2007-07-09T08:50:00.001-07:00

.::Thomas::.

This nonsense tale begins on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio, USA. A man named Samuel and a woman named Nancy never thought that the baby boy the stork had just given them was a prodigy. They named him Thomas.

When Thomas was in school, his mind would usually wander the depths of the unknown. Such was that, when a teacher heard the boy one day calling him something which he despised, he kicked him out of school. So Thomas learned everything he had to learn at home, with his mother as his teacher.

Scarlet fever is no illness which can only make the afflicted red and hot. It’s worse. It makes you deaf. Just like what happened to little Thomas. When the epidemic attacked their town, he was hooked with the disease and by then his ears wouldn’t function quite well. Add up the incident which happened one day at the train station. The train conductor lifted him up to the vehicle through his ears. That caused something inside one of his ears to break and thus, worsened his deafness.

How ironic. The boy Thomas who had hearing problems eventually became the man Thomas who invented food for the ears. In 1877, Thomas Alva Edison gained fame with his invention of the phonograph.

***

Change is for the world, innovation is for technology.

The nursery rhyme ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ was the first song to be recorded with Thomas Edison’s invention. Elvis Presley and the members of The Beatles might be thanking Mr. Edison in heaven for his breakthrough contribution in the music history. Same with other music artists who might now be at six feet below the ground.

Tempus fugit. The phonograph became obsolete as time passed by. The cassette player was introduced which also gave way to the evolution of radios, karaokes, components, etc. The phonograph discs then became frisbees for the phonograph owner’s grandchildren.

But innovation never stopped. Man’s mind is uncertain and with science, expect possibilities with impossibilities. Compact discs players dethroned cassette players. CDs were modeled from phonograph discs but they’re thinner, and out of better material. Then came Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Westlife, and Britney Spears in the foreign music industry.

The player system was out of the question. Science explored about ‘portability’. So the Walkman was born and teenagers could listen to Michael Jackson wherever, whenever. But when CD players rose, Walkman lost in a face off with Discman. Thin CDs were better than thick cassettes.

But who would have thought something which don’t need a cassette or a CD is much better? As the world began to revolve for the new millennium, technology gave birth to MP3. A thousand songs stored in a matchbox device.

And what say of Thomas Alva Edison?

“Damn…if only I’m alive, I’ll be richer than Bill Gates.”

.::Teresita::.

She bought her iPod at a computer store in London. It cost 157 pounds. Her husband thought it was expensive and impractical. She’s 46 years old. Why would she go with the flow with what’s hot for teenagers?

“This is from my salary…not from yours,” Teresita told her husband.

“One hundred fifty seven pounds? Sita, it will feed us for a week!”

“It’s practical. With the exchange rate of 1:95, this costs around 15, ooo pesos in the Philippines.”

“I still think it’s impractical. Besides, we’re old enough to have such stuff.”

She hugged her husband and replied, “Pablo, why can’t you be happy with me and with what I bought? For God’s sake…we’re restless here abroad. Please darling, let me enjoy what I earned.”

“Fine then. Can I borrow it some time?” Pablo grinned.

Teresita laughed at her husband’s hypocrisy. She punched him gently and they kissed.

They didn’t want to know who between them was barren. They were married for seven years but Teresita never got pregnant. When they were in the Philippines, they journeyed to Obando to dance and achieve miraculous fertility. But they failed. They tried other sciences, alternative medicines, meditations, and positions. All were ineffective.

They migrated to United Kingdom with no hope of having a child. At least, they love one another. Teresita went first since she was a nurse, and nurses were in demand in London. After a year of processing his documents, Pablo followed her wife abroad. He worked as a utility in the hospital where Teresita was hired.

Thanks to ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel. Teresita and Pablo felt like they’re still at home in the Philippines while they watched TV. They were updated with what’s happening in the Philippines: the endless turmoil in Mindanao, the typhoon which ruined billions of properties in Visayas, and the newly elected president from the showbiz. They were still fanatic with Filipino stars. Teresita was crazy with Yeng Constantino, a rising star who had recently won a singing contest in a reality TV show.

Hawak kamay / Di kita iiwan sa paglakbay / Dito sa mundong walang katiyakan / Hawak kamay / Di kita iiwan sa paglalakbay / Sa mundo ng kawalan…

She had a last song syndrome with Hawak Kamay, the first hit single of Yeng Constantino. That was one of her reasons why she bought the iPod. Hawak Kamay was the first song she downloaded in her MP3 player.

Teresita worked in the dialysis section of Watford Hospital. Dialysis was her expertise, even before in her Saudi Arabia days. But for years of doing routines, her hands seemed to give up. In her second year in London, she was perceiving pain in her hands every time she overused it with the machines. Until they finally gave up. The pains were excruciating. She could no longer press the buttons or prepare the dialyzer properly. The head nurse discovered about her condition and advised her to seek medical attention…or her contract was over.

“I’m going home…next month.”

“That soon? Why? Any problem?” Pablo was curious when Teresita mentioned about going back to the Philippines.

“These stupid hands! If they’re not treated, my job’s endangered.” She wanted her tears to burst but she forced not to. She rather explained to her husband what her head nurse said.

“Look at the brighter side,” Pablo comforted. “It’s fiesta their in our place. And to think…it’s almost two years…I wish I can go with you.”

One month later, Teresita was on seat 30B of an airplane bound to the Philippines. She’s used to jet lags. The bubble gum Pablo gave her before her departure seemed to help her a bit. Not to mention the song playing in her iPod again and again.

Hawak kamay / Di kita iiwan sa paglakbay / Dito sa mundong walang katiyakan / Hawak kamay / Di kita iiwan sa paglalakbay / Sa mundo ng kawalan…

Damn this song, she thought. The hands, the hands, and nothing but the hands. My hands…my poor hands…

III

.::Alvin::.

Alvin was born a school achiever. Thanks to his mother, a teacher, who donated to him the majority of his genes. He graduated First Honors at Cauayan Central Elementary School and got twelve medals for minor awards. He was accepted as a scholar in Negros Occidental Science High School and graduated Valedictorian four years later. He decided to take up BS Nursing for tertiary education. He topped the college entrance exam.

His college years was about to end. He was melancholic. Alvin wasn’t ready to face the ‘real’ world. Kissing allowance goodbye meant death to him. And to think, his savings from his last two semesters wasn’t enough yet to buy an iPod. He wanted to buy the coolest MP3 player as a gift for himself on the coming graduation.

“How much is it?” His father asked.

“Fifteen thousand pesos…some stores might have discounts.” Alvin replied with his sweetest grin.

“No way, Toto. That amount could send your sister to school for a semester.”

He hated his father for not spoiling him. But he had to admit, his mother could have said the same words. He was dreaming an impossible dream. Only the children of their college’s administrative council seemed to have iPods.

He had been a good son all his life. For his last days in college, to be naughty wasn’t a sin. During exams, he asked his parents the amount more than the exact for his tuition fee. He could get a thousand or sometimes a double. His mother trusted him. His father was ignorant.

I’ll pay them good grades.

He had a flat affect when the college dean informed him that he would be climbing the stage on March as a cum laude. Why would he be surprised? He did his best. He never slept on exam eves. He could explain all the nursing theories and their applications. Not getting the cum laude title would be his ground for suicide.

I’ll not tell Mama and Papa. If they’ll be surprised on graduation, they might give me 5, 000 pesos. Ten thousand plus five…hmmm, iPod for me!

“So…cum laude?” Alvin’s mother asked him. They’re having their dinner.

“I think not…”

“How come? You? First Honor and Valedictorian? The only thing lacking there in the sala is your cum laude medal, Bro.” His sister, who had just celebrated her debut, teased him.

“I dunno…really…not yet announced…don’t expect…”

“YOUR TITA’S COMING!” Everyone was shocked when the head of the family screamed. Alvin’s father read the text message from his sister who had just arrived from London.

Im hir n Manila. Going Negros tom. C u & ur famly. Mis u. –Sita

As they continued eating, their minds were flooding with luxurious imaginations.

Pounds! Pounds! Pounds! The balikbayan’s brother thought.

Jewelries! Clothes! Shoes! The balikbayan’s sister-in-law thought.

Hersheys! Cadburry! Gandour! The balikbayan’s niece thought.

Alvin never liked his Aunt Teresita. Of all her aunts, she was the least close to him. Though, he was inspired by her to take up nursing so he could go abroad. Knowing that his Tita Sita was coming, he had no reason to be happy. He couldn’t think of anything his aunt might give him. Or maybe, she had no pasalubong for him at all…like every time that she went back in the Philippines.

Graduation Day. Alvin’s mother had a flat affect when her son was called on the stage to receive the cum laude medal. Why would she be surprised? I knew it! He was lying. Toto Alvin just wanted to surprise us. She climbed up the stage with her husband, who miraculously wore a polo, and put on the medal to their genius offspring.

“Oki ridi…si chiz!” The photographer said as he captured Alvin’s most unforgettable moment.

That night, they had lechon. The dinner was grand. Relatives from far away towns were present and congratulated Alvin with their hugs and kisses. Alvin wondered where his parents got the money for his graduation party. Lending, he thought. Oh no…so they might give me nothing because of this party. Bye bye iPod…

“CONGRATULATIONS!”

Alvin was surprised when his Tita Sita hugged him. Actually, he was stunned. He didn’t know what to say. “Thanks, Tita…” Did she eat something exotic? Why now? Compensating?

“I missed you, Toto,” Teresita said.

“I missed you too, Tita.” Smiles. Plastic smiles.

Reaction formation. After kissing his aunt on the cheek, he left her to attend his other visitors. What for getting close to her? She’ll give nothing to me.

The night was over. The visitors were gone. Alvin was placing his medal on display in their sala while his mother and sister washed the dishes. His father was snoring on the sofa. Too much of academics. Enough of pleasing my parents. Time to give time for myself.

“Toto, assist your Tita Sita going to the doctor next week.” He heard his mother said.

“Doctor? Why?” Alvin asked.

“Didn’t she tell you? She went home for a carpal tunnel operation…it’s for her hands…”

“Why me? Aimee can go with her. I got files to process for the board exam.” He had said an alibi. His files were all set for the Nursing Licensure Examination.

“You’re the second nurse in the clan. And by the way…did you thank her?”

“Thank her for what?”

“For the party…”

OH MY GOD! She spent for the party? As in my party? His conscience was deafening. He realized that his Tita Sita loved him after all. Pardon me, Lord. I’m going to talk to Tita tomorrow…I’ll gonna thank her…and ask her about London…and hug her…and tell her I missed her so much…and…and…

The operation was a success. Teresita’s doctor was Dr. Abelardo Montepio, the best orthopedic surgeon in the province. It took only two hours, out patient. She went out of the operating room with bandages on her both hands.

Alvin carried his Tita’s bag since she could no longer carry it. After buying pain medications and antibiotic in the pharmacy, they rode a taxicab home.

“Toto, open my bag please,” Teresita requested her nephew.

Alvin opened the bag and saw something which made his heart beat faster.

“See the iPod? It’s yours.”

God was good. He got the thing he desired without touching what he had stolen from his parents. He spent his savings worth 10, 000 pesos on a trip to Cebu. The trip was via San Carlos City, north of Negros Occidental. The barge was cheaper.

