ISCHEL

Her name is Ischel and this is what happened.

The same woman who pushed her into the world pushed her out of it. She is a curious and energetic young lady. Fifteen, passionate and creative, Ischel is just fine. She thinks she's not too special, as how we should always think of ourselves when we are in a crowd. But at home, alone in her bubble, she is a powerful creator.

Awake when the world sleeps, she found the silence satisfying. Although not entirely uncomfortable with strangers, she speaks with mysterious eloquence.

She rides buses to observe people's eyes. It's when they usually tell the story.

One day, she decided to leave home and skip school, nobody would notice anyway. At exactly 11:45am, she rode the train, this time, reclined on the cold hard metal seat and closed her eyes. The sounds of the tracks were beats of the drums, the steps of the travellers were strings of guitars, and the minute chatters were keys of the piano.

Her body floated and danced with the waves of the turns. When the paths were straight, the tunnels would darken the mood and her heart would skip a beat.

Her head fell on a stranger's shoulder.

His scent was rough but it was attractive.

However, it never occurred to her that she needed to back away.

When finally she opened her eyes, the seat was empty, no stranger in sight.

"I must be dreaming" she thought.

It was at the end of the line, the last station, the last town, when she finally decided to unboard. She was greeted by the oldest street sign she ever saw. The smell of the air was a weird mixture of soil and salt water. She liked it very much. She continued and decided to live there for good. A nice young girl became her friend and she was absorbed by her family. When the weather is favorable, they would go fishing and build tents by the sea. The stars watched them share different stories, some were scary and thrilling while others were plain cheerful and inspiring but the best ones were the real ones, the first hand experiences. She loved the silence but learned through their voices.

Every day was ordinary but it was the ordinary life she has always wished for: No screaming parents, no unruly brothers, no irritating neighbors.

She lived like this for many years. She worked at the local market, library, cafe, ticket booths. She also attended countless weddings of friends and family till eventually her own. She married a nice young man, Marvin, at age 34 and became a mother of 2 beautiful young girls. Marvin was always the kind one so when they were camping by the sea and a storm came; He rescued 2 fishermen from the cruel waves of the sea. The waves crashed against the boat right after he pulled the 2 distressed men on board. He tumbled and was thrown to the ocean, his brain bled from the impact and died. The stars watched as they struggled to revive her husband. They watched, they just watched.

She didn't believe in God, she wanted to pray but she cannot. If God exists, He wouldn't care anyway, who are we in His supposedly knowing and loving eyes? She was just an ordinary housewife, now, a silver haired widow.

One day, she decided to leave home and run away, this time, someone will miss her but she does not care enough to stay, it hurts so much she cannot stay. She rode the same train as the last time, reclined on the cold hard metal seat and closed her eyes. The sounds of the tracks were beats of the drums, the steps of the travellers were strings of guitars, and the minute chatters were keys of the piano. Her body floated and danced with the waves of the turns. When the path was straight, the tunnels would darken the mood and her heart would skip a beat.