The Verdict

A young man stood motionless upon the edge of the roof of a newly built, state-of-the-art church building, looking down with a vacant immovable stare into the small noisy crowd sixty feet below that have already gathered there. It was a very warm morning day in the heights of summer; the sun was slowly rising over jumbled heaps of high rises buildings. Although the stores, offices, and other business establishements were still closed, the traffic jam in the street was already building up. The young man's head was bowed lowed and his thin arms hung loosely by his sides. He seemed to be in a trance, seeing and hearing nothing although an expression of profound disgust and misery would gleam from time to time in the young man's haggard, unshaven face. He wore only cut-off jeans and was very dirty and skinny. It seemed quite probable that he hardly tasted food or washed for the past couple of months. The young man had a kindly expression which one would hardly expected from one contemplating of "ending it all". Dark shades of rings was also quite visible around his eyes and the pollution, the hustle and bustle of the street, the noise, and that typical crowd's annoying curiosity all woked painfully upon the young man's already distraught condition. At intervals, he would sunk on his knees, dead tired, before he would suddenly jump on his feet again showing intense and undisguised restlessness by starting to pace back and forth dangeously along the roof edge like a madman, growling something under his breath, before relapsing once again in complete silence without moving an inch for a long period of time.

So as the young man stood there, lost in thought, a strong gust of wind caught him, giving him a gentle nudge from behind but strong enough to make him outbalanced and staggered to his feet and if he was not quick enough to cling on the railings for support, he would surely plunge down to his instant death. If I fell down, he thought, I would shutter like glass, into brittle fragments. Instatenously, a loud piercing shriek erupted from the crowd below. Then seeing that it was only a false alarm and the young man quickly regain his footing, peals of laughter broke amongst them instead. The young man darted a strange malignant stare at the crowd below as though just seeing them for the first time. But his whole attention quickly brought back to himself once again. Now this was most unusual. He wondered at himself, thinking how in the world could he avoided being fall to his death and still managed to hold on to his life when in fact it was his own voluntary idea why he was up there sixty feet from the ground. A faint smile broke unto his mouth. His instinct to survived and lived was still very much strong inside him. Another thing also crossed his mind. Is it not a much acceptable way to end everything if the wind, a thing of nature, would instead gave him a "natural end", more of an accident than an incident which one would safely sa that he was only half guilty for his own death, so to speak? Vaguely, he felt a little regret and was just hoping that another gust of wind, much stronger than the previous one, would push him again from behind before he could react and get hold on something for support. But his train of thought was again shuttered by the noisy crowd below whom he thought took a lively interest on him. He guessed they were already hundreds in number and continues to redouble every minute. For anyone happens to be strolling around the church area at that time, it was impossible not to take a refreshing brake by watching a young man that was about to lear to his death. People from all walks of life of both sexes were pouring in on every side, old and young, weel-dressed people, shabb dressed people stood shoulder to shoulder with open mouth breathless with anticipation while exchanging lively glances and words at everone around them like saying "peace be with you" in a mass. People crossing opposite deirections suddenly go the same way while people on commute crane their necks out of the window, mob of onlookers were all over the place. There was who even climbed up trees sitting leisurely on branches and dangling their feets in the air. The roofs of the residential and office buildings were also teeming with people. And those who were on the comfort of their home at the neighboring buildings peeked out through their windows. Their gaze shifts from the crowd below and up to the young man, then from the young man down to the crowd below with a certain air of satisfaction for having the most comfortable seat and perview of the whole the scene unlike those people in the streets where they were exposed to heat and dust. The young man even spotted a man looking at him through a binocular. A number were already having their snacks, treating and stuffing themselves with fish balls, pork-barbecues, pop corn, potato chips, soft drinks and other popular street foods bought from nearby food carts that have already mushroomed around the area. Everyone is in high spirits. And then it was the children's turn for a special treat to see the young man, clinging at their elders for greater security although they don't have the least idea what on earth was going or what the young man was really up to. And why he was standing up there? They ask themselves. Is he a person to be feared of? Is he going to perform some death defying acrobats? Will he show them some tricks? Or fly like some cartoon and anime super hero?