He was with Lyn, his secret girlfriend. He knew that his mother would kill him if she knew he had a girlfriend while in school. “Focus on your studies, not on ladies. You can have as much as you want after college,” his mother always reminded him.

They visited the famous Taoist Temple, Magellan Shrine, the Basilica de Sto. Niño, and the beautiful Mactan Island. Alvin bought a guitar. Lyn ate packs of dried mangoes. They were on the coolest bars every night. They had no inhibitions. Alvin and Lyn had the time of their lives.

They rode on a bus from San Carlos to Bacolod after their three-day Cebu escapade. Lyn went out of the bus in Sagay which was along the route. She lived in the city. Alvin had two boring hours to reach the capital city of Negros.

He hated the Hawak Kamay song playing in his iPod. He had no choice. When he would reach Bacolod, he was planning to download some punk rock with his friend’s computer. When his aunt gave him the MP3 player, there were only five songs present in the device: the irritating Hawak Kamay and four songs sung by Sharon Cuneta. The last song he heard before he fell asleep on the trip was Bituing Walang Ningning.

“Bacolod!” The bus conductor called.

Alvin wiped his drooling saliva when he heard the conductor. I’m home at last. He went out of the Ceres Liner and rode a jeepney bound to Mansilingan.

He was wondering why the world was silent. He had his iPod’s earphone still on his ears. He wanted to scream on the vehicle when he realized he no longer owned an iPod but just its earphone. The MP3 player was no longer in his pocket.

.::Rita::.

She had her father’s facial features and her mother’s complexion. She would be perfect for a horror movie.

When she looked at the mirror, she could see an Aeta. Rita was tired of being teased as ‘negra’. She never enjoyed much of her childhood. She had no playmates. She couldn’t stand being always the laughingstock. Her mother would comfort her by saying “Black is beautiful”. No, she would think. Never. Black beauty is a curse. I know. My classmates told me.

She worried only about her dark complexion until she stepped high school. When she was fifteen years old, she had an additional worry. Her father’s sebaceous glands which she inherited via heredity exploded on her face like what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She was no longer Negra. With the roaming pimples in her face, her new nickname was ‘Craters’.

Ugly people tend to compensate in academics. Rita was taking up Political Science. I’ll be a lawyer. I’ll be a senator. I’ll pass a bill against facial discrimination. I’ll put them all to jail. She studied hard. If she couldn’t make herself beautiful, her transcript of records would be.

“Hi guapa!”

She never heard a guy calling her beautiful before. “Duh?! Are you blind?”

“No Maam…you’re beautiful…really…” The guy insisted.

“What’s your name?” Rita got her face powder from her shoulder bag and assessed herself in the mirror.

“It’s Dino.”

She sighed. “Okay…Dino, give me your cell number. I’ll meet you after your work.” Rita wondered how she got the fortitude to say such words to a man she had just encountered.

And so, to everyone’s surprise, Craters had her first boyfriend. Dino was tall, dark, and handsome. A jackpot. Rita didn’t care if she looked like a yaya during their dates. And who cared if Dino was a waiter in Jollibee? He loves me…they’ll die in jealousy.

One day, she introduced her BF to her classmates.

“Girls! This is Dino…my honeybunch,” she said. Die in envy, bitches!

“Oh my God…you look compatible,” Tiffany said. I wanna vomit.

“He’s handsome,” Andrea said. What a waste.

“You really love each other,” Ivy said. Love is blind.

Dino would not grasp at the blade if not of his mother who was sick. He needed money for her multi-drug therapy. The doctor said that her mother’s tuberculosis would make him an orphan if she was not treated earlier. His wage as a waiter would never suffice. He needed quick bucks.

He began to wear signature shirts. He was able to buy his first original Nike. He experienced fine dining at Bob’s. He said goodbye to his Nokia 3315 on his 25^th birthday. Rita’s gift was Nokia N93.

“Field trip? Where?” Rita’s father asked.

“Bohol…Philippine History,” she replied.

“How much?”

“Eight thousand…excluding the pocket money.”

She would give her father a fake receipt.

Rita would do everything for the love of her life. Dino was her only world. She never felt tired staring at him face to face. She loved sniffing his manly scent. Whenever they kissed, it seemed to her that only the two of them exist in the universe.

Dino would leave Rita if he could meet a woman richer and more idiotic. He felt disgust every time she’s with him. He wanted to punch her face when she would stare at him. Rita was an animal; her sniffing of his scent was evidence that she was of canine species. He brushed his teeth three times after they kissed.

It was their third month-sary. And it was summer.

“Honeybunch! We’re going to Sipaoay!” Rita told Dino excitedly.

“Sipaoay? Where’s that place?”

“That’s an island resort in San Carlos. Three days. I had reservations already.” My virginity will be gone.

“Okay. That’s great!” Whatever. You’ll be spending for it anyway.

Rita’s alibi to his father was a field trip to Iloilo.

Sipaoay Island is a Negros hidden treasure. It might not have the Boracay nightlife but the waters are as clear. Dino was amazed. He used to have summer excursions in black sand beaches but in Sipaoay, it was a whole new experience for him. It was a summer he would never forget.

I’ll seduce him tonight. Pussies? That’s what men want. I’ll give him what he wants. He’ll crave for it. Meow! Rawr!

Dino was shocked when he went out of the bathroom. He would have wanted to go back and take a shower again. On their bed laid Rita on her black lingerie which made her look like burnt barbecue. So gross, Dino thought.

“Come here, Honeybunch…” Rita said in her best seducing voice.

“Rita?! What are you doing?” Dino wished to disappear in the scene.

“Seducing you of course. You’ll kiss me…we’ll make love…”

“Are you serious?”

On that moment, Rita pulled her BF into bed and removed the towel which wrapped him. She coiled around his body like the anacondas of Amazon.

“I love you Dino…I want you…want me…want me…”

He couldn’t breathe courtesy of the snake’s constriction. Dino wanted to vomit. He screamed when his girlfriend grabbed his penis and licked it like lollipop.

“STOP!”

Rita let go of Dino’s penis when she heard his shout. She wanted some more. But Dino seemed not liking it. Besides, he wasn’t erect. “What?”

“Look Rita…I’m sorry…I’m not ready…I’m not in the mood…” Dino was choosing his words. “I have a problem…I need some money.”

Money? I don’t have money anymore. I’m running out of alibis. Papa might ask me this time why I have a series of field trips. “Wh…what? Money? As in now?”

“ASAP.” Dino wrapped himself with the blanket.

“I’m running out of money. I spent much for our stay here in the island. Can it wait?” Argh! Let’s talk about money next time. Let’s not waste this moment. Take my virginity away!

“I’m sorry, Rita…it’s just that I’m not in the mood right now to do this thing…I’m worried.”

“It’s okay, Honeybunch,” Rita replied as she hugged Dino. Son of a bitch! “I love you. I can wait.”

They slept that night in distance with each other on bed. Rita made love to Dino in her dream. But by the morrow, her dream turned to a nightmare. Her BF was gone and on the bed was a letter saying: “Rita, I really need the money. Don’t look for me if you can’t help me. Honeybunch.”

Rita was alone in the island. Her Sipaoay paradise turned to inferno. I’m no gaga. I know that he’s only after for my money. Damn him! He can’t do this to me. She seemed to become a loca de amor. She had episodes of crying and laughing. Though, she was desperate to look for Dino so she left Sipaoay as soon as possible. Rita could rob a bank to give her BF what he wanted.

She rode a bus from San Carlos to Bacolod. All throughout the trip, her thoughts was with Dino. How can I have money? Argh! Don’t worry Dino…I’ll help you…

The Ceres Liner with Bus No. 14039 encountered a huge problem while on the way. Somewhere along Victorias, two of the tires mysteriously exploded. The driver had only one spare. No choice. The passengers had to transfer to another Ceres Liner unit.

Rita thought that destiny had something to do with the incident. It was good that she had transferred in Bus No. 8399. Sitting beside her on the vehicle was a handsome guy. But it wasn’t the looks that she admired. It was the device visible from guy’s pocket with wires running to his ears.

I’m doing this for you, Dino.

She was fortunate that the guy was in deep sleep. When she would be in Bacolod, she would sell the iPod and look for her beloved Dino.

.::Simon::.

Simon Araneta had a mansion in Bago City. His wife was a beauty queen. His three daughters were intelligent. His only son was handsome, just like him. In short, what more could he ask for?

Cockfighting was his vice. He had his mansion’s backyard a sanctuary for his fighting cocks. He would forget about his children’s vitamins but never his cocks’. He was rich because of them. Gambling with the fowls was his life.

“Simon, when will you stop betting in cockfights?” Lucy, his wife, asked him.

“Stop? Can’t you see Lucy? This is my life. I can’t stop.” He ignited his fourteenth Marlboro stick.

“What about us? You can’t give us food from gambling forever.”

“Lucy, don’t argue with me about my hobby while I feed the family properly.”

Lucy would shut up every time she heard those words from her husband.

Of all his children, Simon loved his unico hijo most. Simon Junior was Simon Senior’s joy when he’s out of the gallera. He taught him to draw, to drive the bicycle, to swim, and of course, to take care of cocks. He loved him so much. Simon Senior wouldn’t let an ant bite his beloved son.

It is a fact that no one really gets rich with gambling. You win, you lose, you win, you lose, and so on. Money is just running in cycles. Such could be applied to the life of Simon Araneta. Yes, he became rich when he won consecutively in betting cockfights. But there came a time that he never won in a series. He lost his lands, his cars, his mansion, and finally, his wife.

“I’ll file for an annulment. I’m tired of you, Simon. I’m tired of this life!” Lucy said. I can’t even buy an Avon makeup. She removed all her clothes in the closet and put them on a bag one by one.

“I can win again. There’s a huge jackpot this coming festival.” Simon replied. This is just her drama.

“Go on! Like what you said, it’s your life. But it’s not mine. I’m taking the children with me to Batangas.”

“But Lucy…let’s fix this up…please…”

“No. It’s final.”

It was no drama. Lucy left early the next morning with her children. But somehow, she still loved her husband. She was doing it only for him to change and realize his mistakes. She left him Simon Junior.

He was broke. Gone were the days of his glory. He moved to a small house he bought out of his remaining money. He was glad that his wife left him his most treasured possession, his son. And it seemed that Lucy’s objective was about to be met. Simon changed. He stopped gambling and dedicated his life raising his son. He planted vegetables for income and to send Simon Junior to school. If I earn enough money, I’ll look for my wife and daughters in Batangas. We will be one happy family again.

Rainy days. The epidemic was causing high mortality rate. It was sudden. Simon Junior went home one afternoon with a high fever. His high temperature never stopped for seven days. Rashes became visible on his skin. When his beloved son vomited blood, Simon immediately brought him to Bago District Hospital.

He was treated but Simon Junior had no signs of betterment. In the end, the doctor referred him to the regional hospital in Bacolod. One day, his son would no longer take his medicines. His gums were bleeding profusely. Simon was worried. Lord God, please don’t let my son pay all my sins. Help him. Help him survive. Simon Junior was spontaneously vomiting blood while in the ambulance bound to Bacolod.

They reached Corazon Locsin Memorial Regional Hospital at last. The doctor in the emergency room declared Simon Junior as DOA.

