crypts for rent

on yet another lame thursday night, i received a text message from samantha. it read: "pnta q r0bins0n's bkas. sma k." i beamed. a good change of environment would work for me, i thought, and also, it was a chance to catch up with a friend who's been preoccupied with the demands of motherhood. although i was already up for the idea, i asked her still, "anu b ggwin nten dun? ala ak0ng anda e." she replied, "ala lng. psyal-psyal lng. me wheels nmn e, dnt w0ri." then i finally succumbed to the idea. "0k. snduin kta s arts sh0p ng 6," ending our conversation. "ts a gud ting i hv my frnds," giving out a sigh of relief. at 5, i left my nook and headed for pinoy diesel. miranda was already there, and after spilling out all the details, she immediately agreed on going with us. it felt like cloud nine. i said to myself, this would be a blast. a girls' nightout. just like old times. but i immediately dismissed the idea after seeing sam's not-quite-other half on the steering wheel, as they drove around the bend. both of them were in a hurry, so we weren't able to wait for charlotte and skipper. sam said, "daan mna ty0 sa blacan, blacan, nang mkta ny0 nmn bhay nmin." as we were preparing for the long drive to bagumbayan, i texted mr. big. i told him we'll be having a nightout, and went on inviting him to come with us. half the time, he was asking what the itinerary was, and the rest was spent with me answering, "i dunn0." come to think of it, all i know is that "mgppsyal-psyal kmi sa r0bins0n's," and that was all there is to it. after that, nothing. nil. zilch. i hate it when i'm put in a situation that's beyond my control. but then, i've made up my mind, so i might as well take it all in. we stopped at their lovenest first, and saw little danielle already able to speak a few words and run around, each day transforming into a tiny replica of her lola. after a while, despite the outbursts of my inaanak, we went on picking up two of the couple's guy friends. after what looked like to be forever, we finally got on the freeway, and headed for araneta center to meet up with gin. the ride was steady; no traffic, no road blocks. i said to myself, "t shud be, cnsiderin a gr8 deal of an 0rdnary Filipin0's inc0me hs 2 be dducted s0 1 cn xprience jus wt pblic srvce rily mins (when citizens' welfare should be the government's priority, and not adherence to a superpower's ambition of an all-out war to every nation on earth)." we spotted gin outside a fastfood chain. as we were pulling alongside the parking area, i was relieved to see her face lit up at the sight of sam and me (we had a little squabble a few weeks ago). it has been a year since i last saw her (or my high school friends for that matter), but it's good to know that there are things that will remain constant amidst demanding circumstances. as we made our way through ortigas, and finally turning up to pearl plaza, i relayed the directions to mr. big as to how to get there. "d2 n k0 s lbas," he replied. i quickly went down, and saw him in jeans and a fight-for-socialism shirt. "mkhng ngarag pr0 yum yum p rn," i said to myself, sporting an impish grin. soon enough, the four of us (gin, miranda, mr. big, & i) were smoking al fresco, catching up on each other's lives. after quite a while, the couple, with 2 of their companions and a cousin, came out and announced that we'll be making a final stop at congressional avenue before we could get to our beers. it's a bit late, and i haven't had anything to eat. my body's beginning to throw tantrums. we ended up on a rather fragmentary building, and the same hustled environment (like the one in ortigas) greeted us as we entered the room. all four of us were packed together in a table, and a guy, who introduced himself as an architecture student in a university along united nations avenue, started talking about 'radiance'. you've got to be kidding me. we were entangled in the mesh that is networking. why have i not seen the signs? i felt betrayed. but will i give samantha that privilege? hell no! so the talking head suck up all the sarcasm i hurled at him. and after our tormenting discourse, i was really not in a festive mood, and neither were everybody else in our table. as we were heading for the van, gin uttered, "me lam ak0ng msrap n pares-mami, kain mna ty0 bg0 umwi." i think that was the most sensible thing i have heard all night. para kaming mga patay-gutom. as if to make up for the hassle they put us into, the couple tried to console us with a couple of beers at a sparse bar in timog. but we were too dead beat to care, so we headed back home.

i've always loved treading the north luzon expressway either at daybreak or in the dead of night, imagining deftones' be quiet and drive playing on the background, as the zephyr brushes through my fingers. a fitting end to a nightmare.

xs. remind me to not trust samantha (nor her imagined truths) again.