall down a flight of stairs and be alright? Me? A chill immediately ran down my spine and after hastily drinking a mug of water I sped down the very same staircase and walkathon-ed to the clinic.

I arrived at the clinic to find the Litel Gel sitting by one of the staff desks with an ice pack held to her forehead. Although she still looked ashen, I could immediately see that she was, indeed, quite alright!

Between her and Ces, who was her companion at the time, I was able to obtain a reconstruction of the sequence of events.

The two were at the landing between the ground and the second floor of the Diokno and were heading down to the first floor when the Litel Gel’s heel got caught on the edge of the first step down. I hastily stooped to examine the culprit, and by my estimate the Litel Gel was attempting to add at least another three inches.

“Naku!” I admonished her. “Next time wear flat shoes… Tanggapin na lang!”

At this point, Ces took over the blow-by-blow in the melodramatic way that only she is capable of. The moment the Litel Gel started to fall, she held out her hand and cried out to Ces; but it all happened so fast that Ces was shocked – pronounced shah-ked – and missed the Litel Gel’s hand altogether, only managing to clutch at air.

Ces marveled at the athletic ability she never suspected the Litel Gel possessed. Apparently, the latter managed to cushion her fall and roll gymnastically down the flight of stairs, all the while instinctively raising her hands to protect her head as she rolled. Had she been in Montreal in ’76, Nadia Comaneci would only have collected silver medals!

Unfortunately, when she reached the ground, she hit her forehead hard on the side of the door. I winced when the commentary reached that part, since I could imagine how painful that must have been. That said, I have been in football practically all my life and know that the forehead has among the strongest bones in the entire body.

For all her shah-ked-ness, Ces at least had the presence of mind to shriek in a manner that would have roused all the souls in Purgatory! That brought the security personnel at the ground floor running to give assistance.

Seeing as I did that the Litel Gel was getting all the necessary attention at the clinic, and because I wanted to ease her fears, I resorted to humor to distract her. “Naku,” I told her, “you should have shouted ‘Darna!’ when you were starting to fall..”

As for Ces, tama na si Zsa-zsa Zaturna…!!! The Litel Gel was laughing in no time at all…

A car was soon available to ferry the Litel Gel for a CT-scan, and early in the afternoon, I spoke to her on the phone to inquire about the results. They were not out yet, but she was advised to take the rest of the day off. The doctors did not think there was anything seriously wrong with her.

She said she had started to bruise a bit, and of course, she will be carrying a lump on her forehead in the next few days.

They do say that great things come in small packages. Well… Here’s one tough Litel Gel indeed!

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