From A to Z

Y

The vortex led him sixty kilometers north of his hometown, to the nation's capital region, Metro Manila.

There, he found a job as a management trainee in a construction firm in the central business district of Makati City. He rented a small room in a boarding house somewhere in the residential barangay of West Rembo. It was the only space his savings could afford. If he were to rent an eighteen square meter condominium unit in the business district, he would need to pawn his car to pay the required downpayment — equivalent to three months of his monthly rental — and have enough money for his daily needs before he earns his first salary. Besides, to pawn his car — his mother's car — was the last thing that he would do. It was the only object from his past that he kept when he ran away from Calamba after his graduation.

His father did not know about his plan of moving to Manila and he has no intention of telling him about it. He held a grudge against him because he did not show up at his graduation ceremony. He was not there to help him wear the medal he earned for graduating as a cum laude. His father did not even send his congratulatory remarks for his feat. True, Adam knew that his father was in a war against insurgents in the south, but he could not help but feel that his father has forgotten about his youngest child.

It was his tito, the same uncle who bought and repaired his mother's car, who stepped in his father's place and attended his graduation ceremony. His family was even kind enough to throw a small celebration for him after — but this uncle of his also did not know of his plans. While he trusted him, he decided not to tell him anything because he did not know what to answer should he asks him "why."

Even his fraternity brothers were unaware of his current whereabouts. When everyone was too drunk to notice, he left without a word after their fraternity's graduation party.

He also deleted all his social media accounts and replaced his phone number. He did not leave any trace of him behind.

Adam hoped to forget his past, to forget everything that he has done, and to start anew in Metro Manila — but his first days in the capital region were not easy. He felt lost in the busy metropolis.

Time appeared faster in Metro Manila because it was wasted on unimportant things, like the perennial traffic gridlock termed by the locals as "Carmageddon." Every day, he was losing a total of six hours just because of the heavy traffic even though his office and his boarding house were located inside the same city and were only six kilometers away from each other. Day by day, he felt like he was running out of time. He felt like he was wavering, degenerating, because he was unable to recuperate enough for the next day.

Aside from time, money was also fast in the capital region. It was true that he earned the money easily. He simply sat in front of a laptop in his cubicle inside an air-conditioned office and do what he was tasked to do, but he would lose his money almost at the same rate as — or even faster than — he earned it because of the high cost of living in the metro.

To make matters more complicated, the liberal lifestyle of Metro Manila overwhelmed him so much that the feeling was akin to trauma.

On his first day at work, he was surprised to see two men walking casually on the street while proudly holding each other's hands; it surprised him that no one cared about them. On a different day, he saw a same-sex couple kissing before they parted away at the lobby of a building he happened to pass by on the way to his work. Adam was unaware that same-sex marriage has recently been legalized and this gave a morale boost to same-sex couples to flaunt their love and be proud of their lovers in public since their relationship was now sanctioned by the government.

Even in his workplace, Adam was not saved from the "craziness" of his new world. He has a male colleague who wears female clothing, fake boobs, tons of make-up, and a blonde wig, but his officemates and their HR were fine with it and were even praising his fashion taste. If this man was in his domain, he would be kicked out in no time — but he was not in the place where he used to rule. He did not have his circle of friends who thinks like him. He was outnumbered; he was stuck in his corner and left to keep his disgust all to himself.