They want to go home.

From time to time, somebody would sa something witty and jocular remarks about the situation that made the whole crowd that made the whole crowd shaking with wild laughter. But as the morning progresses and nothing quite "interesting" happens, the crowed begun to get impatient for what they observed to be lacking of activity and excitement of the whole affair that quite a number of them, though not many, started to get bored and left the place with sarcastic remarks. They would tell temselves like "I should stay at home instead and watch my favorite noon time show" Nevertheless, these not caused the crowd to dwindle in number and in fact b mid-day, the streets was so dense with people that you could hardly drop a pin.

The oung man suddenly made a quavering movement as though surprise at finding himnself at such a place. Mechanically, the oung man started to pace up and down the roof, talking to himself as though in confrontation with someone. Babble of excited voices roused in all sides. At last, thought everyone, the wait is over. The crowd have a strong presentiment that something very interesting was about to happen any moment from now. But what the people did not understand is that this peculiar way of talking to oneself which they find ver amusing was merely the expression of inner anxiety.
"Hey you!" cried someone, "how in the world did you managed to climb up there?"

"Don't get too near the edge or ou might fall!" cried another that drew peals of laughter.

"Is it cold up there?"
"Cold? Can't you see he's sweating all over," snapped another

"Hey, are you drunk or what?"

"Well, well, I'm afraid we have to wait a little more,"

The young man fell down once again on his feet, buried his head between his knees, and clutches his head around him like a little child when it feels a bit out of sorts.

Wait? Again? For God's sake, its getting noon. I've been here since morning. Hey kid! (addressing the young man)just do something will you? Anthing, it doesn't matter what it is, just do something!"

These words, shouted by someone from the crowd and found it a rational one, drew cries of approvals from everybody else. Everyone now is growing impatient and a mild consternation ensued. Although the young man seems not to hear nor paying attention at all to the people around him, he suddenly jumped up into his feet again and walked on the otherside of the roof with lazy heavy strides and appeared to be more restless than ever. Seeing a geberal development from the monotony of their existence, everybody suddenly flared up with anticipation.

"Look, he's going to do it!"

"Finally, we're in for a treat of a lifetime!"

"This is it, this is it! it will be over soon!"

Just as the crowd was getting the most of this highly suspenseful piece of first-rate entertainment, a man dressed in multi colored clown suit suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere in front of them riding on a single wheel bicycle while at the same time was juggling six red tennis balls. No one notice his coming as their whole eyes and attention was focused on the young man. It was pretty obvious that the man in a clown suit was trying to grab everbody's attention away from the young man. Suddenly, before anyone have time to react one of the red tennis balls he was juggling magically transformed into a large, white dove that flew off into the sky towards where the young man was standing, alighted for a couple of seconds at the church roof-top before it fly off again and dissapeared from sight. While another red tennis ball,as it bounced off into the ground, transformed into an unusally large house rat that scampered off immediately into the crowd and dissapeared. It was a very impressive and entertaining performance. But some onlookers just shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads thinking he was just another pathetic and desperate out of fashioned slapstick comedian and they even threaten to beat the living hell out of him if he will not go and leave that very minute

"Get lost you joker! Or we will skin you alive."

But it was the children who for quite sometime now was complaining of sleepiness and boredom that became alive upon seeing the man in the clown suit for the thought him a very funny and amusing fellow, doing magic tricks and amazing things. But when the children tried to get near the man in the clown suit, their elders held them back and many started to cry. The man in the clown suit however remains steadfst and the crowd who had by now fast loosing their patience at the man in a clown suit intrusion, made a slight threatening movement as though they would pounce to lynch him. The man in a clown suit, who knows very well the was of the mob when slightly provoke, tossed his remaining tennis balls into the crowd were they lnded into someone's faces before he made a quick sudden escaped, pedalling as hard as he could and dissolved expretly into the patch of bushes at he other side of the street shouting, "Rats goes where it stinks! Rat goes where it stinks!" for good measure. Twenty or twent five people tried to chase him to "beat the living hell out of him" but he was nowhere to be found, to their great surprise. He cannot just dissapeared like that. For a minute or two there was a general discussions, each trying to figure out on how the man in a clown suit dissapeared mysteriusly behind the bushes--but by and by, their whole attention quickly returns to the young man and forgot the incident with the man in a clown suit completely.

