Based on my smartwatch, I woke up at precisely 0900 on Wednesday, 27 March 2024. This day of the Holy Week is often called as Holy Wednesday. Others refer to it as ‘Spy Wednesday’ because this was the day when Judas Iscariot conspired with the Roman authorities to betray Jesus Christ.

The previous night, there was a five-hour blackout (from 1830 until about 2300) where I live. I refer to the village of Tiniguiban in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines. To catch up on my pending writing chores, I still worked until past two o’clock, already a wee hour of dawn.

I felt both lethargic and terribly hungry upon waking up. Instantaneously, I craved a rice-based meal of corned beef and egg. I didn’t know why I preferred such a breakfast set. Normally, I want a combination of rice, egg, and longganisa (a pork-based Filipino sausage). Since it was already late, I thought of just partaking in a breakfast-lunch combo.

Unfortunately, I was not inclined to do either option so I could eat my preferred breakfast. The first option was going to Jollibee, a Filipino fast-food restaurant. The nearest branch, though, is some two kilometers away. I was feeling lazy and couldn’t motivate myself to drive.

The second option was to just cook by myself. Although the kitchen had available ingredients, I was not in the mood to cook on a Spy Wednesday. The thought of cracking eggs, opening the corned beef tin with a knife (the can opener got busted a few days ago!), and going through the cooking motion sent a revulsive sensation down my spine. My dream breakfast of rice, corned beef, and egg was going down the drain.

I remained in bed, thinking of other possible creative options – aside from either self-cooking or driving to Jollibee. Still in a half-dazed state, no other alternatives came to my mind. Without any warning, a thought just flashed in my subconscious.

What if somebody just gives me a complimentary breakfast set of rice, corned beef, and egg? Instantaneously, I canceled my own thought. An avid believer in Greek logic, I told myself that such a wild thought would not happen. I convinced myself to be realistic and to simply prepare the most straightforward breakfast: toast two slices of bread and fill them in with cheese spread. Nothing more, nothing less.

Despite still wanting to stay in bed, I forced myself to get up. I proceeded with my usual waking-up routine: praying in silence, expressing my gratitude to The Almighty for being alive; putting my maintenance Hyabak eye drops; cleaning the nostril tubing of my continuous positive airway pressure machine; and making up my bed. (I often ignore the advice of a Feng-Shui teacher that making up the bed is the foremost first task to undertake upon waking up!)

Then, I left the room and weighed myself in the living room. Still overweight despite daily walks. No miracle. I couldn’t check my blood pressure as the unit’s battery was flat. “Is this the start of a bad day?”, I casually asked myself.

Afterwards, I opened the main door. As I slowly walked to the porch area, something caught my attention. I saw a covered plate on the small veranda table that may have come from Divina (my sister-in-law) who every now-and-then shares some meals with me at no particular time (see Figure 1). I began to get intrigued, though. I didn’t open the lid immediately but carried it straight away to the dining area.