It was the 40th day after Easter Day.
It was a broad daylight. Everyone was uncertain whether to get out or stay inside. It was extremely and horribly hot.The dog could even bear the triumphant of the natural phenomenon. Due to this fact, the people were extremely affected about this havoc that they had so far. Seemingly, if everyone could opt a weather, they rather chose Winter than Summer. They say, "Summer Love," otherwise, love happened in Summer. The unbearable extremity of this natural phenomenon and of this undisputable weather were the greatest factor why the inaccurate percentage of the population was dismissed for ever. Moreover, temperance was another factor that the inaccurate percentage of population is in trouble, might it be a quarrel on the street, a nonsensical fight over a trust issue or an aversion that led to demotion of work. More or less, people were way too perplex and complex.
Edgar had just encountered another argumentation, when a civilian crossed on the street and had not followed the street lights.
It was 7 in the morning, everyone was rushing on the street. He was driving his car and waiting for the orange street light situated atop and away from where his car was stood by.
He was moving his fingers from his right hand on the gear respectively in an undisturbing manner. It was an implication when he was distressed, panicked or petrified. An hour from now he should had been inside the office or else the worst had yet to come! And so the orange light switched, the engines were revving, no one else was on the street; it was ready to go. Then, the car moved on like horses in a race. Suddenly, a man that happened to be rushing as well crossed the street that made Edgar to halt the rotation of Earth.
He was totally upset. The dog figurines that were sticked forever on the platform of the front window of his car, agreed. They were nodding like everything you said against them seemed be agreeable. And hopefully Edgar was the dog figurines.
The man raised both his arms, "Are you going to kill me?" suggested the man.
Edgar was upset and tumult of the man's action caused him to get outside the car. " Who's fault is it?"
The man adjusted his eyeglasses and lifted up his chin. Edgar, a sensible and sophisticated man lifted up his chin too. Then there was a pair of both pride and rationality!
"What? Do you want to fight?" the man suggested.
Without any hesitation, Edgar punched the man on his face making him to move his left foot aback, then, followed by his right foot and the other parts of his body; a backtrack of an event that the man should had not demanded on the first place. The man's eyeglasses that once he had just adjusted, fell down. Thereafter, the man fell down.
Everyone had witnessed the happening. It was more than a natural hazard. The scenario was an exemplary of man versus nature. It was the natural response of the man's body to fall down after being injured.
Most specially when he was hit hardly and badly on his forehead. It was the perilous spot of man's sanity. And everyone had asked after the fight, "Was he still alive?" and "Goliath after being hit on his forehead by David with just a tiny stone, was killed."
So, he fell down and was declared, right after the declaration of war, dead on arrival.
He was standing and astounded by the fact that he had fell down a man.
Honestly, he had never hit a man that hard and bad. When the man he punched on the head fell down as if being dragged down by gravity, he felt like another achievement unlocked in his life, then he smirked.
It was his first time to smile in an unpleasant away after seeing someone in trouble. He always told himself and even others that "Do not laugh at someone's misfortune!"
Nonetheless he did it. The smile turned into an arrogant laugh. He was moving and crossing his feet like a boxer that was engaging himself to another bloody fistfight.
"Get up! You said you want to fight. Come on, give me a clean fight!"
He knew himself that he was always not into trouble; however, he did not imagine that getting into trouble was a relief. Perhaps. Man getting into trouble was indeed another factor to showcase masculinity. Otherwise, barbaric and savage in nature.
The man adjusted his eyeglasses and stood up by his left foot. He gathered again his composure and pride. He had disappointed everyone about his performance.
A man should had been the champion not maybe in this way which he had demanded from Edgar but maybe in another way he could win against him. Edgar and the man on the street created a commotion and was the reason that the people were paused for awhile. The other men inside their respective cars had been honking; other men were capturing a historic fight of the year; and others could care less. So the man regained his composure finally. However, the man fell down again.
If Edgar could have taken one of the audiences watching as the referee, in the count of ten, Edgar had been declared the winner of the fight.
The referee could have raised his hands and said, "He won!" he shouted and raised his hands indeed. It was glorious for him. It was nice to see a man fell down. The man's pride was his downfall. And if it was a free-for-all fight and he won, he could have requested for another challenger. The blood on his right hand was his trophy.
"Man down," he said.
And after some realisation, he had forgotten that he had been on the street for an hour or so. He had almost forgotten about the reason why he got up early in the morning.