Only the children left miserable and lonely.

Morning quickly passes and by mid-day, the street was so crowded with disorderly people that police had to be called to maintain orderliness. Ten strong police officer exzert themselves to control the mob. A barrier of taut yellow crime scene tape was out on the side walk that covers almost the entire patio. From time to time, a police would be heard shouting orders, "Move back! Move back! Stay behind the barrier!" But many was hard headed and do not want to cooperate and some was even defiant, "We're not making an troubles you know," snapped a young punks with with new wave hair cuts, "we're not criminals, why not go and catch them instead." The police officer wants to shackle him on the spot but held his patience. The situations were getting serious. Some onlookers were accusing the police officers of abusing their authority and were violating their human rights for physically pushing them back. The police officers were outnumbered one to three hundred. Perhaps they need some reinforcement.

People never stops from coming; the air was thick and dense; the odor of sweat was strong everywhere. But noboby seems to mind. And if an airplane happens to pass by and the people on board looked down from above, they would easily notice a big dot in the street below and never make out that it was a large compression of humanity. But traffic jams was worst. The blowing of horns never stops; the drivers and those of the crowds exchanges angr words and threatening gestures. Drivers threaten to run them over if they do not get out of their way.

"Then run us over," the crowd simply replied, "the road was not yours".

"the road was not yours either, now get out of the way!" the drivers countered defiantly as they stick their heads out of their cars.

The situation was turning from bad to worse and some even inviting a brawl and settle the matter with their fist that for a moment it looked as though there might be a general ezchange of blows. It was really one massive work for the police officer.

The rest of the morning passed, to the crowd's observations, uneventfully and limply. But not long after, the heard a long bellowing cry of a siren that caught everbody's attention. "It could be another police mobile," said some onlookers, "I think they'll arrest us." But when a white speeding pick up truck with colorful logo of a giant TV network station with mineature antenna stood projecting into the sky came into view down the street, the crowds excitement flared up instantl. It was a press mobile! A solitary cyclist leisurely pedaling his way along the the side street had to run into a hedge to avoid imminent, fatal collision with the press mobile that never stops hammering its horn to keep people out of the way as they surge through the sea of screaming humanities as well creating a frantic stampede and saw an old woman and a small child knocked down to the ground. Finally, the press mobile pulled up to where the crowd used to be and a moment later, a strikingly good-looking man between thirty and thirty three years of age, with heavy muscular body in what one might called a sensual and sexy phsique, stepped out of the car with an air of self-importance. He was wearing on a close fit shirt to show off his bulging biceps. An exclamation of surprise and excitements rose in all sides; piercing scream came from the young ladies rose from everywhere. They cannot be;leive their eyes. Everybody knows the man, and who's not? His pretty face wearing a fix broad smile could be seen where ever you look. ou see them on giant billboards hanging on trees, waiting sheds, train and bus terminals, as well in discarded newspapers recycled used in wrapping and packaging dried fish and of course, on television screens. He was like a god, present everywhere. Lo and behold! It was the very being of one of the most, if not the most celebrated actor/broadcaster, Mark Alexander Joseph Anthony Pang-ilagan. Aside for being a succesful and well-respected TV personality, he has also a numerous blockbuster films under his belt and regularly appeared in several noontime and evening talk shows that talk mostly nothing but about oneself. In one of this talk shows where he was the special guest, the pretty but very talkative dyed hair lady host asked him a straight forward question on why, despite his long list and strings of relationship with different women, he has not yet decided to settle down. Although the celebrated do not consider the question as rather malicious or insulting, he was caught completely off guard and it took him almost ten seconds before he could finally find the words to reply. He said that settling down was the farthest thing in his mind at the moment. Being a trustworthy public servant, he claimed, he feels that he has commitment to serve his fellow citizen and would focused first on his career before anything else. Marriage can wait, he explains, but serving the people cannot. It was well said! No such human being as the celebrated so dedicated to his fellow country men in terms of public service and to his choosen career! All those people inside the studio erupted with delight in total admiration as they started clapping their hands. That was his simple motto in life which he adapted from the media network compan he was employed at: we, your family, read to do you service with all our hearts. And, amazingly, most people beleived him, to his own great surprise. And then the conversation drifted into other subject although about the things that still concern about him, his, and he of which the celebrated greatly replied with I, me, mine with bright, satisfactory face. So great was his celebrated reputations that if you ask a little child what he wants to be when he grew up, the child would proudly declare without second thoughts that he wants to be like Mark Alexander Joseph Anthon Pang-ilagan someday. Not only that, his supporters and fans of no less than quarter of the total population of the country that is, people who does not know him personally, openly declared that he could be an outstanding politician one day. But our humble celebrity just shrugged off the compliment saying entering the world of the "hogwash" was the very least thought in his mind and would never ever dare to step inside their sty. But his words proved to be a great lie although nobody seems to care. In fact, a year later, after so many years of malicious tirade against the people he called "hogs", he was elected, despite his complete lack of know-how and experience in law-making policies, a seat in the congress via a landslide victory against his more experience law maker rivals. "I can't refuse the call of the people". was his raison d'etre about his suppose change of mind. In a couple of years, no one doubt, he will be among the elite members of the round of twenty-four. A well-respected ga talent manager, movie and television critic even declared that if he was a British subject, he is surely going to be knighted and deserved a lifetime honor of being called sir Mark Alexander Joseph Anthony Pang-ilagan. Extremel good-looking, sensual, charismatic and a television personality, he was indisputably one of the most, if not the most beloved and admired celebrity of the time and millions of people wikk surely mourn for him when he died.