Fate never spared his most precious gem. God is cruel. How could this happen to my life? He asked himself such questions for myriad times. He isolated himself. He lived on the streets. He ate garbage.

“Hi Simon! Wonderful day today.” Pauleen, the psychiatric nurse in Philippine Mental Health Institution – Negros asked the newly admitted patient. No response.

“Are you hungry? Do you want to take a bath?” No response.

“Is there something you want to share?” No response.

“Come on outside. Let’s play catch.” No response.

“I have pens here…and paper. Would you like to draw?”

It was his stimulus. He remembered the first time he taught Simon Junior to draw. It was a tree. His son was a fast learner. Simon Junior colored the tree with orange crayons. Simon never thought that orange-colored trees could be beautiful.

Simon cried and said “My son”, his first speech after a year of schizophrenia.

He responded well to the treatments. The psychiatric nurses in PMHI were good. He interacted with other patients in the vicinity. When he was no longer a threat to himself and to others, the director of PMHI ordered his release. Simon was free. Welcome back to the cruel world.

He had a whole new life with the help of Tonyo. Antonio “Tonyo” Tumamak was a notorious swindler. He was the head of a gang of snatchers in Bacolod City. He bought and sold snatched cellular phones.

He found him begging on the streets. Simon wasn’t that old. Tonyo could use him in crime. He offered him shelter, clothes, and food. He trained him to become a swindler.

“It’s easy as pie, Simon. You’ll stay there in the corner of old Gaisano, whisper to some people about buying low-cost good phones…and that’s it! Or you will ask them you will buy their old phones…and we’ll sell their items again at a higher price.” Tonyo gave his evil lecture.

“Okay. So when shall I begin?”

He became a criminal, or sort of. Simon was a swindler for two years by then. The police already smelled the gang’s modus operandi but he was being careful not to get caught. His desire to look for his family in Batangas never died in his heart. My daughters might be professionals by now. And damnit…I miss Lucy a lot.

A few transactions to go and he would have the money he needed for the search of his family. He would ask Tonyo for retirement.

Simon wondered whether his boss would accept what a costumer was offering him one morning. The dark skinned lady with an acne pitied face approached him along old Gaisano and offered to sell a device which didn’t look like a cellular phone.

“What’s this?” He asked the ugly lady.

“It’s an MP3 player, Manong. Many will buy it for sure. I just need the money right now…that’s why I’m selling it.”

“Okay. How much?” If this is a mistake, then I’ll be deadmeat for Tonyo.

“Ten thousand.”

Simon was shocked. It was the most expensive he had encountered so far. “What? That’s costly, hija.”

“Why? How much do you have there?” The lady seemed to be in a hurry.

“I got only seven thousand…”

“Give me the money, it’s yours…but there will be no earphone.”

The costumer left as soon as Simon gave her the money.

When he passed by a computer store that afternoon, he was shocked to see on the display window the device which was similar to what he bought that morning. iPod by Macintosh? Oh my…it’s worth 15,000 pesos! Boss will be happy for this…and I’ll get a great commission. I’ll sell this as soon as possible. Batangas, here I come.

.::Robert::.

Robert’s only regret was borrowing his cousin’s MP3 player. It gave him the most painful headache he ever felt in his life. He wished it was only an ordinary MP3 player. But damn…it was an iPod!

Robert and his cousin Alex grew up together. They were best friends. Their mothers were sisters and were also best friends before them. They lived on a subdivision where their homes were just throwstones with each other. Alex had the larger house. His father was an OFW.

They played basketball together when they were young boys. They melted their eyes in playing computer games and they collected different variety of koi. They rumbled with bullies in the neighborhood. They chased little girls with their little penises exposed.

They went together to a doctor to get circumcised. It was Robert who discovered first how to stimulate himself sexually with his hands. He taught Alex how to do it and later on, as their penises grew gargantuan, they were sharing different masturbation techniques. From tropical fishes and computer games, their attention was catapulted to the female reproductive organ. Roberto Veñegas lost his virginity when he was seventeen years old. His cousin told him that he lost his on the same age. But the truth was, Alexander Torres had already licked and screwed a vagina when he was fourteen years old.

When he was 21 years old, Alex bought a car, his father’s debut gift. The morning after his wild house party, he and his cousin tried his new Honda Civic.

“Ohlala…what have we here…” Robert muttered to his cousin. They were in the middle of a heavy traffic jam. He saw a Vios along the line of cars and the driver was a lady in spaghetti straps.

“Yummy! It’s getting hot in here, Cuz.” Alex replied.

“Wait a minute…is that Angelica? Tina or Joana? Looks familiar. I think I already dated that chick,” Robert bragged.

“Uh-oh? She looks like Diana, the one I screwed three times in a row at Baldevia…”

They bragged each other’s sexcapades until the traffic moved. Sex was their language. They were hyper with testosterones. And who would not go to bed with them? Robert looked liked Piolo Pascual, Alex looked like Sam Milby. Even faggots would die for them.

Envy was what Robert felt every time he was with his cousin. He wished his father was also a high-paid engineer in the U.S. of A, not a bum who relied only to his wife’s income. He had a good life. But Alex’s life was far better. When they were young, he was always at his cousin’s house to play computer games. He had an ordinary family game computer with boring Pacman, Battle City, and Super Mario. Alex had Tekken, Residence Evil, and Marvel Heroes with his Playstation.

He had a two-wheeled Honda Aura. Alex had a four-wheeled Honda Civic.

Envy was what Alex felt every time he was at his cousin’s house. He longed for a perfect family, just like Robert’s, a complete family. He was an only child. Robert had five siblings. He lived with his mother. Robert lived with his mother and father.

He hated his father who was working abroad. In his 21 years of existence, he had been with his father for only four years: when he was three years old, when he was seven years old, when he was twelve years old, and when he was eighteen years old. He would spit at the picture of his father hanging on his room’s wall. You bastard! Where are you on my birthdays? Where are you on my Christmases? Where are you on my graduations? I don’t need your packages. I need you.

“Wow! iPod?!” Robert said excitedly. It was Saturday night. His cousin arrived at MO2 with earphones on his ears.

“What?” Alex replied. He couldn’t hear with the song Father and Son by Boyzone playing on his ears. He finally removed the earphones as he locked his car.

“I said nice iPod!”

“Ah, yes…this is cool, Cuz. Imagine I can store more than 500 songs. You should buy one.” They talked as they searched for a seat in their favorite nightlife hangout.

“Buy myself? Duh?! I don’t have a father working abroad.”

“Excuse me Roberto! This is not from Dad. That Civic would be his last gift to me. I’ll no longer rely on him.” And Alex explained buying his MP3 player out of his savings. He also told his cousin about his plan to work in a call center. “I’m a big guy. I can live alone,” he concluded.

They left MO2 that night with fifteen empty bottles of Colt 45 on their tables. Robert was with a girl named Kayla. Alex was with a girl named Malou. The two couples slept at Dragon Lodge. Thanks to whoever invented the condom. If not of the rubber latex they used for protection, Robert and Alex would have been fathers of a hundred children.

Kristine Segovia was Roberto Venegas’ waterloo. In their section in his last year in college, Robert was proud to say that he screwed almost all the girls. He never touched Francesca, whose father was a chief of police. Hannah was an obvious exception, with her body prone to liposuction. Kristine Segovia was the third. Robert wondered why he couldn’t find Kristine’s weak spot. He gave her flowers, chocolates, and corny poems. “No, Robert. I don’t like you…,” Kristine would say. He kept on courting her though even after their graduation. Damnit! When can I ever screw her? She’s a blot on my escutcheon.

“Cuz, can I ask you a favor?” Robert asked Alex one afternoon.

“What? Wanna borrow my FHMs?” Alex replied grinning.

“Nope…actually, I dunno how to say this…uhm…can I borrow your car?” He asked Kristine for a dinner the night before. The girl miraculously agreed…after three years of insisting. He wanted to impress her. A girl likes the boy’s car than more than the boy. So there he was, asking his cousin about his car. Kristine might not be impressed with his motorcycle. “I’ll take care of your Civic. No scratches. Promise.”

“Duh?! As if I can say no. SURE CUZ! Any time.” Alex permitted.

“And one thing as well…” Robert added. “Can I borrow your iPod too?”

“In one condition.”

“What?”

“Take off the earphones before you screw her.”

Laughs.

He fixed himself for more than an hour. He almost emptied his cologne. When he told his father where he would be going, he was surprised that the man gave him 500 pesos. “Bring her to a good restaurant,” his father said. Robert could burst into tears as he hugged and thanked his jobless father.

Kristine’s pregnancy test was positive. She couldn’t identify the father. His parents would surely kill her if they knew that their eldest daughter got pregnant. They were relying in her to save the family from poverty. “When you get yourself a job, you’ll spend for your siblings’ education,” her father would say. So she did her best to have good grades, survive college life without any trouble. But Kristine couldn’t tolerate the itch. She was a silent bitch. She envied her friends talking about blowjob. When can I ever eat hotdogs? She would think. When the time came that eggplants and cucumbers could no longer suffice her libido, she became desperate to try the real thing. It was an overnight Christmas party at Canonoy Beach Resort in Hinigaran with her friends, her friend’s boyfriends, and her friend’s boyfriend’s friends. She was drunk but she could remember very well how a man’s penis blasted off her hymen. Now I can relate. The next morning, she was wondering who among her friend’s boyfriends’ friends screwed her the night before. Brian? Greg? Cedric? Patrick? Kyle? Joshua? Aldrin? Argh! Possibly, all of them.

She knew that she was doomed when she started vomiting. Now that it was confirmed, she had to do something to save her neck. She thought of abortion. But one of her aunts died of sepsis after performing such crime. She thought of misoprostol and other Chinese drugs. But if the baby would survive, she might become a mother of a mongoloid. So she settled to her last resort. This damn fetus must have a father.

When she entered Roberto Venegas’ car one evening, Kristine never showed any expression of excitement. She wanted everything to happen fast. She would let him screw her and that’s it. She would force him to marry her or else accuse him of rape.

Robert was handsome and actually, she had a crush on him ever since. However, when Georgia, her classmate, gossiped once about Robert having a 4-inch hotdog, Kristine was turned off. She would say some alibis every time the guy asked her for a date. Sorry, I want a Hungarian sausage. But eventually, after three years, she gave in. Robert would save her neck from her parent’s wrath. And jackpot…he has a good car.

“So, did you enjoy the dinner?” Robert asked Kristine as they walked out of Chicken Deli.

“Yup! Thanks Robert.”

They stayed inside the Civic for a while. It was only 11 o’clock in the evening. They talked about the past.

“I thought I could never ever take you to a date,” Robert said. “Kristine…uhm…you know very well how much I want you to be my girlfriend. Well, after what happened this evening…I’m just wondrin’ about…about…us?”

“Nice iPod! This yours.” Kristine grabbed the MP3 player beside the Sto. Niño to change the topic. She knew Robert would ask her such words. She didn’t want to reply. Not yet.

Argh! “Ah…yes…Dad’s gift,” Robert replied. He would have wanted to screw her on the car that moment. “You can listen if you want…sorry, the car has no stereo yet.”

Kristine listened to Boyzone hits which the real owner had downloaded in the iPod which Robert claimed as his.

