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Yesterday we posted a report by a writer from the Japanese side of RocketNews24 detailing his experiences in Leyte following the havoc wrecked by Typhoon Haiyan. In his account, Sekai no Shogo briefly mentioned the disappearance of his canned food and water. It was a slightly enigmatic comment with a significant backstory to it. Today, we bring you a translation of that story.

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I’ve already written about the state of Leyte following the typhoon, but now I’d like to tell you about a certain woman I met there. At one point during my stay, while camped out under a broken up roof, I lit a candle and then opened some of the canned food I’d brought from Japan–and that is where this story begins.

The meeting

Sitting next to me were three Filipina women. Thinking that they might be hungry, I asked if they wanted a bite to eat and handed them some of the canned food. From there, we started chatting.

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One of the women looks after me

Perhaps taking a shine to me, one of the three women gave me a piece of her bread, invited me for a walk, and applied some rubbing alcohol to my bug bites. All the while, she told me silly stories, helping me get through the night.

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Going shopping

The next day, while we were brushing our teeth, the woman asked if I wanted to go buy some rubbing alcohol. What a thoughtful lady!

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But just what were we shopping for?

But just as I was thinking how kind she was, instead of going to a drug store, she headed for a general store. And…was she picking a sanitary napkin–something I’d certainly never used–and food and juice? As I was wondering what was going on, she told me to pay.

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Buying oranges…with my money

Next, the woman spotted a roadside stall selling fruit and snapped up two oranges in one hand, and again told me to pay. “Do you want one?” she asked, but weren’t those oranges paid for with my money?

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A shopping spree

When we finally arrived at the drug store, the woman said, “I’ll go buy it and come back, so give me some money.” I handed over 200 pesos and she disappeared into the store. After a bit, she emerged, with a bunch of sweets and other goods. She’d gotten the rubbing alcohol almost as if it were an afterthought.

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The woman takes off on a bus

After all that, the woman suddenly turned to me and said, “Well, I’m gonna catch a bus home, so give me some money.” Wait, what?! And with that, she was gone…

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The final blow

“It was like a donation! I was just helping out someone down on their luck. I did the right thing,” I told myself as I headed back to where I’d camped out the night before. But when I got back, my emergency rations and water were all gone…

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So, I had quite an experience at the disaster area. You never know what’s going to happen when traveling, who you might meet or when they might disappear…or how you might get suckered. But all of that makes for fun memories after a bit of time has passed. So I won’t be quitting my backpacking travels any time soon!

Editor’s note: We want to thank Sekai no Shogo for bringing us this first hand account of the disaster area. We’d also like to remind you that you can donate to the Red Cross relief fund for people in the Philippines here.

All images by RocketNews24