Now, as the celebrated cleared his way through the sea of disbeleiving people that looked at thim like a man came from another planet, he lazily shook the hands they offered him and savor the praises the showered on him without looking at their faces. And he liked to think they regarded him with awe for they were in sense, his inferior. Out of nowhere, a young lad came flying towards the celebrated and locked herself on tight embraced with the celebrated and almost knocked them both to the ground bulky as the celebrated was. It took two police officers and enforcing the law against the young lady to finally her tear out from the celbrated. After getting rid of the still raving young lady, the celebrated casually lit a brand of cigarette he was not endorsing and begun to puff silently small circle of smoke into the air (he actually made a multi-million pesos deal to a particular brand of cigarette for endorsement of a rival company of the one he was using right now). Finally, the celebrated made a signal to his cameraman to hand him over the microphone and get ready his instrument for they will now start covering this very interesting scene. When all was set, they accost a half-naked dirty looking young man and the celebrated suddenly thrust his microphone under his nose and begun asking all kinds of boring and nonsense questions which the dirty looking young man redily replied. Yes, he answered, I've been here since early morning, actually I'm one of the first who saw him up there and I heard him talking to hinself when there were but three or four people here and he said that his wife had left him to live with another man, taking their little boy with them and he was screaming and screaming that he wants to die and nobody can stop him and in fact when--here, the celebrated suddenly tear out the microphone from the face of the dirty looking young man and left without saying his gratitude as though it was the duty of every human to answer his ever questions put to them. The dirty looking young man however, seems never felt offended and in fact looks bubbling with pride and honor for having the priveledge to be selected for an interview b his celebrated and of course a rare experience for national exposure. The celebrated turned next from one spectator to another as to gather much more information as possible but all gave different and just the very opposite answers. One woman wearing a duster too samll for her replied to his celebrated that the young man talked to her personally, heart to heart and with tears pouring down from his eyes, when there was but she and the young man that morning, and that the young man told her that his fiancee has left him for another guy and that death was the only remedy for his suffeings. While one man in a loing sleeve shirt with Micke Mouse necktie and judging by his appearance, a businessman, said that he heard the young complainingabout his unjust dismissal from work and futile effort to find another job was the reason why he was going to end his life once and for all. While other people said that upon their words, they had been there all day but never heard the young man utter a single word or having seen the young man talked to anyone. Having done with the crowd, the celebrated finally makes his way towards the frontage of the church to have a little talk with the young man up close and personal. He knew what the dirty looking young man told him was nothing but a great lie; he knew what the woman with foul smell on her sides told him was nothing but a great lie; and the descent looking young man with Mickey mouse necktie was another great lie; he knew that everyone were telling him lies--but he doesn't care a bit. Tell as much lies as the want. The important thing here was he gets what he wants from them. He was used of telling lies too anway. It was a part of his job as a broadcaster, also mostly to preserve his credibility in front of the people. All he has to do is to edit what they say, change it, misreport it, get it all wrong and presto! You have a very interesting news report. As long as it will benefit the comnpany and put himself above other people, he is not afraid to tell lies. But mostly, he tells lies out of mere spite. Since he never beleives what he says in front of camera most of the time, he is surprise when others beleived him. It was one of the most absurd and puzzling but satisfactory delicious experiences in his life.

