FALSE ALARM . . . (*_*)

           Let's turn the clock counter clockwise and turn back to each old leaf of the calendar. Let's start counting the years back and stop at the moment when . . . . . . .

             One day in a crowded terminal with big buses in their old features ( I mean no bus was airconditioned yet, no wifi on board  . . .as no cellphones, laptops netbooks, tablets, etc. were used those days.)

                   That was christmas season. . . people were rushing to be home for the vacation. But there were those who went home late , thus adding to the number of passengers crowding at the Cebu South Bus Terminal. CERES and SUNRAYS were not known  yet. BISAYA, ABC, AUTOBUS, COROMINAS, SESALDO were the liners then, though ROUGH RIDERS had already been there.

                       Trip gaps were not as short as of today. People really would rush so as not to be left in a particular trip. The travel from the City of Cebu to Bato via Oslob or via Argao took at least five hours through those bumpy, rocky roads.

                       Bato, Samboan by the way, was the destination of passengers who wanted to cross to the island of Negros in a shorter span of time. (Today, passengers can cross the Tanion Strait-----between Cebu and Negros-----in a shorter span of time by making use of the services of fast ferries/ fast crafts which are available at Liloan, Santander and Talisay, Santander, although Bato's (San Sebastian) Cruz and Poblacion wharves are also catering to these needs.)

                        * * * Back to the Cebu South Bus Terminal * * * . . . . Amalia was already seated two rows away from the driver's seat. At the age of 16 she was already a freshman studying at one of the prestigious universities in the city of Cebu. She could have been home earlier for her vacation had she not waited for her third degree cousin from Manila whom her aunt (second degree cousin of her father) wanted her to wait and accompany to her aunt's relatives in the province.

                          > > > > Her aunt originated somewhere near the boundary of the towns of Samboan and Ginatilan in the south < < < <

                             It was because of the arrival of a telegram informing her that her cousin might not be able to make it, that she finally decided to take the 10:00 a.m. trip to the southern part of the province of Cebu, that was her home, sweet home * * *

                          At the age of 16 , life seemed to be a whirlpool of emotions, a kaleidoscope of dreams, an ocean of  WHAT IFS ? ? ?

                               > > > > While waiting for departure, Amalia scanned the pages of a photo-novel which was just one of the many  her mother bought for her when she was in high school. (Genevieve was her favorite).   < < < <        She looked up when she heard a voice, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" . Realizing that the beardy man could be almost fiifty years of age she answered " Ah . . .yes, it's taken". She unconsciously didn't want anybody to sit beside her, much more this man who just waited for a decade to enjoy his second citizenship (to be a senior citizen----- LOL---)

                             It was after about a few minutes when the bus driver started the engine, and it was then that they heard voices nearing the bus. Suddenly three men rushed into the bus where Amalia was. The first one to board who was gasping for breath automatically sat beside her, while the two others looked for vacant seats.

                              The man sitting beside her, she sensed, was so glad he was able to catch up with that trip.  It was then that she felt guilty in denying to the old man earlier about the seat's vacancy.     The bus conductor blew the whisle, a signal for departure . . . . . .