I hurriedly go down our building, so I could get to España. Today the CPA board exam results come out, and I have to be there for my bestfriend. I exit the building and – oh no! Rain is coming down in torrents, the wind blowing it every which way. Lightning flashes, thunder booms. I cringe and take a step back. I am scared of lightning and thunder as I am of firecrackers.
An hour later I am still stranded in our building. My landline is in my officemate’s drawer and my cellphone is dead, so there is no way for me to contact my friends whom I said I’d meet. I finally decide to risk running outside and getting drenched. I manage to get into a taxi. Minutes later, the rain stops. How ironic.
Upon getting to our street, though, I realize that the worst is far from over. The water is waist-deep, and the driver is begging his machine not to die on him. He couldn’t bring me to our house, because the water is deeper there. He drops me off at the side and I hail a trisikad to bring me home. Thanx to “modern transportation,” I manage to get home without having to swim through dirty waters (not that I know how to swim, but I digress). Maya was not as fortunate, however. One could hardly draw her face when she walked into our door with her clothes soaked from her butt down. She shuddered in disgust as she talked about the cockroaches floating in the water she actually had to plow through. “Will it be like this for the entire rainy season?” she wails. Uh-oh. Major realization here. This is only the beginning. Good luck to us!
But this otherwise dreadful day has a happy ending: my bestfriend calls to tell me that she is now a CPA! Congratulations, Betang! I am so happy for you! Now that leaves only me as an uncertified public accountant. But then that’s another story.