Once upon a time, there was an old woman named Magda, who lived in a barrio in Bulacan. She was very wealthy. She had no husband or children to pass on her wealth, and her time was coming.
Indeed, her illness became worse. She sent for all the best doctors in the land, but despite the fortune she spent, none could cure her. After some time, she decided to call upon Pari Garcia, and confess her sins to the church. Her sins were serious and unpardonable. Pari Garcia and Tandang Magda took a lengthy amount of time to go over her confession.
Pari Garcia returned one day with a crystal box, inside the box was a mystical rose. He said, if God had pardoned her sins, the rose would appear fresh. When she looked inside, it appeared dull. Even as she confessed more and more of her crimes, it remained dull. Pari Garcia and her concluded they should put a sign on her door, in which her neighbors could read how she cheated them when she sold rice to them. Despite this display of honesty and the ire of her neighbors, the rose still remained dull in the box.
Pari Garcia then suggested she buy a new pot and stove, and for firewood, she would have to burn the most expensive silks she could buy. Tandang Magda demurred this would cost her everything, but Pari Garcia had no other solution. Tandang Magda did as he asked, and after countless times buying silks, she had to sell her home. She even had to ask the new owners to burn the silks for her.
She asked God for his forgiveness through Pari Garcia, but Pari Garcia said he could not give it to her. Downtrodden and weeping, she asked God directly. And lo and behold, the rose became fresh! Tandang Magda lived for a while longer, but no longer was rich. Charitable and kind people helped her through the last years of her life.