The Heroic Woman

I was in high school when I heard about this story.

There was once a fat woman in our town. Most of the townspeople ignored her while children made fun of her because she was fat. Jeepney drivers didn’t want her because she occupied nearly two seats. Consequently, she didn’t have any friends.

One day, she rode the jeep to go to the city. During the trip, she looked out of the window and ignored four children who were talking about her. The children were sitting on a duffel bag on the floor of the jeep. The oldest was telling the young ones how she swallowed a dozen small children which made her very fat.

The fat woman was so used to that story she didn’t mind it anymore. She just kept looking outside. Then, she saw it. She saw another jeep going directly towards them. It was a head-on collision. The woman threw herself down the duffel bag to shield the children with her body and encircled them with her strong big arms.

Both of the drivers died and a lot of passengers were severely injured including the fat woman. But the four children were alive. Except for minor bruises, the children were safe, thanks to the fat woman.

I didn’t have a chance to meet her. But one thing I learned was that anybody can be a hero regardless of age, size and shape..