He went outside barefoot, the December wind howling, cutting through his skin like the vivacity of noontime sunbeam.
It is three thirty in the morning. The moonbeam's radiance struggles to penetrate the earth beneath, moving on from yesterday's tempest. The earth begins to dry, like the cry of a pacified child, the wind pursued no hindrance.
Early morning December dew touched his countenance. The universe is celebrating the glorious silence after the surges of the past.
The cosmos whispered, and the boy listened, " Thy things shall pass and let it be fulfilled. The universe shall conspire for you to achieve thy master's will, let it be done to you according to His will."
He closed his eyes, opened his heart, he is breathing with an absolute calm, allowing the force of the cool wind to pierce in every pore in his flesh filling his soul.
He opened his eyes and saw the dawn's glorious break.
-Neb Iva (12.10.14)
December 5th, 2014, around 9 pm, while reading and waiting and sipping coffee at Mcdo Bustillos, two backpackers (probably Americans, accent would tell) made their grand entrance and seated adjacent to my table. They're murmuring something that can hardly be heard. While eating, they had begun complaining and raising their voices as if no one could ever understand what in the world they're saying: The "hilariousness" of the premises, service (pertaining to Mcdo?), the early Christmas of Filipinos, traditions and everything under their stupid care and the Great American Dream. Then came: "This is the only country in the whole of Asia which blah blah blah here and blah blah blah there", the hell? Comparing your country to the rest of Asia in your own turf, got really into my nerves and I almost dunked my coffee over their stupid faces. Then I remembered Rizal's experience while in Paris, inside the train headed for Dieppe in 1889 where a boorish American gave him the best reason for his low regard for Americans:
..While waiting for the train to depart, the americano with the "fisonomia hambuguera" (mayabang or hambog) started talking. He found everything in Paris bad: Exposition, Eiffel Tower, cafes, restaurants, etc. Nothing was comparable to New York. New York here, New York there, New York everywhere; there was nothing like New York. From time to time his companion would say, "Oh, indeed!"
Rizal sighed and kept his peace. He wrote, "I was beginning to be annoyed by the fury of the traveler and I was going to join the conversation to tell him what I've seen and endured in America. Rizal was relieved when the train started moving and the americano fell asleep.." (A. Ocampo, 2011)
Like Rizal, I blamed the strong coffee that made my mind create, at least a polite question to ask the two bastards: "Gentlemen, what are your thoughts that your country is the birthplace of AIDS?" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, of course, I kept my cool and just smirked on the other guy.
They went quietly.
Minsan, mahirap magpaka-ilustrado sa mundong puno ng kuto.
Di tayo perpekto. Maraming kakulangan sa bansang 'to at kasama ka sa kakulangang yun kung ikaw mismo susuko sa paniniwalang balang araw, bago ka rin mabaril dahil sa prinsipyo mo, maaayos din ang lahat.
