The prettiest boy from the brood is seemingly the smartest. It helps that he has this natural gift of gab. Humor makes him all the more good looking. In a small town that moves to the dance with every crawling season to see a blade of grass grow, Terry boy tremendous stood out both of place and time. He ran the streets and makeshift bamboo bridges that connect parallel pilapils (enbankments) that is separated by patubig (irrigation channel). He knew he will soon rule this town. He wants more, he wants the world.
For a charming boy, the world seems to bend at his will and the word ‘difficult’ can be swayed with persuasion. There are some kids whose magical journeys begin with a levied self belief that they possess that ability, to weave magic. Most of us start life with wonder, that maybe the world is revolving around us. It’s a perception that is fueled with pinch of truth since loving parents do make every child feel that they are the biggest star in the sky. The small town seem to run much slower than his aspirations. By the time he got to middle school, he was already bored with getting his name called to the stage and have a ribbon riddled in sampaguita pinned on his chest by Nanay and Tatay. The big fish from the small fresh water dike needs to find his way to the lake.
There are many important lessons to learn in life, one of them is about valuing opportunity and favor. He was offered a chance to pursue his dreams in the big city, to test his mettle to the world. He took it and was grateful for the offer. The move came from the family’s grand patriarch, the director of the clan of landlords. He is a man who proudly brandish two college degrees (Accountancy and Law) and a sharp tongue that can whip through your soul. It is rare that someone disagrees with this man who can postulate a ream full of words and calculated bottomline that his ideas make sense. He saw a quality from Terry the tremendous that is worth giving this great favor. He saw a possible successor. He saw a young version of himself that may need just enough guidance to succeed in this world.
But opportunities ask you to adapt, as favors demand that you do. A young man is hundred different things and rarely does he feel the need to heed to any requisite. Not Terry, he just needs an open road to run away and see the world. Another thing about favor, sometimes some feel the need to make you feel that you owe them the world, for that favor. Worse, they have this unhinged belief that you must pay up before the favor pays off. Terry needs to slave for this chance of a lifetime, the Matriarch says so. The Patriarch, for his seeming all-encompassing authority over the clan is powerless behind these walls he calls home.
to be continued
danDAman 