Isla Alegre

My hometown in Cebu is known as "Isla Alegre" in our own dialect which literally means a
Fun Island. People who were strangers or just moved in the place may have had in their
thoughts that there would be lots of fun and enjoyable moments as they claimed that the
residents were happy-go-lucky and seemed no worries at all.

As one of the resident, way back when I was young who started to understood things began to
wondered that how was my little hometown been known as "Isla Alegre"? I even asked the
elders and they just smiled at me without any word. Poor little lady...

With those years, at my very young age have had seen unpleasant events in my place. I
remembered one morning, there was this guy named Mier with his goons approaching nearly in
our own little store. Mier was my very first man who lived and rented my mind and heart
that time. I could still felt how my heart throbbed with sweaty palms everytime i got a
chance came closer to him. Yes, I got a huge crush on him. He was the first man in my
dreams. I was alone then since my parents went downtown. So, I handed him a case of SMB
(beer) as he requested then he smiled and said " Please add it to my credits, beautiful".
That phrase still rings on my ears.I felt mad of myself then for I was already told and
warned by my mother not to give Mier anything without paying it. But I didn't had a choice
with all his goons at the back and exposed guns, wheew! not to mention my feelings for him.
Our place was known scary to many because of him. No new faces could be found without
passing his territory where he could do anything.

On that afternoon of the same day, When I was about to close our store, I was stunned with
my knees trembled outside our door when I saw Mier appeared right before my eyes as he
kneeled down in pain with a continous blood flowed from his body. A stranger came from
nowhere and hit Mier to death. Yes, I had just witnessed such kind of brutality.
I was shocked and stood still for several minutes until that stranger disappear. Thank God,
that man did not waste his time to hurt me for I saw everything he did. A crowd filled the
crime scene as they took out Mier out of my sight. And for the last time I took one last
glance at him as he was carried by familiar faces. I saw them passed a hard rain under the sampaloc
tree near his residence. I didn't knew if I hallucinated on something, I cleared my eyes to
see clearly the rain under the tree as I wondered, why on earth I didn't felt even a single
drop of rain from where I stood? I took a deep breath as I realized and pained that it was my
heart who cried like rain that day while the people in my neighborhood felt relieved and
free that finally our little hometown would be all ready in peace and joy as it named.

Mier has been gone years ago but his memories stayed with me and served as my strength to
move forward to the right man waiting for me at the end of the line on the right time and
at the right place.