MIONG: And the Sublime Paralytic

Tadhana

Tadhana

He just got out of the university when fate hit him with a new option.

Actually, it was him who hit it.

Miko Angelo Artajo, or Miong, was driving on the Katipunan Avenue in the middle of the night when his bumper hit the spinal cord of a young pedestrian who, at that time, was not attentive enough to notice his flashing headlights.

It may not be his fault, Miong thought. He could run away from it since Katipunan Avenue in the middle of the night is a barren flyover. The boy fell down immediately with a stunned scream.

Seconds had passed and Miong was still thinking. If he could run over the boy, this event could be forgotten. He has no time for a surprise responsibilty. However, if he really kill this boy, the human side of him might torture the living daylights out of his mind.

Nonetheless, he doesn't want to be burdened by a useless commoner who's stupid enough to bump on the only car on the road.

"What? Are you thinking of running me over or are you calling 911?" The boy suddenly shouted. The boy was out of his sight for being under his bumper. His voice was clear, firm, and angry. Moreover, he could sense attitude.

Miong opened his window then shouted, "Well, who's stupid enough to..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence. A thick hard-bounded book hit his windshield. Fortunately, his car is bullet-proof. But, oh, that doesn't stop him from getting angry. He abruptly opened his door to face the young man who, by the way, he hit.

"You think it's just my fault that you ended up in front of my car?"
Miong was expecting an angry opportunistic face, someone who would demand money for hospitalization. To his surprise, there revealed the face of a crying kid who's touching blood from his back, sitting in an upright position as he laid his aching back on the bumper. He looked up to the Miong, with heavy tears and swollen eyes.

The boy has black hair, just like his, but this boy's black hair is blacker than black. He's an average asian, with short and thin stature to the point of unhealthy. This boy cannot be a looker, he thought. Yet, there's something strong in his eyes, something light in his breathing, something different in his persona.

"I can't feel my legs." The boy breathed.

Miong immediately took out his phone and dialed the emegency number. Just in 15 minutes, an ambulance came and took the boy to the nearest hospital. Miong took the hard-bound book from his windshield and rested it on the passenger seat beside him.

He didn't like the idea of helping, but as a law student, he knows what justice is for.

After hitting the kid, he listened to how his thoughts ran, angels and demons tugging him to run over the boy he never knew. His sister kept reminding him how he will never be a leader for lacking empathy, sympathy, and sense of justice. No matter how smart he is in social science and law, he will never be what he desired.

He wants to prove his sister wrong.

He wants to call his sister right now and tell her that for the first time, he felt pity and helped a fellow in distress. Those crying eyes might be the trigger. He wants to feel it more.

The essence of being a human.

Was it because of pity?

Maybe not.

Beside him is the hard-bound book with a blue cover, in print, there written:

Efficient Bureaucracy fit for the Philippine Government
Charles Apollo Javier
12-A
Senior High Thesis

How the hell can a high-school kid make a thesis out of this?
Truly, that kid must not die. Anybody else he met can die, but not this one.

[Tadhana = Fate]