The sound of the bundy-clock marks the end of my shift, I worked only for four hours today. It’s just lunch time but I’m already out of the office because the love of my life who came from a different country is waiting for me in her apartment near Buendia and I’m so excited to meet her. I go down the nearest 7-11 branch to buy some of her favorite candies. I don’t really know why she likes these multi-colored sour candies, I’m just buying it as an appetizer to my planned main course.
The bus is, as usual, so full of people. I just find it amusing to see that I’m the only one wearing red. It’s like I’m glowing inside this bus full of people wearing dark corporate clothes. But whatever, no time to be a fashion critique now, I must stretch both of my arms upward and reach for the bus’ hand rails before the bus runs in full speed. Usually, whenever I’m in this situation (on a moving bus, standing), I think of how wonderful it might be if I have the power to defy physics. Actually, just some part of it-the momentum and the inertia. Well, today is not a usual day. Today, I’m thinking of the most artistic and moving way of rephrasing one of the biggest questions a guy can ask a girl aside from asking permission to just stay at home and play Xbox rather than go out on a trip with all of her girlfriends. “Will you marry me?” is kinda hard to re-phrase, y’know.
Huh? I think I hear a small commotion on the front side of the bus. I lean to the right a bit to see what’s happening. A short-haired lady wearing a black razorback top and a dark denim pair of pants entered the bus. Tssss. The bus driver is so greedy. We’re barely breathing in here and he’s still loading more passengers. I look at the lady in dismay. She looks back. Gosh, she’s frightening. Her stare makes me feel like I’m a 6 year-old kid watching a horror movie meant to scare a 40 year-old man. I look down to avoid her eyes but I’m a little too late. I can totally feel that she’s walking towards me albeit the bus being crowded.
Why is she walking towards me? She’s really excerting effort to squeeze herself through the other standing passengers just to be near me. Her eyes are still fixed to me. I don’t know what she’s planning to do but I know that her stare is piercing and it can’t mean any good. She’s still walking. I close my eyes and rest my head to my right arm while it’s still fixed to the handrail in attempt to pretend I’m sleeping, so that she’ll think twice before bothering me, but to no avail. She’s here and she wastes no second.
“Psst. Hey, guy in the red.”
“Yes?”
“I know who you are. And I think you know me as well.”
“Really? Have we met before? I’m so sorry but I can’t seem to recognize you.”
“We haven’t met, really. But I see you a lot I know that you know me.”
“Internet contacts?”
“Nope.”
“I don’t get it. What’s your deal, really?”
“I’m here because I need something from you.”
“From me?”
“Yes. I need you to come with me.”
“You know, I’m not really sure about that.”
“I am quite sure that you are coming with me. Y’see, I don’t do this a lot. You’re an exception and please don’t ask why.”
“Excuse me, miss, but I think you’re not making sense anymore. Are you sure you got the right guy?”
“I’m sure I’m making perfect sense. The things that you’re planning to do now, I wish you did that a month or so earlier”
“What the fuck are you talking about!?”
“Ooh. Cursing. Not so cool. Especially in public. Now people are looking at you.
“Speak up, lady.”
“Okay. This is what’s gonna happen. You see that next corner there? We will just go pass that and then you’ll experience a once-in-a-lifetime event with some more additional stuff like some shedding of tears and stuff.”
“Okay, miss. I’m trying to keep my cool here so I’m just letting you go away with all of this nonsense. I’m not talking to you anymore and you can go away now. Okay?”
Even though she’s still looking at me in a very weird way, what’s more important is that she stopped talking already. As the bus steadily moves towards the corner next corner, so is this weird girl starts to converse again.
“Hey, sir”
I just give her the talk-to-the-hand gesture.
“Seriously. We need to go now.”
“Miss, I’m good. Thank you.”
She quickly moves closer to me, lifting her arm-reaching for my hand. Just as her finger touches my skin, a very strong light crawls up from the floor of the bus. I know light travels very fast but this one seems to be moving very slow. I don’t know what’s causing this light but it definitely looks (for the lack of a better term) glorious. But however glorious it might look like, it’s blinding so I close my eyes. And that’s when the rest of the bus goes off.
The flames are tall. The road looks like a vain that erupted-there’s blood everywhere. My body is drenched in blood as well. I know that the explosion is so powerful because I somehow managed to land outside the already wrecked bus.
With all of my remaining strength, I try to lay my back on the ground and reach for my pocket. I want to see the ring that I bought for my love, but just as I’m about to breathe my last, I see something way better. I feel like I’m given a little extension. My lover is in front of me, weeping. Oh I hate it when she cries, have I done something wrong now? She must be thinking how hard it is to wash my clothes since it’s all bloodied. Her lips are moving fast. Is she reprimanding me again? I must be late that’s why she’s here. I lift my arm and give her the box containing the diamond ring, maybe that will change her mood. The girl in black then appears next to her. Now it’s all clear to me-the message this weird girl was trying to convey. She scoops her hand under my neck as if lifting a heavy rock. I hear my love scream at the top of her lungs. Then everything goes black.
