Monday, October 19, 2009

10 Days - Chapter 2

Journey 2 – The Long Road



“A ticket to Baguio, please.” Terrence told the lady behind the counter. The lady gave him a ticket, and Terrence paid for it. He walked towards the waiting area and waited for his bus to come to the loading area. He looked at his watch, it's still 6 AM and his bus will leave in an hour. He then decided to go to the convenience store to buy something to eat. Meanwhile, Danielle decided to stop in front of the convenience store to buy some food. She parked her jeep in front, and went down. It will be a long drive for her, and she needed food to fill her up. She gathered all the food she could carry with her. Terrence saw her grabbing all the food she could get, and all he could do is shake his head. Somehow, she found the girl really amusing. “Is she starving or what?” he thought. Danielle walked towards the counter to pay for her groceries. She placed her Polaroid camera on the counter, then reached for wallet to pay for her goods. She immediately went out of the store and then got inside her jeep. Terrence was right behind her at the counter, and noticed that she left her camera on the counter. He placed his food on the counter, and then took the camera. “Miss, the lady left this camera. I'll follow her, and give this to her first.” he said. The saleslady just nodded her head.

Terrence rushed outside the store, and saw Danielle on her jeep. “Miss!” he shouted at her. Danielle looked at her, confused as to why he was calling her. She got out of the jeep, and walked up to him. “Anything wrong, sir?” she asked. Terrence nodded his head, and showed her camera to her. “You forgot this inside.” he said. Danielle realized that she almost lost her precious camera. She flinched, and hit her forehead. “Silly me! How could I forget this!” she said. Terrence just laughed at her. She took the camera from his hand, and then she smiled at him. “Thank you. You don't know how much this camera means to me...” she said. “I understand. Take care of it. You might lose it again.” Terrence said. She nodded her head. “Thank you very much, sir. I hope one day I can repay your kindness.” she said. Terrence smiled at her as well. “There's no need.” he said. Then, he went back inside the store to pay up for his food.

--

It was a long travel indeed.

It's already 9 AM, and Terrence is still on his way to Baguio. There was a stop over a long the way, and there will be the next and the last stop over in a while. He looked at his watched, and then turned his eyes outside the window. “i should get there by night time...” he thought. Just then, he felt the bus made a the side. He stood up, and saw the driver and the bus conductor get out of the bus. “What's wrong?” he thought. He waited for them to come back, and for the bus to get going, but 30 minutes have passed and nothing happened. “I think it's not a flat tire. I think the bus broke down.” He heard one of the passengers say. Then, he saw a smoke coming from outside the bus.

Panicked, he and all the passengers got out of the bus. “What's wrong, manong?” he asked the driver. “The bus's engine failed. We already called for help, and they should be here anytime now.” the driver said. Terrence just sighed and shook his head. With the bus breaking down, it seems that he have to stay in Baguio for a day, and it just ruins all his plan. “Do you think we could just hitch at the next bus that will come?” another passenger asked. The driver nodded his head. “Yes, but the next bus will come in two ours or so...” the driver said. Terrence let out another sigh. “Great. I have to wait for 2 hours for the next bus, and it's unsure if that bus is full or not...” he thought. He walked towards the road to see if there would be any vehicle coming to their direction, but the road is empty. It seems that they are stranded in a deserted road. An hour have passed, and no help came. The driver and his helper is still trying to fix the engine, to no avail. “Great... this is just great...” he said as he leaned on the bus. Then, he noticed a yellow jeep coming to their direction. The jeep seems to familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he saw it.

Danielle was driving and singing to the tune on her radio, when she noticed a bus that broke down. From the side, she saw a familiar guy leaning on it, and waiting for the bus to get fixed. She was a few meters away when she realized who that guy is. She looked at him through her side mirror, and smiled to herself. “Well, time to payback your kindness, I guess...” she thought. She began to drive back, and stopped in front of Terrence. “Hi!” she said, smiling at him. Terrence gave her a confused ans suspicious look. “Hi...” he said in an unsure tone. This made Danielle laugh. “I'm the girl at the convenience store a while ago. The one who forgot her old camera inside the store.” she reminded him. Terrence finally remember her. Then, he smiled at her. “Ah, yeah... I remember.” he said. “Seems like you're stranded here. I don't think the bus would get fixed anytime sooner... and buses don't always take this route. Can I give you a lift?” she said. Terrence gave her another suspicious look. “Don't worry, I'm not a serial killer, a psycho, and definitely not a rapist nor a mugger. I just want to repay your kindness... for giving me back that camera.” she explained.