Robert decided to use his ultimate weapon: reverse psychology. “It’s gettin’ late. Maybe I should take you home…” As if he wasn’t interested to spend the night deeper with her. But it was just a bluff.

NO! “Take me home?” Alibis. Think. Think. “I don’t want to sleep at home. My folks are out of town.”

YES! His reverse psychology never failed him. “I know a place where we can spend the night. That is…if you’re willing…”

“Why not?”

Robert used his father’s 500 pesos for a room in GV Pension House. That night, all his fantasies came true. Kristine Segovia was no longer his weakness. He had conquered his own waterloo. They had three rounds.

Georgia’s a liar! Kristine thought. Robert’s hotdog was seven inches long. She regretted wasting so many years trying to dump the man who gave her the best cunnilingus ever. After this, I’ll be gone for a month. Then I’ll come and tell Robert he’s going to be a father.

They checked out of the pension house noon the next day. Kristine told Robert she enjoyed everything. Robert was excited to tell everything to his cousin.

“Cuz! You’ll never believe this…” Robert called Alex with his cell phone as drove.

“What? You had multiple orgasms?”

“Nope…but we did three rounds.”

“YOU SON OF A BITCH! Congrats Cuz! You’ve got to tell me everything.” Alex was super excited.

“Actually, I’m heading at your place.”

“Hey…sorry Cuz, I can’t talk with you right now. I’m here in La Carlota…Pasalamat Festival. Lots of chicks right here. I’ll be home this Sunday.”

“Okay. See ya on Sunday…and prepare to envy.”

Robert was fatigued. Three rounds of sex were exhausting. He lost all the essential electrolytes. He was in deep sleep as soon as his back touched his mattress.

He woke up on the morning of the next day already. Robert had a weird dream. Alex was chasing him down the road with a binangon ready to strike him. Alex was screaming, “My iPod! My iPod! My iPod!” He laughed as he recalled what his unconscious mind thought the previous night.

But it was no dream. When he was washing the Honda Civic that afternoon, he couldn’t find his cousin’s expensive MP3 player inside the car. He recalled what his cousin said about his iPod. “I bought this from my own savings.” Bullshit. Alex will surely kill me.

His initial action was going back at GV Pension House. But when he asked the receptionist about the iPod, the lady said that the utility never found such thing. “Where did you put the iPod before you slept?” The receptionist asked.

“I dunno…maybe I placed it on the drawer.” I was excited to screw Kristine. I forgot about it.

“Well, sorry Sir if that’s the case. Manong Jose only changes the linens and never touches the cabinets and drawers. Maybe those who slept at room 211 last night got your MP3 player.”

Argh! “Can I see your log in record?”

He wanted to tear the notebook when he saw the names of those who slept in the room where he and Kristine played fire. “Jiggy Manicad and Maki Pulido? Is this true? They slept here?”

“Why sir? Do you know them?” The receptionist asked curiously.

“Of course! Don’t you watch GMA7? They are the hosts of Reporter’s Notebook!”

“Huh? They didn’t look like reporters…well…they looked like college students.”

Damn! His theory was right. He was a victim of his own modus operandi. When he brought girls in pension houses, he also didn’t log in his real name so no one would know Roberto Veñegas was a maniac.

The iPod was lost. Now he knew what Atlas the Titan felt when he bore the world on his shoulders. Losing his cousin’s MP3 player gave him an unbearable headache. He never thought a one-night-stand with Kristine would cost him that much. And to think, he had three days to cover up his mess. I must look for a secondhand iPod. It might be cheaper. Cuz wouldn’t mind as long he has it back.

Destiny brought him along old Gaisano downtown. Robert had just withdrawn all his savings with his ATM card. He had only 10, 000 pesos. A man in his late fifties called him along the department store and showed him an iPod.

“Manong, how much?”

“Thirteen thousand pesos…it’s quite new.” The man said.

“That’s expensive. Can I get if for eight thousand?” Robert tried to lower the price.

“Maybe twelve thousand.”

“Nine thousand.”

“Eleven thousand. Last price.”

Reverse psychology. “That’s costly. Maybe I’ll look somewhere else.” And after he said it, Robert walked away.

“Wait, son…” The man said as he grabbed his customer’s arm. “Okay…nine thousand…but there will be no earphone.”

His problem was solved. He bought Class A iPod earphone imitation at Unitop. On Sunday, he would return the Honda Civic and the iPod to Alex. He couldn’t wait to tell his cousin how he screwed Kristine via her anus.

VII

.::Maria Lourdes::.

Aida gave birth to a baby girl on a stormy night of February 11. So she named her youngest and only daughter after Our Lady of Lourdes. She was a devotee of the Virgin Mother who appeared before a spring where the waters miraculously healed various illnesses. It was no coincidence that she gave birth on that date. Aida planned it. She estimated when she would make love to her husband such that her expected date of delivery would fall some time in February. She succeeded. She felt labor pains on the morning of February 10 but she controlled herself and finally expelled her baby by midnight.

Maria Lourdes grew up loathing her name. She was always teased having such foul-sounding oldie name. “Don’t mind them, Maria Lourdes,” her mother advised her. “Maria Lourdes, I named you after Our Lady of Lourdes. Do you know it Maria Lourdes? Don’t worry Maria Lourdes if your name is Maria Lourdes. Be proud Maria Lourdes. Maria Lourdes is such a beautiful name…” MARIA LOURDES! MARIA LOURDES! MARIA LOURDES! Argh!

Since she was four years old, she never missed a single mass, unless certain circumstances made her not to. Her mother always brought her to church. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church was her second home. At the age of six, she could already pray the rosary and novena by herself.

She and her mother were an irony to the males in their family. Her father drank Tanduay for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Her eldest brother impregnated one of their neighbor’s daughters. Her second elder brother was once caught sniffing rugby in the plaza. The youngest of her male siblings skipped classes to play Star Craft in computer café’s.

“Maria Lourdes, your father and your brothers will not go to hell if that’s what you think,” Aida told her daughter once. “That’s why we never stop praying for them, Maria Lourdes. Our Lady of Lourdes will have mercy…she will cure our family Maria Lourdes.”

She sang with the choir. She decorated the altar with fresh flowers every Sunday mass. She organized the children during the Flores de Mayo. With all the services she offered to the church, Maria Lourdes somehow had an idea that someday, she would end up at one place: monastery.

Her mother encouraged her to become a nun. She would be the family’s sacrificial lamb.

“You’re sendin’ our daughter to that damn seminary? Hijo de puta!” Maria Lourdes was listening to the other room. Her father went home drunk and it seemed her mother mentioned to him about her becoming a nun.

“She will become a nun so that your soul will be saved from the fires of hell!”

“Por Dios por Santo Aida! Why not send her to college? She’s intelligent. She’ll save us from the fires of poverty.”

“Do you have money for tuition?”

Aida received snores as her husband’s reply.

Two months after her high school graduation, Maria Lourdes found herself at the gates of Carmelite Monastery with her mother. She had a small bag. Her mother said she would need only a few things and God will provide her the rest.

They talked to Sister Asuncion, the Mother Superior.

“Sister, this is my daughter Maria Lourdes,” introduced Aida.

“What a beautiful child,” said Sister Asuncion. “So, did she have her calling?”

“Calling? Uhm…well, Sister, I offered her to God when I gave birth to her. I longed to have a daughter. I prayed and when I had her, I did my best to thank the Lord.”

“I see…and with her name…her birthday for sure is February 11. Am I right, Maria Lourdes?”

Maria Lourdes gave a nod for reply.

Sister Asuncion smiled. “You seem so shy. Don’t worry. You’ll feel at home here as soon as you meet your fellow sisters…”

Sister Maria Lourdes loved God so much. After reading the life story of Sister Teresa, she wanted to change her name to Sister Maria Teresa de Jesus when she would be ordained. Still foul-sounding…but at least, bye bye Maria Lourdes. She wondered what did her fellow sisters meant by ‘calling’. Will God call me and ask me to serve Him? She waited for God to appear before her. She waited for so long.

When she met Raul, she forgot about marrying Jesus.

It was love at first sight, and Maria Lourdes was ignorant at first having such feeling for the first time in her life. Raul was handsome and muscular. So this is what they mean when they say ‘macho’. She would steal glances of him when he was near their seats during the masses. Her heart was beating fast. And time came; she could no longer bear it.

“You must be a devotee of Our Lady of Mount Carmel…” She asked him after the mass one Sunday. Raul ignited a candle at Virgin Mary’s shrine.

“Oh…Good morning Sister. Uhm…well yes…I’m kind of a devotee,” Raul replied.

“That’s good. There’s only a few men like you nowadays.” Maria Lourdes felt butterflies in her stomach. “By the way, I’m Sister Maria Lourdes.”

“Nice to meet you, Sister. I’m Raul.”

They shook hands. Maria Lourdes felt wet inside her panty.

They became friends, secret friends. They became lovers, secret lovers. Maria Lourdes never felt so woman before. Raul, her Adam, gave her everything an Eve deserves. We love each other…and God is love. Their worst sin was having sex in a deserted prayer room.

“Ma, I decided to quit from the monastery.” She was sweating hard as she confessed to her mother.

“Why, Maria Lourdes? Is there any problem, Maria Lourdes? You don’t like the people in the monastery? Tell me about it Maria Lourdes.” Aida was obviously worried.

“No Ma…actually, my fellow sisters are very nice to me, especially Sister Asuncion. But I have some other reasons…”

“What reasons?”

“I love someone.”

Aida was speechless. She knew it. But she covered her anger with denial. “Well, I know that you love Jesus Christ, Maria Lourdes. In time, you’ll going to marry Him, and you’ll be an ordained nun…”

“I love Jesus Christ. But I am mortal and He’s not. I want someone to love me while I’m on earth.” Maria Lourdes felt her legs shaking. She knew that her mother would surely be disappointed. “Ma, I’m sorry…I’m seeing a man for three months now. He asked to marry me. I agreed…and that’s why I’m going out…”

SLAP!

“YOU BLASPHEMOUS HERETIC BITCH!” Aida screamed at her daughter. “YOU DISAPPOINT ME MARIA LOURDES. I NEVER RAISED YOU TO BE SUCH.” She began to feel pain in her chest. “YOU’LL SUFFER THE CURSE FROM WHAT YOU DID. THE SINS OF THE FAMILY WILL NO LONGER BE FORGIVEN. WE’RE DOOMED AS YOU!” The pain was like an elephant stomping on her. “I DISOWN YOU, MARIA LOURDES! I DON’T HAVE A DAUGHTER ANYMORE. YOU’RE SINFUL! I NEVER THOUGHT…I never thought…”

Aida never thought that she would die that moment. Maria Lourdes and her bothers brought their mother to the hospital but the doctor said there was nothing that they could do. When Maria Lourdes explained to her father about what happened, she didn’t only receive a slap. Her father whipped her with his belt. “YOU BITCH! YOU GOT NO DIFFERENCE WITH YOUR MOTHER. SHE WAS AS SINFUL WHEN I MET HER…A PROSTITUTE IN A BAR!”

Her father disowned her too. She wasn’t allowed to visit her mother’s wake. It was the beginning of her karma.