When he finally reached the patio, (he was the only person of course together with his cameraman aside from the police officers allowed to enter the barrier of yellow tape)he paused in front of the facade, his arms akimbo, and looked up at the young man with a frown of hatred dissaproval. The young man obviously did not like the look of the young man either. And for over a minute, the two held an epic eye-to-eye confrontation, never taking their eyes off each other as if the were going to be like that forever. The celebrated plucked out the cigarette from his mouth, throws it down to the ground with all his strength and stamped it with his leather boots.

"Who are you?" the celebrated at last broke the silence, purple with anger. No one ever gave him that kind of stare before. He felt deeply insulted.

The young man did not answer but kept an icy look at the celebrated.

"Isaid who are you? Are you deaf?" the celebrated keep demanding, more heatedly than ever for he cannot remember when was the last time he was ignored by anyone and not much like this kind of inferior people. "And don't look at me like that like you're going to eat me alive!"

The young man still kept his silence as though unaware of his presence. Instead, he turns on his heels and paced languidly towards the other side of the roof, evidently irritated at the way the celebrated was treating him. You'll get nothing from me, as if the young man was telling him.

Seeing the young man's coldness towards him, the celebrated made a gesture of contempt b circling his forefinger at his right temple to let everybody knows what state the young man's mind was in. Chuckle broke from every mouth.

The celebrated knew this young man beat him. He desperatel needed to have a little interview with the young man himnself to make his news report more engrossing and entertaining to the televiewers. How many broadcaster nowadays have the opportunity of personlly interviewing a man who was about to take his own life? Not many, he thought, and heave a sigh of dissapointed. Moreover, he was supposed to be the first among other broadcaster to have an interview being the earliest to arrive at the scene. He knew he made a great blunder by dealing the young man in precisely the same manner he dealt with everbody else, that is, the exaggerate air of self-importance. He knew there is only one way of getting back the young man's confidence towards him, and that is by completely reversing his earlier wa of treatment at the young man. He must approach him in a kindly and friendly way like one who was well aware of his difficult situation; and if necessary, if the young man's lost confidence towards him was already too great for such friendly approach, humble himself before the oung man; fell down on his knees, admit his harshness, beg his forgiveness in front of everyone--but a thing which he will never ever do. Not the kind of well-respected and celebrated people like hin, not the man of his stature. It is better to forget about the possible interview with the young man.

Suddenl and unexpectedly, the man in a clown's suit who was trying to grab everybod's attention awa from the young man early that morning, appeared at the rooftop of the church just a couple of feet behind the young man who do not seemed to notice the man in a clown's suit presence. How happened did he got up there, it was impossible to tell for no one saw him. He was balancing an unusually large and expensive china jar of about five feet in length and weigh about twenty to twenty five kilos on his head while playing a lively minuet on a violin and dancing to the tune at the same time.

The children cried out with delight.

"Who's that? How did he got up there?" the celebrated wanted to know.

"Don't pay any attention on him," voices were heard from the crowd. "he was here this morning and performing all kinds of stupid stuffs to grab our attention away from the young man I think. Don't pay any attention on him; he's just another pathetic joker. No one likes him."

"We do!" defends the children.

"That mabe the case right now for you children but you're too young and innocent to know what was reall happening around you. If all of you just--"

"What does he want?" interrupted the celebrated, not interested in matters that does not not concern him.