He immediately rushed to his car and started the engine. Now, the appearance of the man on the street had disappeared in his train of thoughts for the moment.
The moment of truth would be to please again his Supervisor 'bout another acceptable reason of his tardiness. Today, was supposed to be his way to impress his Supervisor: to arrive earlier than early birds was a great achievement. So, he had parked his car and ran towards his office as if nothing had happened.
He stepped inside the office. And all of them were staring at him. He did not have any idea what was the reason why everyone was staring at him; it made him self-conscious. He thought that he did not comb his hair and was disformed. Perhaps, the bowtie was tied in an untidy manner or the worn-clothes were not neat. He smiled at the receptionist who usually greeted him with a smile, the receptionist woman had never seen Edgar smiling back at her, however, she did not return the favor. He thought, the woman was on her period. That was the least thing he could think of as an excuse of himself from embarassment.
He approached quickly to his office room, and he met the God: the colossal being, omniscient, untouchable, undisputable, uncanny, his Supervisor.
"Edgar! I had not expected this!" he said after the interference of his awesome entrance.
"Good morning Sir! I thought you had expected it already that I'd be late again. Apologies for that, but this would be the last time I would be late." he replied in a concerned tone.
"Edgar, you'd had been aware all this time. You are a great help here. The tardiness, to be honest, has never been a big deal to me." he added in a smooth way.
"What do you mean sir? That it's OK that I am always late because I am an aid in this company?" he said proudly.
"Edgar, I guess you had seen yourself so much that you forgot what you were before. You had drifted the path that once you had traversed. It seems like you have lost yourself."
He arched his brows that connected each other in an unstraight line.
"Sir, I am sorry but I do not know what this means." he said.
He felt that there was a hidden message behind these words. He thought that it would be the end of his journey. And he was right!
"You have your own thoughts of everything. You have the theory of everything. And I am sure these sentences have you been hypothesized." the Supervisor said while tapping his unrest shoulder.
The demotion was the clear thing he could interpret about the ambiguity of his messages. He knew that sooner or later, he would be demoted. He could not believe it. He circled his hands, and his temperature had arisen.
"Are you firing me?" he shouted.
The people that were busy with their assigned chores caught their attention.
"Edgar, be calm." the Supervisor suggested while raising his right hand on the level of his chest.
Calm. He had been calmed ever since he had known that his girlfriend was cheating him. He had lost the grip of her hand. He never demanded anything from her, and had never responded after the separation naturally.
He thought that instead of weeping, he could do things than being with her. The separation was a relief. And because of this, he plunged himself in the responsibilities that were work-related. Thus, he was rewarded for his dedication to provide excellency in his works. The word "calm" was now an open question: when he had been calmed when the entire time he showed his calmness and when can he be not calmed towards uncalmed situation? He clenched his fists. It was obvious and everyone had seen it ominously.
"Edgar, relax please." he demanded.
Relax. After the relief, he supposed to be relaxing himself. Traveling alone. Going to festivals. Staying on the beach. What could be more relaxing than to stay on the beach: the broad daylight; its wide and panoramic view, glistening in day. And when it was dark, the moon illuminated and was reflected on the ocean. The cool breeze of air. The soothing sound of ebb of the tide. The serenity that the ocean brought in a man's mind.
Moreover, the sparkling and dazzling stars in the sky while a bonfire lit the place. The camp that set as the temporary shelter from unwanted possibilities. And when the fire was out, the absence of the light, the darkness prevailed. The only light were the stars outshining from one to another and the moon that was a flashlight facing on you, those were relaxation! He could not control himself. The inquisitivenesses were pressuring him. He threw a punch then to his colleague, friend, supervisor on his face. The time paused. The chores were paused; however, the clock was not.
The Supervisor, felt the pain and touched his face. "How could you punch me?" he said confusely.
"How could you fire me after all?" he shouted.
"Edgar, I couldn't do it. I don't have the power and authority over it! I was comforting you! After the live action everyone had seen in social media, at least you deserved comfort not as a workmate but as a friend," he exclaimed.
He was caught in the middle of his own dilemma, his own delirium.
The world had stopped, he could picture out it stopped spinning.
Everyone had their lens focused to him. How could he undone things from the very first day he woke up and decided to take his regular way of brushing the teeth and taking his bath when in fact he had not done it today. There were few things he needed to do instead of wasting his time in brushing his teeth and taking his regular bath. Nevertheless, the embarassment he committed was more or less a waste of his great time and effort.