“You never spoke to me about your family. Do they know?” Maria Lourdes was hugging her live-in partner while on bed in their apartment.

“My father is dead. The rest of the family is in Canada. But they’ll come home for the wedding,” Raul replied.

“Sorry about your father.”

“It’s okay. That was long ago. So are you feelin’ fine here at my place?”

“Anywhere’s better with you…and I can’t wait for our wedding.”

Raul caressed Maria Lourdes’ face. “Sorry if it’s just a civil wedding, darling. I want us to be bonded as soon as possible.” Now he was caressing her abdomen. “We can see our baby soon. I promise…I’ll marry you in the church if I’m settled financially.”

“Raul, I’m not complaining at all.” She kissed him.

There was no civil wedding. Maria Lourdes’ world turned upside down when she saw Raul bloody on the floor with a gun on his hand, two days before their agreed meeting with the judge.

Darling,

I know this must be hard for you. I’m sorry for everything. I cannot bear my guilt anymore.

I’m bisexual. Two years ago, I was a TNT working in California. One night, I laid with a guy I met in a gay bar. He told me the next morning that he has AIDS.

So I knew I was inflicted with such cruel disease. I regretted all that I had done. I hated myself. I asked God for forgiveness. If He cannot forgive me, then, Our Lady of Mount Carmel will help me.

I met you…and you changed my life. You’re the only one who loved me when I became a hopeless AIDS victim.

My father died of heart attack, just like what happened to your mother, when I told him I have AIDS. My family wasn’t really in Canada. They’re in Manapla. I couldn’t get to them because they had disowned me too.

Conscience is something I cannot avoid, Maria Lourdes. Forgive me. I should have told you from the start. I should not have given you false hopes. Take care of our baby. I can’t guarantee that he will be free from the virus.

Raul

Her mother’s words became true. She acquired AIDS from Raul. She experienced the wrath of Jehovah.

So what if I got AIDS? I got nothing to lose. God hates me. So be it. I’ll live my life to the fullest before the lesions appear.

Maria Lourdes carried her baby until its age of viability. Raul Junior if it’s a boy, Teresa if it’s a girl. She ate healthy foods. She took vitamins. She did everything to have a good birth.

But the karma went on. It was a girl. Maria Lourdes didn’t want to look at her Baby Teresa when the nurse showed her to her. The baby had cleft palate.

God, why can’t You just forgive me and let me live a good life? I thought You have an Ocean of Mercy…

Maria Lourdes left the baby to die in a thrash can.

She changed her name to Malou. She was 24 years old, a prostitute in Goldenfields. The world hated her so she had to hate the world too. She would spread the virus to her customers. AIDS, after all, is not a curse. It’s a gift…for all of us perverts to change our damn lives.

Alexander “Alex” Torres was her twentieth victim. They met at MO2. The guy, who was a fresh college graduate, loved to have sex with her because she didn’t require condoms. She would take pills for contraception. No condoms... but welcome to hell boys!

After their first night at Dragon Lodge, Alex would always look for her and hire her at Goldenfields. Alex was a handsome lad but his perversion was a turnoff. Enjoy now, regret later.

“Hi Malou. Are you okay for tonight?” Alex called her one evening at Goldenfields. Her suki was in his Honda Civic.

“I’m okay but…aren’t you tired of me?”

“Goddamnit Malou! I love to fuck ya so get in the car now.” Alex licked his lips before he ignited the engine.

“Sure baby.” She went in the car. Alex, after all, paid her the biggest service fee. As big as his penis.

“So where do you want tonight?” Alex asked.

“Anywhere except Dragon Lodge. I’m tired with that place.”

They tried Sylvia Manor. They had four rounds of wild sweaty sex.

He was horny that he forgot to withdraw for Malou’s service fee. Alex was worried. It was 4 am, his bitch was asleep with her breasts exposed, and he had nothing to pay for her.

The iPod!

He was thankful that Robert returned to him his iPod which his cousin borrowed the previous week. I’ll give her my iPod for this session. When I meet her again at Goldenfields, I’ll pay her the right amount, and I get back my beloved MP3 player.

Alex left Sylvia Manor by 5:30 in the morning. Malou was still asleep. He left the iPod beside her on the bed with his letter of explanation.

VIII

.::Julie::.

Juliano Lobrido Senior was a veteran in the World War II.

Julian Lobrido Junior was a boxer who garnered several medals and trophies.

Juliano Lobrido III was the most feared siga in the squatters’ area of Magsungay.

Juliano Lobrido IV was Julian in the morning and was Julie by night. And if he had an autobiography, he wanted to use Julie to be her official name.

Julian grew up the hard way. Whenever his father or any of his elder brothers caught him wearing his sisters’ dresses, he would end up in bleeds and bruises. “I gave you my name…and you’re a faggot?! WHAT A SHAME!” His father would say.

He wasn’t the only one who suffered such cruel fate. His gay friends in the neighborhood suffered worse from their families. Nonoy, Neneng by night, was whipped with the belt’s buckle. Michael, Madonna by night, was drowned by his father in the sea with garbage and excreta floating in the waters. Erwin, Winona by night, was hospitalized due severe battery.

If whips, punches, and kicks were painful, how much more the verbal opinion and humiliation of the people?

“Burn those gays! They bring famine and disaster!”

“They’ll lead us to extinction…”

“They only want bananas...”

“Disgrace! Disgrace! Disgrace!”

“They deserve to go to hell.”

Julian and his friend’s mistake was only having been born in the Philippines, a country that defines machismo with high regards.

If it wasn’t of his mother, Julian would have left the smelly squatters’ area and explore different places along with his friends. “To Julian, I love you and I accept who whoever you are,” his mother told him. I know that your father and brothers are mean to you because you’re that. But please bear with them. I’m not going to last. Please promise me…you’ll take care of your siblings. You’re intelligent, talented, hardworking…you can send them to school. Share to them any blessings you get…” And Julian’s mother finally left the squatters’ area after being bedridden and rotten for months courtesy of diabetes mellitus.

So, at an early age of 14, Julian became the madre de pamilia. He quitted school even though he was on the star section at Negros Occidental High School. He cleaned the house, cooked the food, and washed and ironed the clothes. It was a metamorphosis on the other hand. His father and the rest of the family began to love and respect him.

When he was 20, Julian was able to build a beauty parlor beside their house. He had a lot of customers in the neighborhood. He asked cheaper service fees but his works were good. As time passed by, his little business grew bigger. Julian’s Salon then became the first beauty parlor in their purok to have crystal walls, tiled floor, and air conditioner.

He was able to send his siblings to college as what he promised to his mother. Jethro graduated Hotel and Restaurant Management and was then accepted at Waterfront Hotel in Cebu. Jason graduated BS Computer Science and was planning to work abroad. Josela passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers right away after graduating BS Education Major in English. Joanah, the youngest, graduated BS Tourism.

And what of their father? He was happily living with his new wife in Iloilo whom he thought sexier compared to his late wife who was fat and rotten. They wrote to him but they received no replies. His brothers and sisters missed their father. Julian did not and was glad not ever seeing him again.

He felt such great fulfillment when his youngest sister Joanah received her college diploma at last. For Julian, it was as if the last thorn was pulled out of his butt. See that Nanay? I fulfilled my promise. I know you are very proud of me. Can I rest now? Shall I give what is due to me?

He had sex with some teenage boys in their barangay. Some he had paid, but some were for free because the boys were pervert and curious enough. Yes, he fed his libido to the max. But he was never full. There was something inside him that no guy whom he had sex with could ever fill. Lust is good…how much more is love?

“Madonna?”

“Julie?”

A sound of a catfight. Julian was surprised to see his long lost friend Michael at Robinson’s Place one afternoon.

“Murat! Oh my God…I missed you so much!” Julian said as he had beso-beso with Michael.

“Super duper missed you too!” Michael replied excitedly. “And guess what…I’m no longer Michael…I’m Madonna! As in for good…and I can never be Michael anymore…”

“What? How come?”

“Duh?! Sex change. Wanna see my pussy?”

A sound of a catfight.

They ate at Pizza Hut. It was Madonna’s treat. Madonna explained to Julian why she was gone for so long. She met a Thai lover via chat in the Internet when she was still a he. The Thai fell madly in love with her (because she was beautiful when she was still a he) and later helped her process her papers so she could go to the Land of the Free. Thus, through science and Thailand’s fame for sex change, she got herself a vagina.

“…What did you say his name was?” Julian asked. He missed his friend a lot so they were talking at the speed of light. He missed gay lingo.

“Oh…Teerathep Supraporn Hattarainakum.”

“What a weird name.”

“Yeah…Thais have weird names. I actually have a friend there named Pukel Chupapar! But mind you, they’re quite good in bed...”

Laughs.

“What about you, Amega? Have a BF?”

“Nope.” Julian wiped his lips after he gorged a pizza slice. He loved pizza. The sticky mozzarella was like semen…but more edible.

“You should have one, girl! After all, you’re through with your responsibilities to your siblings. Come on…you’re pretty…foreigners will salivate seeing your fake boobs online…”

“I’m enjoying my life as of now. I’m free as a bird and I feel better. But I think I’ll try cyber chat some time. Que sera sera.”

Saturday, 8:00 pm. Firewall Internet Café.

julie_sexy: hi ctc?

Andrew20: SURE. ASL?

julie_sexy: 27 gay phil

julie_sexy: u?

julie_sexy: urs pls…

julie_sexy: ei!

julie_sexy: stil der?

Andrew20: GET LOST, FAGGOT!

Ouch!

julie_sexy: hi sexy

HotMaleHunk: Yummy! ASL pls…and stats…

julie_sexy: 27 f phil

HotMaleHunk: Sorry. I’m looking for hunks too…

HotMale Hunk: Bye!

julie_sexy: k

Where are the guys in this chatroom? Argh!

Omar Khrim: U HORNNY?

julie_sexy: asl?

Omar Khrim: 35 M DUBAI… 9 INCHES

Omar Khrim: U HORNI? ME SOO HORNEE…

julie_sexy: you have pic?

Omar Khrim: YEZZ. ME HAV PIC

julie_sexy: k, send me your pic pls

Omar Khrim: OKIE. W8

Omar Khrim: http://www.friendster.com/98756807

Omar Khrim: JAZ CLIK 8

julie_sexy: k, wait

Omar Khrim: ME HORNIE

Omar Khrim: ME WANT SEX

Omar Khrim: SEEN MY PIC?

julie_sexy: w8…I’m viewing it…

Omar Khrim: WAT NOW? LET’S SEX?

Omar Khrim: ???

julie_sexy: sori…gtg

Omar Khrim: WHY? U DON’T SEX?

Omar Khrim: ME SO HORRNY…

julie_sexy: GO FUCK YOUR NEIGHBOR’S GOAT!!!!!

OMG! He’s not human…he’s a yeti!

Streetboi18: u gay?

julie_sexy: huh? how did u know?

Streetboi18: you’re in this chatrum…

Streetboi18: #bi-bacolod?

Streeboi18: ? ? ?

julie_sexy: oh…yeah…

julie_sexy: but i can be a lesbian also

julie_sexy: isn’t this a chatroom for bisexuals?

Streetboi18: duh?!

