MARTIN MAHINAY



Samar, Philippines / Graduate

Currently staying at home

Graduated student at 21, loves cats and dogs, listens jazz, and loves looking for mesmerizing buildings.



Awaken from a short slumber, I found myself sitting in a rocking chair from a house of an unknown place. By that time, I gazed at the clear blue sky wondering what will happen next. Then, I slowly closed my eyes and the sky I was looking for started to get dark. Eyes closed, yet all I see is total darkness. Even the harsh light from that blue sky can't penetrate my eyelids.

"Hey," an unknown voice echoed in the darkness. Should I reply to that voice, I thought something would happen. But I didn't.

Minutes passed, I decided to open my eyes. As I do it slowly, a not-so-harsh light hit me. Dim, but in multiple colors. Still, it was a cold night. I found myself that I was 'transported' at the park from another place I never recognized. As I became awake, I found myself carrying a G36C rifle in the right hand and wearing a black military outfit. Never knowing how and why it ended like this, I decided to walk out of the park.

Getting out of the park, I heard the fading screams of people and the noise from vehicles. Searching for the source of such noises, I arrived at the front of the department store and saw the people 'frozen' yet the cars and motorcycles constantly beeping. I was trying to check each motorist but to no avail. By that, I looked around hoping for something good, and Death showed in the distance. I didn't know what in the world he appeared there. Is he responsible for all of this commotion?

Collecting what I know from this situation, a black 'haze' and an eerie sound coming past the frozen motorists. It seems that it's searching for something (or someone), and glowing red eyes were facing at me. I ran past them back to the park, but they got me and quickly enveloped in jet-black darkness. Yet, that darkness was beaten by an unknown, bright white light. "Was I saved," I asked myself.

(20/5/2020)





My eyes are closed at the moment that someone (my comrade-in-arms?) suddenly woke me up in such darkness.

‘Wake up, bud,’ he said. And all I saw that time was harsh afternoon sunlight with bright-colored banners hanged in every house we reached by our military truck. We are ten in it, including me and my comrade-in-arms that I forgot who he was, plus three other trucks during the welcoming celebration.

It was at the moment when the drum and bugle corps entered the intersection, and the tragedy happened. A military chopper that was supposed to report back to the HQ malfunctioned and crashed right at our vehicle. The chopper grazed all people it met at the ground, including the entire corps and the two front trucks.

By that time, I'm just stood up looking at the dead people. My mind thought that "it's gonna happen", and so it was. Suddenly, I was being pushed by the same comrade of mine outside of the vehicle. As I flung outside, I saw his face and lips for the last time, like he was talking for something.

For a split-second, the chopper crashed the vehicle I was in. Its blade grazed (if it was) the left side of my waist, then smacked down very hard as my vest contacted the blade. Such force caused me to blacked out for a while.

After that, I woke up slowly whilst hearing the ear-deafening sirens in the intersection. As I try to move, I saw the badly wounded waist that bled a lot earlier. I also saw the silver-colored tube beside me. It seemed that I already lied on the stretcher. I suddenly coughed, and a feminine voice reached unto me.

‘You're awake,’ she said. I looked at my left and I saw a crutch and thought that the female doctor knew I'll be awake and might need that. She helped me reach the crutch and assisted me toward the hospital entrance. Luckily, the hospital was near the incident area.

As I try to recall what happened, I looked back at the incident only to found out that no one but me survived the crash. I almost shed a tear after I hear ‘I feel sorry about your comrades’ from the same doctor's mouth.

‘You need to recover your wounds fully,’ she said while asking me to go inside the hospital to reduce the possibility of PTSD. She added, ‘follow me’.

(11/4/2020)
© Neptune and Manisha Anjali

© Neptune and Manisha Anjali