A Day in the Life

I was sitting alone on a concrete bench at the Luneta, chewing endlessly on my tasteless Bazooka bubblegum while looking into the horizon through my Wayfarer sunglasses, unmindful of all the commotions around.

My mind drifted to far away places, far enough which was hard to fathom. Memories circled in my head and then pffft! ---

Broken only by the touch of a dirty hand from a dirty child begging for food while pointing to the Jollibee hamburger that lay on the cold chair. I smiled at him and gave him what he wanted and he ran towards his companions with glee.

I watched him eat the burger, ravenously, aware of hovering presence

other kids his age, eyeing him like wolves watching their prey. In a split second, the burger was gone and he returned to where he was before, there on the dirty pavement lying on his back pretending soundly asleep while holding a tin can by his right dirty and bony hand waiting for someone who will drop a coin or two.

I stood up, searched my pockets, and dropped a few five peso coins; he opened his eyes upon hearing the tinkling sounds of the coins as they hit the bottom of the tin can. He managed a naughty smile and looked me straight in the eye.

Then in a moment I signaled for him to follow me as I made my way out of the park into the parking lot along T.M. Kalaw Street. I got inside the car and started the engine as he knocked on the window with his bare knuckles. It was already dark and I asked him to join me for a ride. He cheerfully went in and sat on the passenger seat.

I sped off towards the CCP and parked my car near the unlit part of the condemned Manila Film Center building. Then in a flash I grabbed his neck and choked him hard. He struggled a bit and went limp in just a few minutes.

I drove off towards Roxas Boulevard and turned right into the road leading to the newly built President Diosdado Macapagal Avenue where while cruising I opened the passenger door and pushed his lifeless body out into the ditch on the side of the highway and went for a candle-lit dinner in Greenbelt, Makati with my new girlfriend.

His death was just another nasty thing done by a nasty dude with a nasty mind.

No sweat.