The Nation's Outcry

Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Attack
Zanashi

There's silence before a storm and loud silence before a great disaster. This idea was pretty popular with my blockmates back in college. Everytime they encountered unusual silence, they would raise their eyebrow to indicate that there's danger coming. They never used it as a warning though. They used it as their way of having fun for the incoming incident.

"I've told you that days from now, they would break up and guess what? They really
did!"

They never took it seriously.

Today, while on our way to the military base, everything seems unusual. The silence is so loud that it actually made me deaf.

Makulimlim ang langit. Aakalain mong ilang minuto na lang ay babagsak na ang ulan. Ilang oras nga lang ang nagdaan at wala pa ring ulan na bumuhos. Ni walang maririnig na kulog. Maging ang dalawang sundalong nakabantay sa amin, si Gomez na katabi ko at ang isang sundalong katapat niya, na nag-iingay kanina ay tahimik na lang na nakaupo ngayon habang hawak ang kanilang baril. Nararamdaman nila ang kakaibang katahimikan, nasisiguro ko iyon.

Habang binabaybay ang kahabaan ng daan, hindi ko mapigilang punahin ang dahon ng mga punong nadaraanan namin. The stillness of these leaves was almost impossible to watch. Halos magmistula itong litrato. Mula sa puno ng mangga, dahon ng niyog, at ang mga mahahabang damo na nakahilera sa kalupaan. Everything is so still but it doesn't give me the touch of tranquility at all.

Ilang oras na kaming bumabyahe. Ang military truck na minamaneho ni Raygan Rodriguez ay nasa unahan na namin ngayon. Tanghaling tapat na. Tirik sana ang araw at maririnig ang hampas ng hangin sa mga puno pero sa oras na ito, madilim at tahimik ang paligid.

Bumagsak ang tingin ko sa wing mirror at muli na namang naabutan ang dalawang mapanganib na matang nakatingin sa akin. The owner of these menacing eyes was leaning on his seat, his right arm was resting on the window, while his thumb and forefinger played with his lower lip.

Ilang beses ko na siyang nakikitang nakatingin sa akin pero kahit mahuli ko siya'y hindi pa rin niya binabawi ang tingin niya. With his furrowed brows and grim expression, he seemed lost in his own thoughts. Para bang nagkataon lang na nakatitig siya sa akin habang nag-iisip. When I slightly moved, however, his eyes slightly moved as well.

The intensity of his stares was too much to handle, tipong ilang sandali na lang siguro'y mababasag ang wing mirror. But this time, something urge me to meet his stares. Hindi ako bumitaw sa titigan namin.

I was trying to convey my thoughts to him through looking into his eyes. Something's not right! Something's going to happen! Sumisigaw na ako sa isip, umaasang ipapakita ng mga tingin ko ang mga naiisip ko ngayong oras mismo.

It was during that moment, me silently communicating with him, trees and leaves were not moving under the dull and gloomy sky, cliff was laying dangerously on the other side of the road while a large formation of rock was on the other, when a truck suddenly blocked our way.

It almost seems surreal when an overwhelming noise suddenly drowned the peculiar silence we've been hearing for hours.

"Yuko!"

Agad hinawakan ni Gomez ang ulo ko para payukuin ako. Everthing's a total chaos. It was a very familiar scene to me. The gunshots, the screaming, the cries of the children, the smoke, the loud bangs, everything!

Bumaba si Gomez at ang isang sundalo para magpaputok ng baril sa mga armadong lalaki. Hindi ko na naiintindihan ang nangyayari. Mabilis kong niyakap ang mga bata sa abot ng makakaya ko at namamaos silang sinigawan na yumuko.