Lost for Words

It has always been my joy to have adventure going to unfamiliar places. Last Saturday, my friend asked me to go to their place for some personal favor. Unluckily, I am innocent of their place. Fortunately, I love the task and the challenge to get there ALONE. So I was in another quest to unfamiliar place.

Going there is quite an easy assignment. I just have to ride a jeep from my home to FX terminal at SM Fairview; ride FX from SM Fairview to SM North EDSA; another jeep to Munoz, then LRT to Monumento. (Whew, so easy!) I chose this path, though more expansive than some other suggested ways because I am more familiar with what to ride where. From there, I needed to go to a mall so-called Victory Mall, then looked for the Mcdo branch in there. Upon arriving at the Monumento Terminal of LRT 1, I noticed how creepy and how crowded the place is. Creepy in a sense that just across the street is the Ever Grand Central Mall, and along the side of the street where I was walking are the street vendors and lots of bystanders. Due to my demophobia, the excitement I had faded, and the uneasiness started to take place. It always happens whenever I go to crowded places.

I came in to our meeting place five minutes earlier. He said he would be late. So, instead of staying, I decided to roam around the mall to see what's in it. All I was seeing were people going to and fro, vendors of different goods inviting people to check in their products and probably, deceive them to buy some; "concerned" persons who constantly reminding the shoppers to keep their eyes on their valuables for snatchers are just around the corner; and, of course, the number of bystanders inside the mall. The uneasiness I feel gets too strong for me to become irritated and agitated. I decided to go to a food chain and stay there until he arrived. Of course, with due respect to the food chain, I ordered some drinks to have a "pass". Sadly, I only have big bills in my pocket in which the counter didn't accept. She aggravated the uneasiness I have. I still stayed inside and waited for his arrival. One hour after, he arrived. We left the food chain with some unfavorable memoirs. I asked if we can wander around the mall and look for some amusement/ entertainment area to unleash my uneasiness. We found one, but instead of giving me some relaxation, it worsen my feeling. To at least give myself some air to breath, I asked him to accompany me to an isolated area. There, I gave what he asked for and decided to move out of the mall and go home.

The crowd gets bigger as we went outside the mall. It's dark, and the place became creepier. I don't know how I can get home from there since I am undecided whether to take the same route I took or to challenge myself to try new path. All I was thinking was I need to get into a PUV which is not too crowded. I cannot take a bus ride since it's dark and everyone was going home. So, instead of going to a new journey, I took the same path.

From LRT Monumento Station to Roosevelt Station, I was staring outside, getting myself familiar with the landmarks and buildings. I came about Roosevelt Station just in time before it got darker. From there, I needed to take a ride to SM North EDSA. Upon walking down the footbridge, I saw a father, carrying his weak and sick son, sobbing and asking for some help. I wanted to give him some of my coins, but I was thinking he needs more than that. Despite of the tragic scene pictured right in front of me, I still walked through them, with a heart breaking into million pieces. "I need to go. I need to go. I need to go." these statement rolled in my mind as I rushed into a bus and had my second ride. However, before I got into the bus, I saw a boy sleeping in a corner, thin and had nothing, holding a plastic cup silently asking for some alms. My heart was then pounded to dust.

Arriving at the SM North EDSA, the father-and-son picture still stocked in my mind. I walked over the footbridge, waving this scene out of my mind. I was discouraged when I saw the crowd fell in line to get a ride to SM Fairview. What I did was to go inside SMNE and kill some time by wandering around until I met a friend who asked me to join her journey to finding a planner. We went from one stall to another, until we finally found a planner just fit for her. The sadness I felt for the sobbing father suddenly gone.

When I got home, all I was thinking is the lessons I learned in my one-day-lost-for-words journey. Yes, I almost lost some words to describe what is going on. First the journey is so tiring that I almost gave up trying. Yet, the urge to help my friend pushed me to give a little more effort. And, yes, I did! The uneasiness I felt almost killed me from the inside out. It choked me and the patience to wait for him. The crowd and the fear about losing something caused me to almost quitting. The sobbing father and the young kid reminds me how blessed I am having enough food to eat, and a healthy body. The traffic and the long line saying life is never an easy road. My friend who I accompanied with tells someone, in the middle of misfortune, will surprise you in one way or another. And a lot more.

More than anything, the place we I went put me into my being. Its impression tells something that I almost forget--simplicity. The people there, though the place isn't great, learn to appreciate things and enjoy what life brings about. Inside the amusement center, people are busy playing and enjoying with their things put just in a corner near them. They ignore the fact that anytime, their valuables might be stolen. On one game, someone who played after me, smiled at me first, probably saying, thank you for giving me a chance to play and good luck for the next game. It is a total odd thing for me to receive a smile for a totally stranger, yet his smile gave me an assurance of nothing to fear and nothing to hide for. Everyone inside the room enjoy playing unconsciously, one thing I didn't feel when I am in an amusement center nearby. Their life is simple and they are contented with it.

The journey I had is never an incident. Every little thing I encountered gives me some lesson I definitely didn't learn inside the classroom. I just hope everything would be fine with the sobbing father and his son.