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"This is not a mall. Nor a cafe," I deadpanned.

"I'm so proud that you realized that much. What an achievement."

I was about to smack his arm but he dodged. He laughed at me as I glared at him. I glanced around the place where he had brought me.

It was a flea market, with different stalls and tents selling various stuffs. Al told me these vendors moved around a lot to avoid the officers. They were never caught, not once, and they were safe from confiscation because they were experts at fleeing and hiding. To those people who wanted to visit them again, the market organizers would give out flyers containing codes as to where they were going to put up the place next. That way, their regular customers could find them. Al said he heard this from a fellow habal-habal driver so he asked for the latest coded location. It was near our village so he intended to bring me here if opportunity came.

"You can still eat and go shopping here. Plus, it's cheaper!" Al said this in an enthusiastic salesperson tone. I felt my heart lightened as I laughed at him.

He dragged me from stall to stall. He was right to say that everything was cheap. I wanted to pay for mine but Al insisted that I should take a break and let him pamper me. I smacked his shoulder for that. Nevertheless, I let him pay for my sweets and other weird stuffs. We tried on some headbands, played with bubbles, bought some interesting books, watched some magic tricks, ate street foods, tried on some old fashioned clothes and made fun of ourselves in the mirror. I couldn't remember when was the last time I had fun like that. I couldn't remember how loud I could actually laugh until then. It felt like all my burdens were lifted off and all my worries had dissipated. I didn't even worry that I wasn't wearing any protection. I didn't even care that these people might be carrying the virus right then. All I knew was that I was having too much fun.

We didn't realize it was approaching late in the afternoon until we saw the sky turning pinkish-orange. Al dragged me towards a large mango tree just meters away from the flea market. We spotted a wooden bench near it so we made our way towards it. We muttered, "tabi-tabi po" before we sat. (Trans: Excuse us [Filipinos say this to avoid angering supernatural beings, a folklore].)

I looked up to observe the strange hue of the sky.

"I saw how the sky turned orange before. But not like this, this...is unusual," I said.

"But it's really significant," Al replied . I turned to look at him and asked, "How so?"

"You see, it's speculated to be an effect of either global warming, climate change, or pollution."

I raised an eyebrow at him. I nudged his shoulder playfully as I said, "Ooo-kay Mister scientific expert. Was that speculation proven?"

He rolled his eyes and nudged me back. "That's why it's called speculation, dummy."

I smacked his shoulder lightly and he just chuckled. I looked back at the sky and we were silent for a few moments.

Then I murmured wistfully, "I didn't know something devastating could make something beautiful."

From the corner of my eye, I could see him smiling at me. "If everything good still has a downside, then how can everything bad have nothing good on them?"

I gave him a quizzical look. But he ignored it and continued, "You once told me that you felt like you had fallen into a pitfall. And you wouldn't want anyone to help you for the fear of dragging them down with you."

"I told you that?" I asked incredulously but he just rolled his eyes at me. He leaned towards me and flicked a finger on my forehead.

"Ow!" I leaned away and touched where he had struck.

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

I glared at him and was about to say something equally insulting but he continued.

"You could have asked for my help, I'm strong enough to pull you up. Or if you want otherwise, I could have jumped in and join you. We'll make fun of our bad luck just like we made fun of ourselves in the mirror. That's what friends are for, right?"

I shut my mouth as I absorbed his words. I was stunned at what he just said, not to mention the intense sincerity in his eyes and voice.

"Just like the global warming or the pollution or whatever, the pandemic could give you something beautiful. To those infected, they were given the power of determination for them not to succumb to the threat of the virus. To those who have the money, they were given the power of contentment for them to value what they had and use it in earnest. To those students struggling in online classes, they were given the power of resiliency for them not to break down at their difficulties. To those vendors, as well as the poor, they were given the power to hold on for them not to give up fighting for their lives."

Then he gave me another gentle smile.

"As for you, you were given the power of family and friendship. You're not alone in your pitfall, Jenna."

I didn't know what to say. I was too moved to snap out of my speechless stupor. I thought I'd start crying again.

"You're right, I guess," I whispered and he chuckled. Then he looked at me seriously.

"Please accept your father's offer."

"But-"

"I'll help with the expenses of his medications."

"But-" I stopped since the look on his face told me that it was final. Between my pride and his stubbornness, I knew I would lose so I sighed and didn't argue more.

We were silent for a while as we watched how the sun set in the far away corner of our view. It was almost out of our sight when Al finally broke the silence.

"You didn't answer my question from earlier."

I frowned and asked, "What?"

"When will this be over though?"

It took me a few moments before I shrugged and answered, "How would I know?"

I stared at the last parts of the sun disappearing behind the buildings from afar.

"The world was already cruel before the virus came. It only intensified during this pandemic. And if it would last for more than a human lifetime, then it might get worse every year," Al suddenly said.

I smiled without mirth.

"If it did, then you'd better check the flyers of that flea market every time they would move out."

"Deal."

~ fin ~

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