In the year 3020X, as the population continued to surge while economic growth declined, the government faced an unprecedented challenge. When the economy hits rock-bottom and spiraled into despair, the government made a solution- to leverage human g...
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Chapter 20: Unforeseen
Hanggang ngayon ay nanginginig pa rin ako.
Tila hindi gumagana ang pandinig ko sa mga sandaling ito. It happened so fast, but it's still slowly sinking in my mind. This system is so cruel, so unimaginable, but this is the reality. Life is not all rainbows and happy things. Ito ang tunay na nangyayari. We cannot do what we want to do. We cannot achieve what we want to achieve.
Iyon ang mga nasaksihan ko, pero hindi ako makapaniwala na iyon ang katotohanan. Reality slapped me hard at this very moment. The oppressed get little to no happiness in life. No justice, no equity, not much. It's so easy to talk about justice, to talk about everything, but in reality, everything is so far-flung. Ang katarungan ay tila abot-kamay lang ng bawat isa. Tila lamang...
Everything is so out of reach.
Right after Steve's death, tila wala lamang iyon sa mga sundalo at sa ibang nakasaksi sa nangyari. They let us resume working, with no words of comfort, no explanation, not even a tiny ray of regret or sympathy towards the victim. Kahit ang mga tao sa paligid na nakasaksi sa nangyari, even those who heard the gunshot, even gossiped as Steve's bloody body was carried out without care, paalis sa tunnel.
It seemed like no one cared. But I cannot judge what I see right now. There's so much more truth than what meets the eye. Hindi ko alam ang nararamdaman ng bawat isa. If I were to give them the benefit of the doubt, something like this isn't new to them, kaya't tila normal na lamang sa kanila ang pangyayaring iyon.
Kahit si Bean ay tila hindi rin apektado sa nangyari. He simply pulled me—something I was somewhat thankful for dahil sa mga sandaling ito ay tila wala pang lakas ang mga tuhod ko. Every step I took felt like tiny pieces of shattered glass on my foot. My world seemed to stop, contrary to everyone who continued as if nothing happened. Pinagpatuloy nila ang kanilang gawain, kahit mabigat sa loob, at wala silang ibang pagpipilian kundi ang sumunod na lamang.
I slowly stepped forward ngunit bawat hakbang ay bumabalik sa guniguni ko ang mapapait na ngiti ni Steve. I do not have a retentive memory, but the picture of Steve with all the grudge, hatred, and bitterness in life is clear as day in my mind.
His weeping, his blood that scattered on the rough ground... it was traumatizing and painful at the same time. Steve wanted death, that is for sure, ngunit maliban sa kamatayan, ang kalayaan ang kanyang mas higit na hinahangad. He wanted to live a free life. Due to his hopelessness, he wanted to die free, ngunit kahit iyon ay pinagkait sa kanya ng tadhana. He wanted the justice he deserved. He wanted so many things in life, ngunit lahat ng iyon ay hindi niya naranasan dahil sa pagkakulong sa Zone Z.
He was stripped of his human rights, his identity. He lived as the man who sinned and was now named by the numbers embroidered on his old, faded uniform.
"Sa tingin mo mababalik ng mga luha mo ang buhay niya?"
Bigla akong napalingon kay Bean nang marinig ang sinabi niya. He looked straight at me and spoke in a monotonous voice. Walang ni katiting ng emosyon sa boses niya dahil sa nangyari.
