Tama ba tong desisyon ko?
His eyes scanned the empty barren brown around him, struggling with his work boots as he walk through the muddy soil at nang makarating sa gitna ay inilibot ulit ang paningin. As he looked closer, he soon realized that he misty morning had cheated his vision as soon as he saw the hints of green given by the wild short vegetation surrounding the area.
It had been raining for many days at di na nakapagtataka kung bakit maputik ang daan patungo sa lugar na sinabi ng kakilala nya.
This has been an act of whim, him joining a group of young professionals to support a non-profit organization that builds free houses for the less fortunate families. Hindi naman sa hindi sya mapagbigay. He had supported foundations before pero monetary donations na kaagad ang ibinigay nya. Not manpower.
I'll do this for a change.
Nakita nyang may tent na nakatayo sa may dulo ng area at kaagad naglakad papunta doon. He could already see a group of people chatting over coffee. Ilan sa mga iyon ay kakilala nya. But most of them were total strangers.
Someone waved at him. He waved back. It was John, a fellow businessman who invited him to volunteer. This was day one- the orientation.
Napansin nyang karamihan sa kanila ay mga lalake. He wasn't surprised, though. This volunteer work would surely need a lot of muscles.
Hi, Moe. Good to see you. Kumusta? Agad-agad na pagsalubong sa kanya ni John.
I'm good, thanks. How are you? Ganti nya as he shook his friend's hand.
Excited. Still waiting for the project leader to give us the orientation. Halika sa loob, let's mingle.
There were about thirty of them. He was glad that he knew some of the volunteers. Ang iba schoolmates nya noong college, habang ang iba naman ay nakilala nya during previous business-related activities.
He went out of the tent to take a short smoke break. This was a good excuse to daydream away from the laughter and voices that could easily drown his thoughts.
He was about to finish one stick when John joined him.
Bored, bro?
He just smiled. Hindi naman sa bored sya. He just enjoys his time alone. Bukod pa doon, he felt lost. Hindi kasi nya alam kung ano ang maging role nya sa charity project na 'to.
Tumawa ng mahina si John.
Sorry, bro. Wala kang pwedeng maging inspirasyon dito. Haha.
Ngiti ulit ang isinagot nya dito. Alam kasi nya kung anong tinutukoy nito.
But the fulfillment should inspire you. Believe me, bro. This is my third time to volunteer and I'm already looking forward to the fourth.
Tumango lang sya.
Pareho silang napalingon nang mapansin ang pagtahimik sa loob ng tent.
C'mon, Moe. Magsisimula na seguro ang orientation.
.....
He had expected boredom. He was wrong. The orientation turned out to be interesting. Nalaman nya na lahat ng volunteers were accepted because of their skills, potentials and connections. The volunteer work wasn't all muscles. It needed brains.
After being briefed, they were told to introduce themselves to the team. He was pleased to discover how diverse their team was. There were engineers, medical practitioners, journalists, cooks and other skilled workers.
After his turn, medyo nakadama sya ng antok kaya naglabas sya ng ball pen at papel and began to doodle. Bigla syang napaangat ng tingin ng makarinig ng isang tawa. It was a faint laugh but it sounded so familiar that he looked around para hanapin kung saan ito nagmula.
Tawa ng isang babae ang narinig nya ang he saw only a few women when he arrived at the site. He looked at the group of girls huddled in the corner but they were only talking. He looked around some more and waited for the laughter to come again, but all he heard were muffled conversations.
Saan ko narinig ang tawang yun?
After the orientation, he got out of the tent again to take another smoke break. Pumwesto sya ng medyo malayo-layo sa tent para mapag-isa. Gusto muna nya ng katahimikan.
He stood under a tree a few yards away. He was in the middle of thinking nang makitang may babaeng lumabas mula sa tent.
He couldn't make out the lady's face but she looked vaguely familiar kaya sinundan nya ito ng tingin nang lumiko ito sa isang make-shift toilet and when he saw her face more clearly this time, bigla syang napahinto sa pagyoyosi.
Jesus H. Christ, siya.
