The Late Great MRT Story

written when I was still a freshie (?). great experience with friends. embarrassing though. still, memorable. :)

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Nakasakay ka na ba sa MRT na lampas ng North Ave?? O Nakahiga ka na ba sa upuan nito?? O tumakbo-takbo sa loob nito? O di kaya'y sumigaw? Eh umiyak? Eh maligaw?

Lupet noh??!)

We were from Boni that day, Kim, Nove, Gay and I were on our way home from interviewing World War II survivors as a part of our History I project. Just like any ordinary day, any usual routine, we bought our tickets and waited for our train at the center platform of Boni station to TafT. We talked about a lot of things while we waited with bated breath for the train to arrive. Nag-aasaran pa kami nun. Nung dumating ang train, di kami sumakay kasi naman puno. Sabi pa ng mga girls kong kasama parang boyfriend na nila lahat ang mga lalake dun kapag sumakay sila sa MRT na sobrang sikip. Kung wala ka raw BF, sumakay ka sa MRT at makipagsiksikan at pagbaba mo tiyak meron nah.

So, after the first train, un, naghintay na naman kami for sometime. Gay was anxious to get home kasi nga may curfew nman sa dorm niya at kelangan pa nyang magnet. So nung mapansin naming medyo maluwang na ang sumunod na train, sumakay na kami.

My watch struck 8:00 pm nung makadalawang station na kami. Naalala ko pa kasi when the door opened, a bunch of men entered. Sabay naman hirit ni Kim, "Ayan na ang mga boyfriends namin!". Sabay tawa naman kami lahat.

Silence. I believe there was some moment of dead air or baka nakalimutan ko lang na may pinag-uusapan kami because of the proceeding moments. Kim noticed iba na un billboards na nakikita nya. She was the one we usually call the "LRT girl" kasi di na humahawak. Parang nag-susurfing lang sa beach. Siya rin yung parang memorize lahat ng stations. Ayun nagtaka si LRT girl. Then, all of the sudden, "SANTOLAN STATION".

DAMN, we were going the WRONG way!!!

Anu ba yan?? We were going to Taft but un ang nangyari. Di na tuloy masagot ni Nove ang mom nya nung tinanong xa, "Neng, asan na kau?". Ano ang sasabihin nya?? "Quezon City na poh"???

The next big move now was to get down from the train and transfer. I was gonna get out of the train the next station we reached when Kim said to wait for a station that has a center platform like in Boni to transfer easier. Station after staion, we looked outside the window hoping our eyes will see a center paltform. Pero, parang nakkiisa ang mga engineers ng MRT sa kamalasan namin at walng center paltform. Until we reached North Ave, the last station.

Bumaba kami, we were left with no choice na kasi. I think we stood for about a second there at the door, thinking what to do next. Especially ako, na walang kaalam-alam sa mga ganito. Wala naman kasing MRT sa Davao noh. Ung feeling ko that time di ko alam ang gagawin ko, or san pupunta, or what now. By this time, Gay way crying. Crying because of inis siguro. Nasira ko kasi ung sched niya. She was also saying when we were in Boni kung tama ba ung sasakyan namin. Tapos un, wala namang komontra. Kaya ako sinunod nila.

Dinaan nalang namin sa tawa ang aming mga kalokohan. Ang gulo namin as in. We went to the engineer of the train, asking what to do now. He asked as to board the train again at iikot anman daw to. After hearing those words, DamN, ang saya namin. Pumasok kami sa MRT na walng tao. We did thigs na di magagawa sa MRT during normal days. Humiga si Kim sa upuan. Tumakbo-takbo kami. Sumigaw, ewan. Dala siguro ng hiya at something overwhelmed sa katangahan namin. Sayang di na namin naisip magpicture-picture noon. Kasi naman, we were caught up in the moment.

Approxiamtely 8:25 PM na nun. The train went past North Ave station and switched track. First time ko nakita kung paano ba bumalik ang mga trains, or ano ang nasa dulo ng MRT. Syempre, there was an eerie feeling. Madilim ang labas. Bumukas kusa ang mga pintuan kahit walang istasyon. A cold draft swept past us. Tapos, the light flactuated pa. Sabay labas ni Kuya driver leaving us with the words "Dyan na kayo!".

Un naman pala lilipat sa kabilang dulo ng train. Muntik ko ng makalimutan, reversible nga naman pala ang trains.

At last, we were on our way home. Though, it was a longer trip than what we expected when we were in Boni, the experience is not worth the P 12.00 we spent on our cards. Not even close. Siguro we were so pressured on the things we were going to do when we get home. All the paperworks, homeworks, and other requirements were on our minds. We talked about it a lot kaya un, God found a way to help us lighten up.

The smiles we had that time, the laughter that everyone heard when we realized what was happening, the tears we shed inside the train will forever remain in our memories. Nasa cellphone pa namin un. Naka-Reminder. September 23, 2007, The MRT Story. Ang araw na pinaglaruan kami ng kapalaran at napagtripan ng kamalasan. It was horrible mistake that at least had a happy ending.

Ewan, napaisip tuloy ako, it made me realize...

Life is not about the number of right directions you take, its about the number of times you turned around and got back on the right track after every wrong turn.

Keith Detros

September 23, 2007

12:00 AM