Streetboi18: majority hir r fagots

Streetboi18: even f u hav feminine name…

Streetboi18: i stilt tink ur gay

Streetboi18: so admit 8

julie_sexy: whatever! so ur gay too?

Streetboi18: nope

julie_sexy: then why are you here?

julie_sexy: denial???

Streetboi18: i’m looking for costumers…

julie_sexy: u call boy?

Streetboi18: kinda…

Streetboi18: exams approaching

Streetboi18: i need money for tuition…

Streetboi18: want me? 500 is enough.

julie_sexy: sori…i’m not into this thing

Streetboi18: hypocrite! ur gay damnit

julie_sexy: i’m not the kind of gay u tink i am

julie_sexy: i mean…i don’t look for guys in the net

julie_sexy: sometimes, guys go straight to me

julie_sexy: and i give them heaven…haha

julie_sexy: i don’t usually trust people here in chatrooms

Streetboi18: well you can trust me…

Streetboi18: i just want money

Streetboi18: i’m doing this to finish my studies dude

julie_sexy: you should fear for yourself

julie_sexy: what if you acquire some disease?

julie_sexy: know what boy, there are some other ways…

Streetboi18: i don’t need ur advice

Streetboi18: f u don’t wnt me, then bye bye

julie_sexy: wait…pls listen…

julie_sexy: pls wait…i’ll help you…

julie_sexy: hey…

No such nick

Poor guy. I could have helped him without asking in return.

UKlonelyman30: Can you be my friend?

UKlonelyman30: Are you there?

UKlonelyman30: ???

julie_sexy: ei…sorry…

julie_sexy: i was chatting with sum1 else…

julie_sexy: asl?

UKlonelyman30: ?

julie_sexy: oh…sorry…stupid of me…

julie_sexy: so ur 30 m from UK?

UKlonelyman30: Yes. I’m Jed by the way…from London.

UKlonelyman30: I’m lonely right here.

UKlonelyman30: I need company…a friend.

julie_sexy: sorry but i’m quite far

julie_sexy: and wil u mind? i’m gay…

julie_sexy: i’m Julian 27 republic of the Philippines

UKlonelyman30: Haha

UKlonelyman30: Why would I mind?

UKlonelyman30: I just need a friend…

julie_sexy: ok. i’m ur frend now

julie_sexy: you have pic?

UKlonelyman30: here

UKlonelyman30: http://www.face-pic.com/j-e-d-2000

julie_sexy: wait…i’ll check it…

Is he Adonis? LUBDUB! LUBDUB! LUBDUB!

And Julian became an online chat addict.

It happened all of the sudden. He felt as if the skies had fallen on him and hell broke open beneath him. Early one evening, Julian went downtown to buy supplies for his beauty parlor. When he came back to Magsungay, all of his dreams were swiped out. Fires were devouring their house and his beauty parlor. In a wink of an eye he became a nomad, courtesy of his neighbor’s faulty wiring.

I’m bankrupt. I’m nothing. My brothers and sisters will surely help me.

He first called Jethro in Cebu.

Julian: Hello?

Jethro: Hello? What?!

Julian: Jet Jet! Our house was burned… and my parlor as well. I’m homeless here in Bacolod. Can you help me? Can I borrow some money for a while? I’ll pay you.

Jethro: What?! That house was memorable…you didn’t take care of it?!

Julian: It was an accident! Faulty wiring at Chay Purita.

Jethro: I don’t have money right now. My wife is giving birth at the end of the month. I can’t help you.

Julian: Okay.

He sent an e-mail to Jason in Taiwan. [Jan Jan! Our house was burned …and my parlor as well. I’m homeless here in Bacolod. Can you help me? Can you send me some money for a while? I’ll pay you.]

Jason replied. [This is Jason’s girlfriend. Sorry…he has no brother named Julian.]

He called his sisters in Manila. Josela was recently married and was teaching in a private school in Malate. Joanah, after graduation, went also to Manila and lived in her sister’s place while looking for a job.

Julian: Hello?

Josela: Hello? Who’s this?

Julian: Ging Ging! This is Nong Julian.

Josela: Nong? Hey! It’s good that you called…

Julian: Ging Ging, I badly need your help.

Josela: I also need your help Manong. Can I borrow money? Nestor was fired from his work. My salary isn’t enough for our expenses…we’re just renting this apartment you know.

Julian: Ging, our house was burned. And I got not a cent as of now. I’m poor as a rat.

Josela: What?! Oh my…I love that house! Manong…I’m really sorry, I can’t help you. I have some financial problems too. And Joanah here has no job yet…

Julian: I called Jet Jet. He couldn’t help me too.

Josela: Why don’t you call Jan Jan in Taiwan? He’s a big time now. Last month, he sent me and Joanah imported chocolates and cell phones. Jet Jet said he got a Rolex. I’m planning to ask help from him if you hadn’t called. Did you receive anything from him?

Julian: Uhm…well…I…

Josela: What Manong? Hey…still there?

Julian couldn’t hold back his tears. He hung the phone before his sister could hear his sobs. He couldn’t believe it. He was helpless. After all these years…I sent them all to college and this is how they’re going to pay me?

Wednesday, 9:00 pm. Mactan Online.

J-E-D: Hello?

J-E-D: Hey sexy…

J-E-D: You there? Hey!

J-E-D: You have prob my friend?

julie_sexy: oh…sorry jed…

julie_sexy: i’m not in the mood to chat ryt now…

J-E-D: I’m worried about you Julian…

J-E-D: You’re online and you’re not replying to me…

J-E-D: What’s the matter?

julie_sexy: ya…I got some probs…

julie_sexy: i was trying to contact my friend in Thailand

julie_sexy: i’m waiting for him…or rather her…to be online

J-E-D: Are we not friends? I can help you.

julie_sexy: no jed…personal prob

julie_sexy: i don’t want you to worry about me

J-E-D: But you were always there when I was alone…

J-E-D: It’s not fair not helping you now

J-E-D: Just tell me about your problem okay?

J-E-D: Still there?

J-E-D: Julian…

J-E-D: Please let me help you…

J-E-D: You there?

J-E-D: HEY!

julie_sexy: ALRYT!! MY HOUSE WAS BURNED AND I AM HOMELESS

julie_sexy: I’M POOR AS A RAT JED

julie_sexy: AND NONE OF MY BROS AND SIS IS HELPIN ME!!!!!

julie_sexy: I HATE THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!

julie_sexy: I WANA DIE!!!!!

J-E-D: Hey Julian…just relax…

J-E-D: This must be hard for you…

J-E-D: I’m sorry…I didn’t know…

J-E-D: I will help you…

No such nick

The Magsungay fire incident was the worst tragedy that ever happened in Bacolod City. And there was no one to blame. Chay Purita, whose house’s faulty wiring was alleged to have begun the fire, was one of the 56 people who were roasted. Relief goods came from different towns of Negros Occidental. But some of the people’s agonies couldn’t be relieved by such little help.

Julian could no longer tolerate the meals of sardines and NGE rice. He felt like a prisoner. He was losing his guts asking financial help from his neighbors who survived the fire. After all that I suffered? I don’t deserve this. I was having a good life. Is this a test? Allah…Budhha…Jehovah…whatevah…do you really exist?

It was the moment when good turns to evil, and the heart that was filled with love became full of hatred. Julian was desperate to regain what he had lost, whatever it would take. I’m a phoenix. I will rise from the ashes.

“Father, I confess for I had sinned.”

“What are your sins my child?”

“I stole some bread from a sari-sari store, I picked a man’s wallet in the plaza, I ate in a restaurant and went away not paying the bills…and the worst Father, I committed hold-up with a lady at a dark corner there in our barangay…”

“Susmaryusep! Your sins are quite heavy my child.”

“I know father. But I was left with no choice. Will God still forgive me?”

“Twenty Our Fathers and thirty Hail Marys.”

Thursday, 7:30 pm. Net Axis Internet and Gaming.

julie_sexy: jed?

julie_sexy: jed…are you there?

J-E-D: Julian? Oh my…I missed you so much…

julie_sexy: i’m sorry about last time…

julie_sexy: i was just stressed…ya know…

J-E-D: I understand my friend. So how are you?

julie_sexy: i’m fine as of now. moving on…

julie_sexy: i will survive! haha!

J-E-D: You’re in Bacolod City right?

julie_sexy: yup. why?

J-E-D: How far is it from Manila?

julie_sexy: 2 days via ocean, 45 min via air

J-E-D: I see. Thanks.

julie_sexy: why r u askin?

J-E-D: Nothing…

Julian was at Goldenfields one night for another hold up. He was disguising himself as bad guy in some movies, with leather jacket, dark jeans, and cap. The police around the city were hunting a hold-upper after a reported case pf a lady victim somewhere in Magsungay. Get lost. The man you’re looking for is a faggot! He was nervous. It was his second time to do a hold-up. The last time he did it, he was able to buy some clothes and feed himself for about two weeks. I can live with this job…as long as the police think the hold-upper is a macho man.

He waited till it was dawn, when all the people would be drunk and tired. Around 2:30 am, when he saw a lady at last going into the dark alone, he readied himself. He practiced his speech as he stalked her, who was kind of a prostitute. Hey bitch! Give me what you earned tonight or I’ll tear your guts. C’mon… you got vagina…you can earn again as much…

Julian was stunned. He was about to attack his would-be victim when a figure of a man suddenly emerged from the dark. The man was holding something which looked like a gun.

“Let go of me!” the woman shrieked. The man was grabbing something entangled around the woman’s neck. She silenced herself, though, when the man aimed his gun at her head.

He was confused. He couldn’t understand. At that moment, Julian decided to help the lady which was supposed to be his victim. He grabbed a rock from the ground and rushed to the other hold-upper. He hit the man’s back with all force.

TSUK! It was the gun with the silencer.

The woman fell lifeless on the ground. Horrified, the man with a gun ran as fast as he could with his victim’s shoulder bag. Julian, not knowing what to do, removed the iPod entangled on the dead body’s neck, placed the device in his pocket, then ran as fast as he could before anyone gets in the scene.

The next day, the headline in The Visayan Daily Star was about a woman named Ma. Lourdes Alejandrino who was found dead of gunshot somewhere in Goldenfields.

“Father, I confess for I had sinned.”

“What are your sins my child?”

“I witnessed a crime scene last night and I didn’t report to authorities. Worse, I stole something from the dead victim…”

“The thief is the murderer’s brother, my child.”

“So…will He forgive me?”

“A rosary.”

Julian decided to sell the iPod he stole as soon as possible. After his confession at the Redemptorist Church, he proceeded to Plaza Mart downtown to meet a customer he met online. While he was waiting at the food court, his cell phone rang. It was a landline call because there was no number flashing on his cell phone’s screen. Julian answered. “Hello?”

“Hello? Is this Julian? Julian? I’m Jed. I’m here in Philippines?”

“WHAT?! Really? You’re joking…”

“No…I’m serious. I’m here at Five Star Hotel in Manila. I’ll be there in Bacolod tomorrow. Bought the ticket already…”

“I can’t believe this. Oh my God…you should have told me earlier…”

“I want to surprise you…and guess what…I’ll take you to London if you want…”

I’m going to London! DAMNIT! Why do I have to become a felon before this good news?

