PALETA
STRANGE FACES -I didn’t know him, he did not know me, but somehow we had to fight for a stupid flag. A stupid flag, I say. But it was on a land that was worth fighting for. He was stroked by what he heard. It was almost a murmur from the whistling wind from all the gloominess of the surrounding. He looked up to the sky and saw dark clouds that weren’t ready yet to give in. He ignored what he heard and kept walking with the others, carrying umbrellas of dark colors. They walked within an inch of silence, only the sound of the cold breeze and the clacking of heels from the women’s shoes were heard. Such unlucky fate. He continued walking until a woman broke down in tears. It has caused a slight commotion, and he was amazed at how the people were supportive of helping her up. He stopped looking at her, while the others remain with the same regular phase. And then, along with the sudden blow of cold air, he heard a man at the back of the crowd, wearing a dark coat, talking and with the same voice from what he heard earlier. It has caught his attention and walked to the opposite direction to where the crowd was leading. It has led him to a man with a distinctive unlikeness of the others. He was
“
“
VI
Do you know what it’s like to be in the face of death and be the face of death itself?
tall and thin, with small ears and a shaggy haircut. He walked beside him not saying a word until the man broke the ice. -Do you know what it’s like to be in the face of death and be the face of death itself? He looked at the man. His face making wrinkles from his expression of what seemed like regret and grief. He couldn’t answer his question, and so he remained silent. -I think not. And I truly hope you don’t. He sighed. -What do you mean? He asked the man. -What was it like to be in the face of death? He stopped to answer the young man’s question. With a pat on the shoulder, he spoke in his deep voice. -You see, my child, we think death is as simple as just not being able to feel anything, being painless. But that is where you are wrong. The man was interrupted as a bolt of lightning pierced through the sky followed by a roaring thunder. Yet the rain still wouldn’t give in. So the man continued to speak. -As death’s face peers into your eyes, you feel your soul trembling and screaming inside your lungs, but death wouldn’t let you 58