Terrence laughed at what she said. He found himself getting curious about her. He doesn't know why that camera is too important to her. He folded his arm, and walked up to her. “What's with that camera?” he asked. “Let's just say it' my very first camera that's why it's important to me. So... want a ride?” she said. Terrence had no choice but go with this girl. There's no way that the bus will get fixed anyway. “Let me just tell the driver I'm going ahead.” he said. Danielle watched Terrence as he said goodbye to the bus driver. Then, he rushed up to her, and got inside her jeep. He put his bag at the back of her jeep. “Thanks for the lift.” he said, smiling at her. “No problem.”

Danielle started the engine, and began to drive. “By the way, I'm Danielle. Got a name?” she asked as she was driving. “I'm Terrence.” he said. Danielle smiled at him, and nodded her head. She turned her attention to the road after that. “Nice meeting you, Terrence.” she said. “Are you always like this?”
“Like what?”
“Giving a lift to some guy who found your camera.”
“No, I don't.”
“You don't usually give a lift to some guy who found your camera?”
“I don't always lose my camera. Just today, I almost lost it. And no, I don't go giving lift to some random cute guys.”
Then, she looked at him, and smiled again. “Not that you're cute. It might get into your head.” she said. Terrence just laughed at her. “So, where are you heading, and where should I drop you off?” she asked. “My bus is supposed to go to Baguio, but I'm actually heading to this small town in Benguet.” he said. Danielle smiled again upon hearing what he said. “Interesting. I'm supposed to Benguet as well. So, are you going to this town near the mountains? The one that's secluded from civilization... the one that's almost on the mountains?” she asked. Terrence gave her a surprised look.. “How did you know?” he said. Danielle threw him a meaningful look gave him a playful smile. “I'm a good mind reader, am I?” she said. Terrence just shook his head. “Fine... if you say so...” he said. “Honestly, you can't get on that village in by afternoon. With the road condition they have there, you're most likely to reach that town by night time.” she said. Terrence threw a confused look at her. “How did you know?” he asked. “Simple. I've been there once. And believe me, going there is not a piece of cake, but it's all worth it.” she said. “That... that's... nice...” he replied. “Yes it is. The scenery is more beautiful than what you see on the glossy magazines. There's something more to it than what you read on the travel magazines.” she said. Then, she looked at him. “If you're wondering, I'm the one who took the pictures of that place and wrote about it in Travelogues February edition.” she said. Terrence nodded his head in surprise. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “So, she's the girl who took pictures of it...” he thought. “So... you're a photographer?” he asked. “Photography is my passion. I'm not a professional though... I just love taking pictures of beautiful things.” she said.

“Hey, I have an idea.” she said all of a sudden. Terrence gave her a wondering look. “Since we're both going to the same place, how about if we become travel buddies? I mean, you're new to that place, and I've been there... I can tour you around.” she said. “I'm OK with it...” he answered. “Well, you have to say yes, because the people from that town don't usually welcome strangers. At least they know me. They will probably welcome you there.”
“They're not cannibals, aren't they?”
“Of course not. They're just a bunch of people wanting to protect their home from people who wants to destroy their place.”
“Hey, I'm not going there to vandalize their town, OK?”
“I know. And I bet you're there to have a self-retreat, am I right?”
Terrence gave her another surprised look. He wonders if Danielle could really read minds. Danielle looked at him again, and saw the wondering look in his face. “I'm just guessing.” she said. Terrence let out a sigh of relief. “You scare me there. I thought you're a stalker or something...” he said. She laughed as she shook her head. “Hey, this morninDg is the first time I ever saw you.” she said.