Julian didn’t meet his costumer. He decided to keep the iPod for himself. He couldn’t help it but listen to the songs of Sharon Cuneta, his all time idol.

Jed Evans enjoyed his 2-day visit in the City of Smiles. He stayed at the L’ Fisher Hotel. Julian took him to the Bacolod City Public Plaza where he enjoyed eating fishballs and tempura. He was able to feed the tilapias at the Provincial Capitol Lagoon and took pictures of himself with the famous Man and Beast statue. When they were at Gaisano City, Jed bought Julian a phone with a camera. By then, Julian was beginning to think that his foreigner chatmate was serious about him and really wanted to live with him back in London. My good karma.

Two days after his arrival in Bacolod, Jed requested Julian to pack all his things. They would be going to Manila to process for the latter’s visa.

“This country caused you too much. Are you happy now that you’re leaving it?” Jed asked Julian.

“Living in London with you? Jed, my joy is double.”

“I’m taking you to paradise.”

Oh yeah…a paradise. And there’s only Adam and Adam.

.::Marcial::.

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos is not the worst president who governed the Pearl of the Orient Seas. As a matter of fact, he might have the highest IQ among all the past presidents of the Philippines. Who’s the president that could speak to the Filipinos his State of the Nation Address via impromptu? It was only Marcos, Marcos, and none other than Marcos. He was the senate president before he became the president in 1965. He was a congressman before he became a senator. He was a lawyer before he became a congressman. And before everything else, he was a member of a guerilla force during the World War II.

A man in power wants only one thing: more power. It seemed that Marcos’ intelligence carried him away. Corruption is a natural phenomenon in the Philippine political system. If baranggay captains could steal from the kaban ng bayan, how much more the head of the state? The peso-dollar exhange during his time wasn’t horrible. However, Marcos’ regime was toppled down by the world renowned People Power because of massive government corruption, despotism, nepotism, political repression and human rights violations. Marcos’ greatest achievements as president were in the fields of infrastructure development and international diplomacy. Add up having his name in the Guiness Book of World Records for greatest theft.

Marcos was married to Imelda Romualdez, famous for the word ‘imeldefic’ contributed to the English dictionary after her showcasing of extravagance. They had three children namely Maria Imelda, Ferdinand Jr., and Irene. The family went into exile in Honolulu, Hawaii after the EDSA Revolution in 1986.

In as much as the life of Ferdinand Marcos accumulates our curiosities, this penultimate chapter however is not about him. This chapter is about a man as famous as the dethroned president. Speaking of Ferdinand Marcos, Ninoy Aquino will never be out of the scene. This introduction is of great importance with the life of the latter.

Benigno Simeon ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. was born in Concepcion, Tarlac on November 27, 1932. With his family owning a hacienda, he got everything he needed. He was able to study in prestigious schools such as San Beda College, Ateneo de Manila, and the University of the Philippines College of Law. His political career began when he was elected as mayor in Concepcion in 1955. Since then, he got three titles: youngest municipal mayor (22 years old), youngest vice governor (27 years old), and youngest senator (34 years old).

Ninoy Aquino was married to Corazon Cojuangco, who later became the first woman president in the Philippines and in Asia. They had five children namely Ma. Elena, Aurora Corazon, Benigno Simeon III, Victoria Elisa, and Kris. In the family, two made it in the cover of Time magazine: Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino for her faith which saved the nation and Kris Aquino for the scandal she had with actor Joey Marquez.

The conflict began when Ninoy started bedeviling the façade of Marcos regime. His first attack, when he was a senator, was against the First Lady Imelda Marcos when she facilitated the construction of the Cultural Center of the Philippines worth 50 million pesos. Ninoy called the structure ‘a monument of shame’ as he delivered his speech entitled A Pantheon for Imelda in 1969. “…a congenital liar!” said President Marcos in defense of his beloved spouse.

The fiscalization tactic of Ninoy went on with his term as senator. He was the ‘Wonder Boy’ of the senate. His actions concerning the negative side of the Marcoses became more and more visible until the regime set its eyes upon him.

Ninoy was the number one choice of the Filipinos to run for president after Marcos. Marcos by that time was no longer able for another term as the law says. However, the president was wise enough to continue his Malacañan days. When Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972, he had Ninoy Aquino arrested with the allegations that the senator was behind the infamous Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971. Thus began Ninoy’s Fort Bonifacio days.

On March 1980, Ninoy suffered myocardial infarction, popularly known as heart attack. From his cell, he was transported to the Philippine Heart Center for treatment. But he only suffered another heart attack. The doctors would want to perform a heart bypass surgery but Ninoy disagreed. He preferred for the operation to be done in the States.

May on that year, Imelda Marcos secretly visited Ninoy in his room in the hospital. God knows what their conversations were about. It is said that the first lady offered Ninoy a free medical treatment in the United States and wanted him to leave the country that very night. In one condition: he would not speak against the Marcos regime in America. Later that night, Ninoy was shoved in a closed van, brought to his home in Times Street to pack his things, and then to the airport where he finally flew abroad with his family.

In as much as the Aquino family enjoyed their years in the U.S. with hospitable people, Ninoy knew for himself that his being an American was only temporary. He was a Filipino and he had to go back to the Philippines and help his fellowmen. He renounced his agreement with the Malacañan Palace about not negating the background of the Marcoses. “A pact with the devil is no pact at all,” said he.

Hearing some reports about pandemonium in the Philippine political system and the deteriorating regime of Ferdinand Marcos courtesy of his systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE, an autoimmune disease, Ninoy desired nothing else but to return to his homeland and settle everything. He was aware that stepping back in the Philippine soil might end his life. But as he said, “If it’s my fate to be assassinated by an assassin’s bullet, so be it.” He was desperate to come back against all detriments.

There was a twist with how Ninoy got back to his country. His family’s visas were no longer valid and when they applied for renewal, they were denied. So Ninoy decided to go back alone so that only a few would know and that his family would be following him as soon as he settled everything. By the help of a man named Rashid Lucman, Ninoy was able to get a visa on which his name was an alias of Marcial Bonifacio. The rationale for the alias was that, the Marcos’ government would not permit international airplanes to land in the Philippines if they had a passenger named Benigno Simeon Aquino Jr.

The Filipino is worth dying for.

On August 21, 1983, the airplane where Marcial Bonifacio was landed safely in the Manila International Airport. When he came out of the airplane in the tarmac, he was mysteriously shot in the head which brought about his death. How ironic. To think, 2,000 military and police personnel were there to escort him.

A man named Rolando Galman was the primary suspect of the assassination. He wasn’t imprisoned though. He was shot immediately in the crime scene by an aviation security. A woman named Rebecca Quijano, who was with Marcial Bonifacio in the airplane, testified that she had seen a man pointing a gun behind the assassinated. According to her, the man wore military uniform.

Solving the mystery of the Marcial Murder, the suspected men in the tarmac and a rank and file of the military were found guilty and were to serve life sentences at the National Bilibid Prison. And what of the Marcoses? Only God and Satan knows whether they were behind the controversial assassination.

As history trailed, there followed after Ninoy’s death the EDSA Revolution which was successfully resolved by the People Power. The Marcoses went to a Hawaiian escapade. Yellow became the popular color associated with Cory Aquino, elected 11^th president of the Republic of the Philippines.

If not of Marcial Bonifacio, Teresita Advincula would not be waiting for her airplane in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) but rather in Manila International Airport. It was almost two decades since the airport’s name was changed after Benigno Simeon “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

Her departure time was 11:00 pm and she was there in the airport by 9:00 pm. She was saying her farewells to her family and relatives in Bacolod two days ago, before she went to Manila. Her hands were still aching after her carpal tunnel operation but she had to go back to London as soon as possible or else lose her job. Her leave request was only a month and a half.

Around 10:00 pm, she called her husband Pablo in U.K.

Teresita: Hello?

Pablo: Sita?! How are you dear? So, you’re in the airport already?

Teresita: Yes hon…an hour to go before my flight. Stopover in Malaysia…might be there tomorrow night.

Pablo: Thank God…have a nice trip…I miss you so much…

Teresita: Me too hon…oh, my hands still ache. But I can manage…

Pablo: When you arrive here, I’ll kiss them and the pain will be gone.

Teresita: Haha! You’re such a joker. So see you tom?

Pablo: Okay. Bon voyage, dear!

Teresita: Okay. Bye!

Sitting beside Teresita in the waiting area were two weird guys. The taller one was a foreigner, the shorter one was obviously a Pinoy. They were already there before she arrived. She was irritated by them who were tickling each other. They look like lovers. Yuck! They’re gay?

“Excuse me, Miss…are you with the 11 o’clock flight too?”

Teresita was placing her cell phone in a silent mode when she heard the Pinoy guy talking to her. The foreigner was napping beside him. Tired of their PDA perhaps. “Yes. You too?” she replied.

“Yeah. Actually, we’re here at around 8 this evening. My lover’s quite excited with the trip.”

“Your lover?”

The guy smiled. “Hmmm, kinda…”

“You’re bored too?” She asked the question to change the topic.

“Hell yeah! And oh, it’s my first time to go out of this country. I’m excited and nervous at the same time.” Looking at his gestures and the way he talked, Teresita concluded he was the gay between the two.

“Chewing bubble gums might help.” She offered Judge chewing gums.

“Uy…thanks. By the way, I’m Julian…or Julie. Haha!”

“You’re funny. I’m Sita.”

They talked with the remaining hour before their departure. Teresita told her new friend about the operation she had undergone since she noticed that he kept on looking at the scars in her hands. Julian on the other hand told Teresita about Jed and how they ended up going to London. He mentioned about the fire. He said he had no siblings and his parents were both dead.

When they ran out of topics, Teresita got her makeup kit from her shoulder bag and retouched her face. Julian got his iPod to listen to Sharon Cuneta.

“Nice iPod…” Teresita said as she noticed Julian put on the earphones. “How much did you spend for it here?”

“I don’t know,” Julian replied. His heart began to beat fast. “Uhm…well…a friend gave it to me on my last birthday.”

“Wow! I wish I got friends like yours. Haha! Actually, I bought one in London. T’was around 150 plus pounds. I gave it to my nephew when I went back here. He deserves it…he’s a cum laude.”

“Must have inherited your intelligence…hehe…”

“Hey…heard the news? You’re from Bacolod too, right?”

Damnit! Seems like I can’t listen to Sharon. Julian didn’t place the earphones in his ear for a while to chat with Teresita. “News about what?”

“About that murdered prostitute? Maria Lourdes Alejandrino?”

LUBDUB! LUBDUB! “Jed and I were here in Manila for almost a week now coz we processed my papers. But yeah… I heard about that name when I left Bacolod. Why? What about her?”

“Well, the suspect was caught. He was a member of the notorious gang of snatchers and hold-uppers in Bacolod. According to the reports, a friend of the victim testified that Maria Lourdes had an iPod before she left MO2. When she was found, there was no iPod. The suspect said he never got the iPod because the victim was grasping hardly at it…”

LUBDUB! LUBDUB! “So what now?” That iPod is here!

“The police were conducting an investigation about the iPod. That’s the last news I heard when I left Bacolod two days ago. And by the way, the police already had a sketch of the person who, according to the caught suspect, might have gotten the iPod. That person tried to help the victim when the suspect was grabbing everything from her.”