He was thinking that if he had brushed his teeth and took a bath, he might have wasted some minutes and he would not be in a brutal trouble on the street and punched his colleague.
If only he could turned back the time, he might have avoided this havoc.
There was a regret but his other self denied it. He knew that these things occured because the stars were not aligned perfectly; thus giving him less fortune to whatever he did today. Instead of blaming himself; he blamed the fault in the alignment of his stars.
The horoscope was never been symbolic to him. Whenever he read news online, he always declined the chance of his possibilities for a second, minute, hour, day, week, month and year. He thought it could be the reason why he had series of misfortune events. He was standing firmly though his knees were quivering. He was adamant. Amidst the sufferings, he could not be shaken. Then, the question struck in his mind. How could he move? It was a shame for him to create a single move, a tiny sound or even swallowing his saliva.
How could he now get out from the mess he had into now. Then the pause had stopped when a clattering sound of glasses shattered into pieces from nowhere had been heard, which had been the momentum of the great pause. It was the cue that he had to leave the office as soon as possible.
He ran away from the office awkwardly, got inside the car and never looked back.
It was some moments that the police mobile arrived and the police officers were searching for Edgar. It was heard after investigating the office for his certain presence that the guy he had a fight with, was dead on arrival.
The guy had an internal hemorrhage that traumatized his head and caused him to die before he was brought in the hospital. It was the melancholic death of a young guy, who easily demanded a fight like a brave lion.
Now, the search had to continue.
Edgar had been considered WANTED after declaring that his whereabout had not been located yet. It had been months that he had never been seen or heard. The media had been reporting that if someone could see Edgar, they should report it to the nearest Police office immediately.
The disappearance of Edgar was a clear message that perhaps he could be hiding somewhere or he was killed. Later, the sun would be setting.
He was far from where he lived in.
It was kilometers away from the place where he had left a big scar on his reputation. Edgar's reputation had never been worst. The wound he had inside was bigger than anyone else could imagine. He was sitting on the bluff overlooking the ocean. The place was quite steep enough to fulfill someone's ritual. The air was chill. The tree on the right side stood sternly, which leaves were swaying, was his camaraderie. He could clearly see the ocean sparkling as usual. It was painted like the color of fire and carrot. The Kingfisher was gliding on the ocean's surface; looking for a fish to be its victim. He exhaled. The splashed of the ocean 8 feet or so below him was the sound after sound. He rested his shoulders. The once clenched fists were now griping on the possibility to look the absolute beauty below him. It was the only wonder that life could offer. It might be a challenge; however, he had challenged himself already which he had not done before.
To cease is to believe, he thought.
He lifted his head, the sky was painted orange. He recalled the color that was steadily staring at him on the first day in that morning, and when it had stolen minutes from his precious time; the hue that was chasing him before he happened to be lost in this veiled paradise.
He never looked back. He could look on the front mirror of course but he chose not to. He was driving with enough speed that would violate the law. It was noticed by the Police officers that were inside the mobile and then the mobile started to whistle. He heard it. Thus, it was the main reason that he could look now his mirror. He was being chased now by police officers. Luckily the road was not jammed! It would be fun for him. Thinking that being chased by police officers was fun. He had, of course, not been chased by anyone so he found this interesting and exciting. He grinned and his heart was beating too fast. He imagined the movie that cars were overspeeding and had some fascinating stunts that were so good to be true. He thought if he could do that. He had to do some intrinsic calculation before performing the art of entertainment. He wanted to entertain these police officers before he would be arrested. He wanted to give them a scene that would give them a good impression about him, as they said first impression lasts!
So after some calculations about the situation, he did it. He found himself flying inside the car in a slanting position right after he passed on a platform that had helped him to elevate the right side of his car, just like what happened in car movies.
All of the sudden, the car halted, and it was positioned to block the police mobile's way. It should have not been what he had planned to. The urge to get out from the car as swift as he could was never planned to happen. He might have miscalculated some things beforehand. He opened the door of his car that was shut. He could not do it, the lock might have been shut forcefully that he could no longer open it. On the other side, he tried his luck and it did not. So, he had to think of an alternative way to escape his doomed life. He broke the window enough that it bled his right hand. He had freed himself and started to run towards the bridge.
"Stop! I said, "Stop!"" one of the police officers said while securing his gun on his right hand. The Police officer tried to catch him but he failed.