Danielle reached for her radio, and turned it on. “I hope you don't mind listening to rock music.” she said as the radio turned on. The rock music on her CD began to play, which annoyed Terrence. He just couldn't appreciate rock music at all. “Actually, I do mind... I don't listen to those kind of crap.” he said. “Oh, and since you're hitching from me, you have no other choice but to listen to my kind of music.” she said. Their silence was replaced by the loud rock music from her car stereo. Terrence could only sigh in frustration, and shake his head. “You listen to these kind of stuffs?” he asked. Danielle nodded her head. “I do. I mean, not just because it's loud and upbeat... but if you listen closely to what the lyrics is saying, you'll find out it represents something more... deeper... it's like telling what you're supposed to know... what you're supposed to see... what you really feel...” she said. The loud music ended, and it was instantly replaced by a more toned-down rock song

Sometimes when I hold my head in shame
I forget that I'm the one to blame
If I fall aimless on an endless journey
I'm beat up, broken, busted, angry
I can't explain but it's true
Used to walk slowly, now I'm running
Catching up's getting hard to do
Tell me now, tell me now, what's got into you?
Whispering softly, now I'm screaming
Tell me now, tell me now, when will you explain?

Terrence looked at Danielle as she sing with the song. He doesn't know why, but the song just hit his spot. It was exactly what he's feeling now – frustrated, angry, burnt out. At this point in his life, he's unsure if he's happy with what he's doing with his life. He have always wanted to be a lawyer, yes, but he felt that he was forced to be one because he is the son of one of the top lawyers in the metro. He wanted to Alyanna to be happy, even if her happiness means he's not part of it. But he felt it's wrong for him to let her go just like that, and give her up without a fight. And yes, he is to blame because he felt he wasn't strong enough to fight for what he wanted. “I like this song...” he said. Danielle looked at him, and smiled. “See?” she said. “I know you'll learn to appreciate this kind of music.”

--

A few hours later, and Danielle stopped the jeep. She grabbed her camera, and dashed out of her jeep. Terrence could only give her a wondering look. “Why are you stopping?” he asked in an annoyed tone. Danielle walked towards the side, and watched at th beautiful view of the mountain before her. “I've never seen such a lovely view.” she said. She then took her camera, and took pictures of it. She was lingering too much, taking pictures, which makes Terrence irritated. “Look, if we linger here more, we won't get to that place by night time.” he said. Danielle looked at him, and smiled. “Relax. Enjoy this view, will you?” she said. Then, she turned away from him, and took pictures again. He took a deep breath, and got out of the jeep. He walked up to Danielle, and waited for her to finish taking pictures. “You're a guy who seems to be always in a hurry...” she commented. “I wanted to be on time.”
“You're the kind of person who seems to plan everything.”
“Better that way that have no plan at all. At lease I get to know what to do if I mess up.”
“You're the guy who just wanted to go on to the next stage in a short time, aren't you?”
“What's use being in the same position for a long time?”

Danielle looked at him, and smiled. “If you're always in a hurry, you won't get to experience the beautiful things around you. You wouldn't be able to appreciate the scenery before you. Life is too short to be always in a haste.” she said. Terrence gave her a confused look. “Why are you so philosophical?” he asked. Danielle just let out a laugh. “I'm not philosophical. Witty, maybe.” she said. Terrence could only shake his head and sigh. “What's with this girl?” he thought. He looked at her, still wondering what kind of a person he is with. “How old are you?” he asked. “I'm 23.” she answered. He let out a faint laugh, and shook his head. This made Danielle confused. “What?” she asked. Terrence just shook his head, and went back to the jeep. Danielle followed him. “What's with the laugh... will you tell?” she asked in an irritated tone. She hopped on the jeep and started the engine. “For a 23-year old girl, you seem to think like a grandma.” he commented. Danielle just laugh at him. “And how old are you?” she asked. “25.” he said. “For a 25-year old guy, you act too childish. You're so impatient.” she said. Then, she accelerated the jeep, as the jeep moved in fast pace, Terrence could only lean back on his chair. “Slow down, Danielle... will you!”

--

Labels: 10 Days, original story