What I believe

I believe that the rain relaxes your mind
and soothes the soul.

I believe bugs sting you for making sins.

I believe exercising
makes you feel satisfied.

I believe in speed and strength.

I believe in running the extra mile.

I believe a person's flaw helps create character.

I believe you act the way you were raised,
but think with your own mind.

I believe fury
should not be dealt with anger.

I believe it is healthy to keep in touch.

But even so,
I still wonder,
what's the point of moving forward,
if there's no end?

Runners, Riots and Rage

On a sweltering Sunday morning I change my clothes and put on my pair of running shoes. I meticulously closed my door to not wake up my parents for I knew they would get angry. Next, I grabbed the house keys from the kitchen and my phone and quietly went out the entrance.

As I pressed the greasy elevator buttons, am exotic yawn had come out of my mouth. I was deciding whether to press the PB button or back to the top. I knew I had to overcome this laziness so I just had to go down. The elevator doors opened and I was already on my way to the Cinta Costera. Everything seemed so quiet. The guard that always greets me when I go run wasn't present which seemed bizarre to me. Though its fun to walk in the middle of the street knowing that no one will run you over.

I reached the starting point in which I began to run. Somehow this makes me feel so much better. Sometimes the reason I go running is because dissension occurs in my family whether it involves homework or bad grades. Twenty minutes had elapsed as I almost made it to the two-mile marker. When I finally made it, I feel a little chill. By now I was fully awake, but even so I had to rest for a while.

Now all I had to do is get all the way back. My legs were burning, but I knew I had to keep pushing forward. I suddenly remember my mom saying "Embrace the pain!". I chuckled to myself but I stopped when I saw three police cars zoom across the empty street. I tried to concentrate on my running but I couldn't help to notice that all the police men were fully armed. They were driving the opposite direction I was running.

Thinking it was another accident, I looked back to see the three police cars had skidded down the street so they could stop sideways. I then noticed the men were deploying barriers to blockade every street exit or entrance. The police had dispersed in groups of three, some of them to a corner of a street, others hiding behind structures or riot shields, and the rest were setting up the barricades. There were about twenty or so. The last three had ran towards my direction. I could barely see, due to the sweat in my eyes so all I could see now is a big black blurry image approaching another jogger. I squinted my eyes and noticed the police man was talking to the other jogger while pointing towards my direction.

I assimilated into the crowd of joggers as they too began to walk to where the police man was pointing at. The jogger that had talked to the police man said that he had told him to go home. Knowing that some kind of attack was imminent, I began to head home. It took me a while to get back home due to the immense pain on both of my legs, though I still got home.

Calamity arose when police started shooting smoke bombs into the air, shouts of angry workers filled the streets. I immediately made my way back home while going through certain obstacles like barriers or parked cars.

When I got home I took a bath. Then, I turned on the TV to switch to the news channel. Both my parents were awake due to my loud stomping when I stormed into the house, they sure did seem a bit angry. A couple hours passed and I used my dad's military binoculars to see the riot. I then saw a man being shackled onto the bars of a police car. I could clearly tell that the government was in a state of anarchy because the police was sending more and more men to the front. So now the police had apprehended a man belonging to the riot. With intense interrogation, he admitted that the riot was because these construction workers don't get paid enough and the government doesn't due anything about it.

He also admitted other important members that he conspired with. It turns out this man was an important figure in this syndicate, in which members of the riot would lionize him for having such a genius plan.

Months later the man was arraigned for conducting a riot at the Cinta Costera.