It was reported that several people jumped off that bridge. The people jumped off the bridge were known to be in a healthy condition. Some said that those victims were suicidal and some believed that the bridge was possesed, worst, demonic. The bridge was seldom to be used because of the demonic presence they believed that was dwelling on that place. It was believed that before the bridge was published to be used in public, a child was sacrificed on that bridge as a ritual so it would not collapse. The blood had served as a pact. It was during primitive times, that annually the people would kill an infant as a sacrifice on a full moon. Thus, the folklore had served well and threatened everyone who dared to cross the bridge. That was the reason why it was seldom used. Instead of crossing the bridge the people would detour on a many-traveled by road.
The less traveled by bridge was in fact considered to be a useless project because of hearsays. The Local Government tried to regain the reputation of the said bridge but many people would still believe that it was demonic because of some cases reported about suicides or other paranormal activities haunting in that bridge.
So Edgar had jumped off that bridge and it started the whole world living.
Thus, it had been believed that Edgar killed himself with guilt through jumping off the bridge after being chased.
It was hard to believe that Edgar like the other people who killed themselves on that bridge, were respectable and expected to behave in accordingly. Of course, Edgar's death was perpetual because the Police, medias, friends and family had continued on searching of his remains. There was an instance that his girlfriend was helping to search for him. Hoping that she would still see him alive. She loved Edgar so much! It wasn't Helen's fault why they broke up. The other side would always be heard but her story of why she broke up with him, would never be heard. It was the glory in leaving.
That if someone chose to set herself free from the chuckles of a possessive love then it was because, she wasn't for him. There were lot of things she wanted to say to him but he couldn't.
Helen believed and had known Edgar so well that he would only listen to himself and to no one but himself.
The demise of Edgar was not the right time to talk about his flaws. She was there to look for him. She had been crying at night after their break-up and would be crying for her entire life for she had lost her greatest love.
The family was lamenting of his death. They couldn't believe that Edgar would end up like this. After all the sacrifices they had done to have him a good life was wasted.vEdgar's mother would dare to extend her working hours just for an additional wage of her salary. The mother had not think much of herself after her husband died from a disease that was not yet known to be hereditary after the father was diagnosed. The father had been known that he had Lupos.
It was immensely aching for the family to see one of the members being bedridden. It was much painful for Edgar to recall this since he had been lamenting after the father, who had been the foundation of the family and his spine, was dead. The wounds were still fresh. His fall was not as good as he had thought but he guessed he had escaped the reap of death for the moment. He exhaled. He could not be more proud to himself for he had again unlocked another achievement. The free-falling was once what he had heard during his Physics class.
Everything that falls, it is Gravity's fault.
He was at the edge of choosing something over something. It was difficult to think how he would live after the trials he had encountered so far! To be honest, he had been through so many problems and he never said a single word to give up.
And now, it seemed like he was almost there, he was going to say that life was meaningless. However life would be meaningless without trials and that made people stay where they were standing.
Life is full of choice; it is the choice that make us what we are!
What we are yesterday whether a mistake or not is part of the plan.
Life itself is a lesson plan. You have to be careful on evaluating yourself.
The life you have desired may not have been the life you have right now but just hold on.
Life may stun you sometimes but be thankful!
Life may let you carry burdens but be thankful!
Life may cast you potions of sickness but be thankful!
Be thankful enough that life is still life! Always think that life is a wonderful present you have.
He exhaled. He had traveled so far!
A great story had a good beginning and end. The story he had been dreaming was far different from what he had thought right now but who would care? No one cared about him but only himself. Though he cared to much for others but he had never felt the same in return. It was painful to be deceived by your own self. The idea that one day life would knock on your door and asked if it could hug you; if it could have a cup of coffee outside and talked things about what had life been; if it could kiss you on your lips again and would tell to you how life had been miserable; if it could feel to you how life had missed part of its life.
Then, without any further ado, the sun had finally set. The hue had been more intense and aggressive to man's eyes. The waves had halted splashing against the rocks; thus the loud distinct sound was replaced by the true nature of the ocean: its calmness, the relaxation and its serene. The air that was chill some hours ago had become more chill. The Kingfisher that was gliding on the ocean's surface had finally set its sail towards home and its way home would be another set of challenge for it did not know what lies ahead. The tree was still the same tree as what it was before; it was stern. The leaves decided to rest. And a man as if having his nightmare of falling from the bed, had been defeated by Life.
However, in Afterlife, it may will not defeat him again!