“These pieces of décor are perfect!”

 “Oh, yea?”

 “Yea, where did you get them?”

 “I cannot remember.”

 (Telling herself silently.) “They are mute witnesses a long time ago.”

 “How come?”

 “Well… oh, I do remember now.  It’s from a special person.”

 “How special?” (smirks)

 (Telling herself silently again.)  “Very special that he deserved to be where he is now – the prison.”

 “Hey, you didn’t answer my question! You’re keeping a secret, babe.”

 “Ah, that.  Not really special.  I was only joking.  I want to see how you’d react.  Actually, I cannot remember who gave those to me.”

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We played sungka together when we were kids, my cousin and I. He is paraplegic and walked always with his wooden braces. He loves to challenge me with playing sungka and he never won. This had made him all the more wanting to play sungka so that he can beat me. We had fun that summer. I guess we jived together, him - a disabled boy and me - an insecure adolescent. But we jived and we tell each other stories about life and values. Nobody among our cousins want to talk to any of us. That had made us friends.

When I reminisce those times, I look back and smile. We still talk to each other and exchange SMS. We see each other once in a while. We remained friends. He had remained a friend despite his status quo> My cousin is now a prominent political figure.

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Have you noticed that we each has a colorful life? Take for example, the story of Argot.

Argot is one of those plain-faced ladies with supple and sumptuous bodies.  When she walks, those lustful neighbors salivate with how the hips sway and how her legs sparkle with smoothness.  One of them brags at how he will make her scream in ecstasy provided that a towel is available to cover her ugly face which is not ugly at all but plain.

Argot fell in love with one of the hunk neighbors who because of his ego entertained her obvious moves.   He was, to add insult to injury, is to be wed to one of the neighbors, too.  This, being all a secret to Argot.

Argot, one day, after months, was seen by her friend back to her brother’s house, looking bloated, or fat, if that was the more appropriate description.  A friend was not aware that she was conceiving that time.  Argot tried to abort the baby but it clung.

Argot gave birth to a cute baby boy who was denied by his father, that one who is one of the neighbors, and who is about to be wed.   But she gave birth, being a woman with no choice.  The baby died after a year because he was blue baby.  Argot left him alone in the house though she knows the baby will die unattended when he cries continuously.

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I had just finished reading The Opposite of Love by H. Benedict and this book reminded me of one story.

In the midst of a squatter’s area in Manila lived a poor family. It was only the father who worked because the mother lacks the initiative to help. And so it was the father who worked almost all his life for the family until his death (but this is another story). The eldest of his children was his favorite it seemed. He had never let her do hard work like doing the laundry though most of the time the eldest helped in preparing and cooking food for the family when the mother is not around or is lazy to do the cooking.

Because of the weak body of the eldest, it was the second to the eldest daughter who was assigned to do the laundry. The mother had given the responsibility of doing these house chores early to her daughters. She had even more time to stare at the skies than her daughters. The second to the eldest of course was very annoyed at the situation. She had vent her anger to her older sister. She had always been angry and disrespectful.

One time when she was doing the laundry at the base of the three-stepped house, she started doing the laundry and also started speaking harsh words intended to her older sister. The older sister tried to ignore but her younger sister could not be silenced. As minutes roll by, the older sister got irked and began to speak, “Stop that nonsense or I’ll throw these hangers to you.” The second sister really had this intention to provoke her older sister so she kept on talking ill things about her while the neighbors across and around started to gather. “Stop, or I’ll throw these hangers to you!” went the angry voice. But she could not be stopped. The next thing the second sister knew was that a few hangers landed on her face.

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During recess, little Melanie noticed that her teacher looked worried and restless while she talked to the other teachers in the faculty room. In the school ground, there seemed a commotion, too. Mothers who wait for their kids were busy buzzing and seemed restless, too.

After recess, the students, including Melanie went back to their room. Their teacher announced that they will be sent home earlier than the usual time. She also told the class that they have to tell them always when they wanted to pee. They are not supposed to leave the room unattended.

Since it was still early, little Melanie’s mother came late although not really late. She was always on time. It was the school’s decision to let the children go home ten minutes earlier that made her mother late. Melanie was left inside the clinic with the nurse while she waits.

When her mother came, she asked what the teacher had told her. “Honey, the teacher said that they caught a rapist inside the comfort room,” her mother answered nervously. Because of fear and the unusual expression in her mother’s face, Melanie did not even bother to ask what a rapist is.

On their way home, little Melanie could not erase the thought of a hairy monster, big, dark, with sharp teeth and claws. This was the rapist, she thought. She never bothered to ask her mother from then on in fear of the rapist. She never also bothered to go to the comfort room because of this monster in her mind. She peed in her seat always, everyday, until the school ends.

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