Saturday, February 6, 2010

Spectacles





At past one in the morning, I find myself walking in the hallway going to the bathroom. A report has to be rushed before the shift is over and drinking too much tea induced me to spill the fluids in my bladder. A few steps before the toilet, subordinates wait for the elevator. Four ladies need a lift going down. They saw me coming so they have to stop me dead in my tracks.

"Sir punta kami Ministop." Their leader said.

"Sama ka na." Urged another.

I was in no mood to go down. Not even for a smoke. But learning that my agents will have to walk three blocks across dangerous streets to buy lunch obliged me to join them.

Inside the elevator the ladies speak of their concerns as I pretend not to listen. One is seeking advice about her doomed office romance, while the oldest complain about the dry-up in workload. She says it upsets her family budget. The girl whose long unkempt hair became a target among other agents (the guys from the morning shift once dubbed her as 'yung babaeng galit sa suklay') speak of her plans to find a new workstation. Her snail-paced desktop affects her daily output.

The elevator reaches the ground floor. Its doors part at the middle showing us the exit. Warm wind flows around inviting us to tread the barely lit inner driveway. Only the security officers' quarters remain bathed in light with the guard on duty watching an action movie on cable. The huge steel door swings open and the road outside lays empty.

Everything is under the hour's shadow and the lack of nearby sources of light allows me to peek into the heavens to find sparkling gems pinned against the charcoal horizon.

"Awww ang daming stars, kinikilig ako..." A subordinate overhearing my reaction chuckles behind.

Forgetting to take off my glasses - which I only wear on the floor - it was the first time in years I was able to pause and take pleasure gazing at distant objects dangling across the night sky.




17 comments:

blagadag said...

next time, wag mo na ipaglipan pa should you need to pee. piling those fuild in your bladder is bad for your health.

Anonymous said...

aside from everlasting love, men's history is driven by the stars.

it was the dark but sparkling universe that propelled the greatest thinkers, the ancients farmers, the medieval european explorers and lonely poets - the night sky they gave endless material for imagination.

so there you go, wishes and dreams do come true. i wonder if you wished on a star that time like galileo or martin luther king did when they were little children

paci said...

*waiting for a star to fall..

engel said...

stargazing is one of my favorite things to do even if i don't know the constellations.

Mugen said...

Engel:

The reason behind the kilig was the thought of stargazing with someone I love.

Paci:

Is that a song?

Mugen said...

Dabo:

Nope, I didn't wish for anything. I just appreciated the fact that there are things I take for granted nowadays.

Blagadag:

Opo mommy. Thanks!!

red the mod said...

The stars uplift us who seek meaning in the vastness of reality. And her blanket of nightlight afford a tranquility to the men of the night. The lovers in tow, the friends in cohorts, and the hopefuls in their solitude.

Beautiful.

Mugen said...

Red:

I found a moment's refuge from all the dread of the world by merely looking at the gems above. Yeah, it was indeed a break from reality.

Glad to see you again last night.

Unknown said...

The night always brings out a certain longing, doesn't it?

Mugen said...

Manech:

Fearful,
the cloak of
darkness is.

:)

Anonymous said...

*joms, the latest post does not have a comment section, i just figured i'd say some things.

1. salamat, bro. kahit hindi na ako laging nagagawi sa aking blog dahil sa trabaho, at hindi na rin laging nakakabisita, it always feels good to know that somebody considers you a friend.

ako, kahit ano pa man, kahit hindi tayo magkakilala talaga, i want you to know that i'm just here. i am starting to read your previous posts and they somehow make me sad. this life is sad. what can i say.

2. longing and learning... yeah. it occurred to me that maybe we're in the same state. sana we get out of this sh1t real soon.

3. joms, bat ganun. dati, kapag feeling ko down na down ako, manlalalaki lang ako, cured na ako. parang makinang gagana uli for a year or so. bat noong saturday night, i did it, pero parang hindi na sumasapat? parang mas lalo na akong nanghina? bakit parang kalinga na ang hinahanap ko? alam ko namang hindi talaga tumatagal ang mga ganito e, pero bakit hinahanap parin?

naguguluhan ako... sobrang gulong-gulo.

4. kung mapagpasyahan mo lang naman na hanapin ako sa facebook, para we can get connected, ang pangalan ko ay cristian carlo suller. hindi ko kasi alam till now ang tunay mong pangalan. familiar lang ang mukha mo sa journ dati sa uste pero hindi ko talaga alam ang pangalan mo.

nararamdaman ko ang huli mong post. lahat naman ng post mo. pero, alam ko, iba itong huli. sana iyon na.

Mugen said...

Carl:

Walang anuman. Hinding hindi ko makakalimutan na noong huli akong nakaramdam ng ganitong pangungulila, ng ganitong pagdilim ng kalangitan sa aking mundo, nandoon ka't nagblog tungkol sa akin. Hehehe.

Eto ang sagot ko sa iyong mga katanungan:

2. Tao lang tayo. Minsan nagagamit natin ang utak natin, minan naman emosyon at puso ang pinapairal natin. What is imporant is the balance. Lately mas sanay na akong utak ang pinapagana, pero kapag nasa punto akong defenseless, naghahanap rin ako ng pakiramdam sa iba.

3. Sapagkat tumatanda na tayo. Maski ako, higit na kalinga na ang hinahanap ko. Yung pakiramdam na intellectually at emotionally connected ako sa isang tao. Hindi na gaanong kabigat ang gravity ng sex.

4. Hahanapin ko ang iyong pangalan sa facebook. :)

Ingat ka lagi at hanggang sa muli. Salamat.

Menthos said...

Nice post. Made me remember when I got my first pair of glasses and saw the starry skies for the first time in 8 years. It's a feeling that will never go away.

Thanks for sharing this post!


btw, i hope you won't mind but I added your link under my Recommended Reads.


Cheers!

Menthos
Talkingnon-sense.blogspot.com

Mugen said...

Menthos:

Yeah, too bad I hate wearing my glasses, so stargazing isn't really something I could indulge frequently.

Feel free to add my blog. Thank you for dropping by.

Dhon said...

Sometimes.. life has a funny ways of saying.. STOP and LOok at your surroundings.

Mugen said...

Dhon:

And I wish life would nudge me more often. :)

Dhon said...

@Galen -- they say.. if you wish hard enough.. it will come true.. :)