LUBDUB! LUBDUB! “Really? Oh my…it gave me gossebumps.” Coz I’m that person the suspect was describing, damnit! “Did you see the sketch? Was it flashed on TV?”

“Hmmm…yes. T’was a brusque man…sort of a hoodlum. How ironic. The man looked like a criminal too but as what the suspect said, he did help the victim. That’s why he ran, and the iPod was left…”

I GOT TO GET RID OF THIS FUCKIN’ GADGET!

The clock struck the departure hour and all the passengers went in the airplane. Julian woke Jed and he introduced him to Teresita as they looked for their seats. Coincidence. Julian and Teresita were seatmates.

It rained in NAIA when the airplane lifted off the ground.

Teresita was asleep all throughout the trip. She and Julian barely talked to each other. Somewhere above the South China Sea, she dreamed that she was pregnant and Pablo was very much happy.

Teresita and Julian parted ways in Malaysia. Julian said that he and Jed would be staying in Malaysia for three days of sightseeing before proceeding to U.K. So Teresita was alone waiting for her next trip which was already bound to London. Her excitement doubled. She couldn’t wait to see Pablo and tell her about her dream.

She arrived in London at the time which she estimated. Pablo was in the airport to fetch her.

“So how’s the Philippines?” Pablo asked her wife as they drove home.

“Still the same…”

“You didn’t visit Willie in Wowowie?”

“You’re a joker!” They laughed. “Hey, I brought you something…” Teresita opened her shoulder bag to get her pasalubong to her husband.

She was shocked.

Inside her bag was an iPod. When she played it, she heard some familiar songs.

Hawak kamay / Di kita iiwan sa paglakbay / Dito sa mundong walang katiyakan / Hawak kamay / Di kita iiwan sa paglalakbay / Sa mundo ng kawalan…

.::Laila::.

Laila Divinagracia, when she was young, somehow had an idea that she would become a broadcast journalist someday. When she began talking at the age of two, her first five spoken words were Mama, Papa, Noli, Korina, and Ernie. That was because of her yaya who was fond of watching TV Patrol.

Laila’s career in journalism began during her elementary years. She was into writing. One day, her English teacher approached and talked to her.

“Laila, I have good news for you.” Mrs. Buenaflor said.

“What is it Maam?” The shy Laila asked.

“There will be a district speechfest next month and the school has chosen you to represent us in the essay writing contest. Would you like that?”

“Uhm…well…I’ll ask permission from Mama and Papa.”

That night, Laila talked to her parents in the living room.

“Ma…Pa…Maam Buenaflor chose me to represent the school in an essay writing contest…”

“What?!” Her father was quiet surprised. “You’re just in grade 4. Can’t they look for someone in the higher grades?”

“Yes honey…why you?”

“But Ma, my teacher said the school principal himself recommended me.” She knew it. Her parents would not approve.

“Your mother and I will talk about this tonight. You’ll know our decision tomorrow. You’re too young…”

When she arrived from school the next day, she found some books on her bed in her room. They were all newly bought from National Bookstore. The titles were How to Write an Essay, Selected Essays for Elementary Writers, Grammar for Beginners, and Writing Winning Essays.

Thank you Ma and Pa.

Laila began to read the books. It was difficult for her at first but later on, she understood the terminologies. She was meeting Mrs. Buenaflor twice a week for practice. The English teacher would give her a topic to write about.

When the speechfest was concluded, Laila got second place in the essay writing contest. Her school was very proud. Her parents were very very proud.

There were only two contestants.

As a teenager, Laila didn’t read Precious Heart Romance novelettes. She fell in love with William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Almost all the classic novels in their school library she had read already. While her friends talked about how the heroines in their novelettes were passionately brought to bed by their macho men, she talked about her adventures 20, 000 leagues under the sea with Captain Nemo.

She wrote some poems. She hated love poems. Her poetry was about nature and life’s realities.

DEJECTED

By Laila Advincula

I weep inside;

just can’t pour out the tears

The feeling weighs a ton

I can’t bear it

I can’t

I’m no Atlas

So many whys

Nobody wants to answer

The walls are good listeners

The floor’s a good bed

I will if I can

Kill myself.

She contributed some of her poems to their school paper. Unfortunately, none of them got published. The editor-in-chief was a flirt who only approved for poems with titles like, My First Love, I Love You Best Friend, Crying After Breakup, Kissing Under the Rain, and so on.

Laila was a good writer by then. But she never applied for a position in their school paper when she had a chance.

She took up MassCom in college. It was her first choice. Laila topped the entrance exam and gained for herself a scholarship. As early as in her freshman year, she already applied for The Campus Herald, their college official student publication. She suffered all the difficult jobs of a neophyte. But they were all worth it. When she was in third year, she was promoted as the editor-in-chief. She was the first ever junior student to be in the highest position in the campus paper.

“For my term, I suggest to remodel The Campus Herald,” Laila said on her first staff meeting. “Enough of the colorful layouts with nonsense messages…they only make the publication too costly. And love poems will never have their pages. They’re crap…”

She enjoyed her being the editor-in-chief. Her work in the campus paper wasn’t work for her at all. It was her hobby. She enjoyed staying at their office until late in the evening editing some articles. And she loved it having a personal computer for herself, complete with internet connection.

Her fame was fast paced. With her intelligent column entitled ‘Verbotopia’ in The Campus Herald, it seemed that all students were idolizing her. She was known to the members of the academic council and the academic dean herself read all her articles.

All was well until she made The Campus Herald a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP). Laila was in her senior year in MassCom and in her second term as the editor-in-chief. CEGP is a national organization of campus journalists which aims to liberate student voices whatever it takes and promulgate the deteriorating freedom of expression. The organization is associated with activists.

Through her seminars attended with CEGP, Laila was illuminated by the power of the press. She was carried away with the organization’s mission and that she, too, became an activist herself.

In her first term in The Campus Herald, she used to have headlines like ‘Admin praised by students’ or “College impresses PAASCU visitors”. After joining CEGP, the headlines shifted to “TFI: attack the admin” or “PAASCU denies college’s accreditation.”

Laila became the college administration’s enemy. The dean who used to be her fan now despised her. Laila knew it. The budget for The Campus Herald’s publication was always delayed.

On her graduation day, Laila was expecting a summa cum laude medallion. With her record in the campus paper, however, the college administration did everything for her to receive nothing but only her diploma.

So what? I brought about change. That’s more than any medallion…

She was a bum for two years before she applied as a news reporter in ABS-CBN TV4 Bacolod. Shifting to a career in broadcast journalism was difficult for her at first. Writing is much better…at least I’m not exposed in the camera. But she learned to love her job as time passed by.

For three years, she was a correspondent of TV Patrol-Bacolod in southern Negros. When the prominent female news anchor got married and quit her job, Laila was the primary nominee of the station to replace her. So, on her fourth year in broadcast journalism, she was no longer covering the Pasalamat Festival in La Carlota nor reporting news about a vehicle accident somewhere along Pontevedra.

“Good evening Bacolod and Negros Occidental. This is your news anchor Laila Advincula and here are the headlines…”

Fate was too good for her. After being the anchorwoman of TV-Patrol Bacolod for four years, Laila received an invitation to work for TV Patrol-World of the main ABS-CBN station in Manila. She was following the footsteps of Alvin Elchico, a fellow Negrense who was offered the same before her.

“It’s pandemonium here in the Batasang Pambansa when a congressman said something against a member of the Senate…”

“The terrorists had reached Luzon. Twenty people died and thirty more are wounded after a department store was bombed here in Makati…”

“Miriam Defensor Santiago finally submitted her certificate of candidacy to run again for president this coming May 14 elections…

“President Arroyo visited the victims of the Baguio landslide yesterday with a promise to the people that…”

“It’s called ‘wonder fuel’. A scientist in Cavite discovered something which could replace petroleum…”

“…this is Laila Advincula, ABS-CBN news.”

In her sixth year of working with the station, Laila became the main anchorwoman of Bandila, the late evening news program of ABS-CBN. It was a dream come true.

July 29 2007. Laila was excited to deliver the news to the public. Much of the national news submitted by the reporters came from Negros Occidental, her home province.

“Good evening Philippines. This is Laila Advincula and you’re watching Bandila…”

“The notorious Antonio Tumamak, head of a gang of snatchers in Bacolod City was finally caught when the suspect for the murder of Maria Lourdes Alejandrino spoke to the authorities about his whereabouts…”

“A woman named Rita Bonogan was arrested by the Bacolod City Police after her attempt to hold-up the Equitable PCI Bank along North Drive. The authorities however found out that the gun of the suspect was just a toy bullet pistol. Rita Bonogan therefore wasn’t brought to jail for investigation but was immediately taken to PMHI…”

“Alvin Stevenz Fitagor, a fresh college graduate in Bacolod City committed suicide by hanging himself with a rope in his room. According to his mother, Alvin was depressed for days after knowing that he had not passed the June Nursing Licensure Examination…”

“A dead body was found floating in the Banago Port of Bacolod City this morning. The body was identified to be of Alexander Torres, a call center agent who was diagnosed with AIDS. According to the investigators, Torres might have committed suicide by jumping into the waters upon knowing his positive ELISA test, a diagnostic procedure for AIDS…”

“Super Ferry 5 faced its tragedy when it sank this afternoon in the South China Sea. The said vehicle was bound to Luzon from Bacolod City. Super Ferry 5 collided with MV Sta. Ana along the course. The rescue operation is still ongoing. However, the dead victims have been identified and their names are as follows: Charity Gracia, Mimi Muzones, Jan Bentimanan, Jeffrey Manolo Sistono, Simon Araneta…”

In London, two people from separate places were watching Laila Advincula on air via ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel.

Juliano Lobrido IV, aka Julie, was glad when he knew that the Maria Lourdes case was solved at last and that there were no track leading to his name being involved with the crime. He was seated on the sofa, putting some ice on his bruised face. The truth was that, he wanted to go back to the Philippines. London was no paradise for him at all. London was hell. And Jed Evans was the devil, his sadist lover.

Teresita Advincula called Alvin’s parents upon hearing the news about his suicide. “I’m so sorry for him…and sorry too if I can’t make it to his burial. I’m pregnant…and Pablo won’t allow me to take any trips…”

When she arrived in London after her vacation in the Philippines, Teresita told her husband about her dream of getting pregnant. They made love as soon as they got home. Two weeks later, Teresita was constantly vomiting. It was a miracle. Teresita’s pregnancy test kit revealed that she was positive.

After a month, Teresita began to experience pica, the unusual craving of women to demand their husbands of getting weird foods for them.

She was craving to eat grapes.

“Grapes? What does it mean if you have a pica for grapes?”

“Pablo, that’s a superstition,” Teresita replied. “But anyway, if it’s true…the grapes are sweet…maybe we would have a child so sweet and beautiful…”

They kissed. Pablo couldn’t wait to be a father.

When she was six months pregnant, Teresita checked her gynecologist for an ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed that what’s inside her stomach was no fetus but rather grape-like masses. She had a Hydatidiform mole.

“Will I have a baby?” Teresita asked the doctor anxiously.

“I’m sorry…there will be no baby…”

Teresita smashed the iPod to pieces on the clinic’s floor.

FINIS

ENTANGLED