"That's his living, you know."

Suddenly, the violin playing came to a stop. The man in a clown suit carefully put down his instrument before unloading the heavy burden from his head with his strong arms and without a warning, throws the whole thing down to the ground below splintering it into thousands of fragments that flies off in all directions.

"Somebod must stop him, he's making trouble!" ordered the celebrated, "I can't start covering when he's up there."

"Ask the police then," the crowd ordered back.

The celebrated eye the crowd reproachfully. No one told him what he should do much being ordered back. Nevertheless he thought the idea a reasonable one.

During this incident with the man in a clown suit, the young man never even once looked back at the man behind him but remain standing motionless as though he was completely unaware of what was happening around him.

The man in a clown suit slowly picks up his violin once again and started playing a mournfully tender sound. Suddenly, the whole crowd fell into a complete hush, not because they were carried b the music, on the contrary, it just so happens that the never been in a situation before where somebody was playing a sad tune in an amusing and lively circumstance. It all seems very odd and bizarre.

"Hey you!" shouts one police officer at the man in a clown suit, "if you don't get down this very moment I'm afraid we have no choice but to arrest you. Do we made each other clear?"

There were murmurs of approval.

The man in a clown suit stops playing. He surveed the people below him one more time with sad, weary eyes as one who was sentence to death before turning around and limped out of view with bowed head.

He never returns again.

Seeing the man's exit, everbody heaved a sigh of releif. Now the coverage can finally begin. The celebrated turned awa momentarily from the crowd so as not to notice by everbody a piece of paper he produced from his pocket. He scrutinized it for almost a minute, mumbling to himself, Before facing the crowd again and made a casual nod to his cameraman that he is ready.

"Life is such a wonderful thing," begins the celebrated, complete with vigorous gestures of his hands as he slowly waddled his wa across the patio towards the facade with the camera closely following his every movement for dramatic effect. "It is a gift of love from our loving Father in heaven so as to serve him with all our hearts, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our minds." Here, the shooting momentarily came to a short pause hence the camera man can get closer to the celebrated and kneeled before him so as to appear the celebrated in the forefront of the TV screen and the young man in the background. "However heavy the burden of our daily lives," continued the celebrated, clenching his fist before his chest, "we must live to the fullest and glorify Him. Unlike the young man up there (jerking back his thumbed contemptously over his shoulder) who's constant using of illegal drugs has finally taking its toll upon his brain." Of course, having failed to get first hand information personally from the young man himself and out of sheer spite too, telling lies, by all means, was a great substitute. "So to all of you young man and woman, please don't ever think of taking illegal dugs or you may end up falling with the same fate with that young man who was about to commit the biggest mistake of his life."

The crowd mumbles their approval to these pieces of wisdom from the celebrated and gave the young man a dissaproving look.

The celebrated continued that death is such and such things, and only our dear Father have the sole rights to take such and such things, and that if we commit such and such things could have such and such consequences. Therefore, the faith in God and of serving the humanity (just like what I do) is the such and such of all things and that...and so on and so forth.

"The young man by the way refuses the priveledge of being interviewed and even defiant with the media--and I'm our servant, Mark Alexander Jpseph Anthony Pangilagan from VWXYZ Special Report--we, your family, ready to do you service with all our hearts."

Having done with the coverage, all he has to do now was to wait for the grand finale. It would be the icing on the cake.

"Well said, well put!" cried the crowd, greatly impressed.

It was indeed a most brilliant speech! The people were so used hearing such kind of positive and uplifting words from the celebrated that the never doubt for a single moment the originality and credibility of the news. Whatever the celebrated said must be always true and must alwas take with great consideration.

Thinking that his speech also creates an immediate impact upon the young man as well, he darted another sneering stare at his adversary who still appear to ignore the celebrated. Seeing this, the celebrated finally explode:

"For God's sake just say or do something!" howled the celebrated, losing all control of himself, "L-look at you! Look at you! What are you doing with yourself? You're supposed to be at the office eraning your bread or somewhere helping other people (like what I'm doing) to better their lives. Look over there, (pointing at the camera) the entire nation is watching at you and you are depriving them of something to remember. Look at these people around you, some of them have been here since early morning not minding the heat and the stresses for standing and waiting that long. I've been here too long than usual too where I was suppose to be at the orphanage today. Reward our patience."

