MIONG: And the Sublime Paralytic

Pamamanhik



Miong followed the ambulance to Providence Hospital, which was the nearest hospital from Katipunan Avenue. The place is decent, but maybe not as posh as the hospital he frequents when he feels nauseous, or when he needs a medical certificate to fake his excuses on being absent.

He sat in front of the O.R., reading the contents of the boy's thesis.

The paper is intelligent, thorough, well-researched, well-worded, and clever. He mentioned the bureaucracy in other countries, even the bureaucratic systems of the pre-colonial Philippines. He pointed-out the strenghts and weaknesses of the Filipinos that would determine what type of bureaucratic system would fit the Philippine government.

The thesis is still on researching phase. There are no analyses and conclusions yet. There wasn't even actual type of bureaucratic system yet, nonetheless, the paper is brilliant.

He's dying to know what this kid would conclude. He definitely wants the kid to live.

After two hours, two doctors went out, and a nurse called him in. He was asked of his relations to the boy, in which he said he's a very close friend, and the only one around for the moment.

Entering the room, he felt daggers from the boy's glare. The boy is sitting upright, his back supported by two giant comfortable-looking pillows. He looks nice and healthy, but very angry.

"I know you're angry." Miong dumbly started.

"No shit. Do you know what they told me?" The boy growled.

Miong looked at the other way, away from his eyes. "That you will never walk again."

"Do you know how hard it would be..." The boy's eyes began to water, heavy teardrops marking his face and his blanket. It's hard to take in the fact that he will see a different side of this society because he will be considered, from now on, a person with disability.

"I know." Miong approached the boy, bending towards his face. "And I want to do everything that I can to make your life a hundred times easier, even before you got paralyzed. I can hire a nurse, I can buy you a new house nearer your school, I can... spoil you. Just..."

"Just what?" The boy snarled. "Just don't sue you or it might stain your oh-so-perfect record?"

Miong smirked. He retracted himself from the little distance. "You know what, you're smart. Yes, I don't want you to sue me. Because if you do, you will suffer with very little compensation money. I can give you more if I'm not in jail."

"Hah!" The boy chuckled. "What a bastard you are. But I like that word you said... spoil."

"Y-yes. I don't mind spoiling you. Like I said, I can even give you a house."

The boy smiled.

_________________________________________________________________

"I hope you're taking this seriously." The boy reminded Miong for the nth time. They're in a rough path towards a simple abode that the boy calls home. It's a government housing project. All houses are standing right next to each other without extra spaces for yards. Even from afar, the house looks very small, just the size of his bathroom, maybe.

"Yes I am. I know how to take responsibilty." Miong fixes his collar, then proceeded on pushing the boy's wheelchair towards that house.

While walking on the block, some people are looking at them, especially at Miong. Miong guessed it must be because of his looks. He knows he looks very different from these people. He has light brown skin, tall thin and muscular stature, and a well-groomed presense. He knows he's a looker.

"O my god, Appy! What happened!" An old woman exclaimed from the boy's house.

Miong greeted the woman. "Good morning Mrs. Javier. I'm Miko Angelo Artajo. Can we talk inside?"

The situation inside is even more terrible. Mrs and Mr Javier may be outstanding parents to their only son, but it doesn't justify the fact that they're poor, and Appy is living off from sponsorship from their relatives. The little house is small, dark, and cracky. He can smell stagnant water and cockroach settlement. He wants to leave immediately.

"Mrs and Mr Javier, I want to apologize for doing this to your son." Miong started. Although, as a law student, he knows admitting your crime is a crime, he's still firm in his resolve.

"You did this?" The father reacted.

"Papa, listen to him first. Besides, I can walk after two weeks." the boy interrupted. Miong glanced at the boy, giving him a questioning brow. The boy just played dumb.

"Yes, I know I did something wrong, and I'm willing to take responsibility. I would like Javier to live with me in my condo and personally take care of him, and also, I will sponsor his college with weekly allowance of 3000 pesos."

Both Mr and Mrs Javier cannot speak.

"Ma, Pa, I will live with Miong. I'd like you to allow us, please. We know those relatives won't be sponsoring me for college. And you really... can't. My point is, yes, he did hurt me, but we can use this opportunity."

"Charles Apollo Javier!" his mother stood. "We did not raise you to be an opportunist. Are you telling me you're draining this young man dry? And what if he only doesn't want to be sued. The minimum time to bring a case to court is five years. What if after five years, he throws you away? And how can we even trust this person?"

"You cannot." Miong interjected. "Trusting a stranger is illogical, especially with sketchy amount of riches, but let's just say I need your son, too."

"And how would you need our son?" Mr Javier questionned.

Miong was about to say something along the lines of 'he's smart, I need his intellect.' However, that would also make Mrs Javier think that Miong might be an intellectual property theft.

And so the boy said, "Because we love each other, Ma, Pa. And you're not stopping us! What happened was an accident and Miong couldn't stomach that he caused it so he wants to take care of me. You hear?"

"What?" Said the parents.

"What?" said the neighbors who were watching through their window.

"What?" Said Miong, who was already out of the village, driving along Katipunan Avenue with scrunched face.

"Oh shut up will you. I have my reasons." The boy said from the passenger seat. "Oh look, this is where you hit me."

"Wait wait." He thought for a while. If he did say he's taking their son away because he's smart, it might cause another problem. And also, the parents were too speechless but the father mentioned something about his son being selfish for the first time, so it should be okay, especially if it's for love. "Oh I get it now."

"You get it now? Good."

"But maybe you actually like me, that's why you made those conditions." Miong teased.

A while back, in the hospital, the boy smiled cunningly. He said he has better proposition on the matter.

First - He will sponsor his college with 3000 weekly allowance.

Second - He will live with Miong.

Third - Miong will personally take care of him.

Miong thought those were really hard conditions, as it may affect the comfort of his life. But the boy pointed out that the point of the propositions is to make him suffer as much as he would have been in prison.

"Yeah, I like you." The boy said. "I like you suffering. I want you to feel the consequences of your sin. I want you to know that I'm not someone who can just be kicked around or ran over by a car. I am Charles Apollo Javier and you should treat me like a prince I am."

"So you don't like me." Miong deadpanned.

"Precisely."

Miong sighed. He positioned his car in his personal parking lot inside the Katipununa Condominium, pulled the hand break and removed his seat belt. He faced the boy's face seriously. "So what do I call you?"

"Just call me Appy."

[Pamamanhik = Courting]