Cheers of support greeted these words from the celebrated.

Seeing that the crowd was now fully behind him, he begun to curse the young man with the most shocking and irreverent language conceivable. he was shaking his fist and pointing his finger stenly at the young man with such intense disrespect that everyone around him were suddenly taken aback and raised their eyebrows by his violent showing of emotion. A little more and he would have begun to throw stones at the young man. He was so furious. It was very hard to imagine that this man was the very same person talking about love and God just a few moments ago.

A very old woman, about eighty or eighty five ears of age cautiously atepped forward towards the celebrated. She was clutching her handbag to her breast as though for security and then with cautious clear words, she explains to his celebrated that the young man, as they all can see with his present condition, perhaps lost sense of his thoughts and was evidently suffering from some kind of mental depression and his celebrated offending language may in fact aggravate the young man's already disturbed mind and if his celebrated will speak more kindly to the young man...the old woman paused from speaking to collect herself for her voice was shaking with emotion. The old woman wamts to say something more but seeing his celebrated contempt expression on his face, she felt discourage and thought it better to keep her silence and leave his celebrated to do what he pleases with the young man. The old woman limped back slowly to her former place with her head bowed low, evidently trying to restraint her tears from dropping down. There was a complete silence as though everyone was suddenly turned into stone. The crowd's eyes shifted from the celebrated to the old woman and from the old woman to the celebrated; unable to decide to whom they wee going to side.

To regain the people's lost confidence towards him, the celebrated quickly produced a expensive, gold-rim fountain pen from his waist pocket, waived it vigorously from the crowd and gave everbody another broad fix smile. Despite to what had happened between him, the young man, and the old woman, he still expects that they would beg for his sign. But no one approached him. He was not surprise though. Regarding the the crowd now as among those who know him "personally", he finally dismissed the thought of signing any. And with one final contemptuous look at the young man whom he thought was the cause of all his hard luck, he turned on his heels, trying to restraint his anger and hurried off to their mobile car, stamping his feet as he kept saying to himself but loud enough to be heard by everyone him that:

"It's the stupidiest news coverage I ever was at all my life! Damn it! And surely it was.

Just as the celebrated was hurrying towards their mobile and his ever faithful cameraman chasing after him, the celebrated feet accidentally got entangled and was nearly tripped over (not for the first time) from the long cable line that connected the camera to the communication equipment inside the mobile car. The exasperated and embarrassed celebrated darted his cameraman a reproachful stare before they finally got aboard the car. When they were inside, he heard the crowd gigling at his mini-accident; the celebrated did not like this and stuck out his arms of the window and gave everybody a dirty finger--then off they go as abruptly as they had come, sending spray of fine grit and dust blowing into the crowd.

Now, just less than an hoursince Mark Alexander Joseph Anthony Pang-ilagan left, the heard another long, whinning sound of a siren drifted across the street. At first they thought that their celebrated had returned but a few seconds later before everyone had time to realized what was happening, a small group of highl trained and high drive rescue workers from the local Search and Rescue Department arrived at the scene, jumping out of their white van the very moment the car dtops like a battalion of soldiers landing ashore, read for action. The rescue workers immediatel exert themselves in a brilliant display of discipline; careening towards the crowd into the patio with all kinds of kit and bits and pieces needed on saving one's life in times of calamities like nets, stretcher, ladder, resuscitation gear, first aid etc. It is ver clear to see that the have been rehearsing this type of routine hundreds of times for the worked faultlessly and in silence. It was a triumph of teamwork! One spectator recognized one of the lady rescue workers as one of his acquaintances and called out her name aloud to get her attention but the busy and serious rescue worker, thinking that a few glances would only hamper the progress of her work, did not even raised her head to greet back her acquaintance.

"Now bring on the ladder, quick!" suddenly cried a thunderous voice of a fat, fifty to fifty five ears of age man with balding head, wearing on a red polka dot polo shirt, white short pants and leather sandals. The man arrived together with the Search and Rescue Team although he was the last to alight the van. He was Rodolfo Pilitan, an elected public official of the city's seventy third district designated to handle the public and social welfare of the community.

"Come on, come on, the ladder, not a moment to loose," Rodolfo Pilitan keeps shouting in an authoritarian tone of voice that indicates he was the person who was now in charge here.

These orders were carried out and a long extension ladder was quickly brought and let it rest against the facade wall of the church, inching up slowly towards the rooftop but it came fell short of about fifteen feet. "It doesn't matter," said Mr. Pilitan, "I'll climb up anyway, just hold on firmly to the base of the ladder, and Dan (refering to a oung man of about twenty two from the Search and Rescue Team) followed after me upstairs for support," And so slowly and carefully, step by step, Mr. Pilitan climbed up the ladder, his oung companion following closely from below with every steps giving Mr. Pilitan little shoves from his behind. By the way, this Mr Pilitan was in some ways, were conscious enough in regards to his duty and responsibilit of his choosen job as a public officials, onl he was also one of those common people acting only in a sense of making a living or pushed by obligation to perform a certain task. Like a doctor to his patients or a lawyer to his clients or a security guard to his emploers, et al, in other words, duty and responsibilit minus devotion. Such is also the case with Mr. Pilitan. It was no more than his sense of duty and responsibilitythat compelled him in an attempt to help the young man. Another thing, if he succeeds in saving the life of this "retarded" young man, as he called him, in front of thousand of people from his city area, his much needed public fame will definitely give a big boost for most of the credit will be on him. He regretted much when he heard that a celebrated man from the media had just left a moment ago.

As Mr. Pilitan slowly gain the top of the ladder which took him almost five minutes, he saw that the nearer he came at the young man, the more excited he got. One look at the young man clearl showed that the episode with Mark Joseph Anthony Pangilagan has still a strong negative effect on him.

"Well, well, well, I know how to deal with these kinds of people when they were in that state, just leave him to me." Said Mr. Pilitan to Dan whose right hand kept pressing on Mr. Pilitan's buttocks.

A broad, reassuring smile on Mr. Pilitan's face greeted the young man although more seems like a grin than a genuine. Nevertheless, the oung man felt a little ease by Mr. Pilitan's kindly expression.

"Now my boy, get down from there will you?" Mr. Pilitan told him, but the tone of his voice was not reassuring as the young man had expected though he was still smiling. He seemed to have spoken to the young man out of sense of duty.

The young man relapse once again in gloomy state.

"I don't have any idea how in the world you managed to climb up there, but surely you can find a way to get down from there? Now get down from there this very moment, there's a good boy."

The young man did not budge an inch.

"Now, look here my boy," continued Mr. Pilitan, scratching his head, "if you won't speak and continue that way, I don't think we will be able to help you. Do we make each other clear?"

The smile now had completely vanished from the face of Mr. Pilitan's moon face and a trace of irritation could be detected although he was trying to conceal it. He go on to say that a son of his about the same age as the young man had just passed the bar examination from one of the country's elite university and was now working as a full time lawyer from a reputable law firm and if only the youth of today will follow his son's example, this country will be a great place to live in.

The young man looked unimpressed.

Mr. Pilitan just shrugged his shoulders contemptously; you don't want to talk things over with me, he seemed to be saying in his mind, then so much worse for you. Mr. Pilitan turned to the crowd instead and adrressed them if anyone knew the young man. And for about a minute or two, the people exchange questioning glances to verify, but there was no one who knows the young man. Then, anothe old woman of about sixty five to seventy years of age approached Mr. Pilitan who is by now taking a break of coke and chikcen sandwich with the police chief, suggested that the young man might probably starving as evident to his physical feature and perhaps a bit of food must be offer first. After exchanging a short remarks with the police chief, Mr. Pilitan consented despite some objections from the crowd saing this was kind of pampering the young man.

Twenty minutes later, a plastic bag of cold plain rice was brought to Mr. Pilitan who unwillingly climbed up the ladder once again after being disturbed from his snack and gaining the top, he called the young man and showing what he have in his hands, tossed it up in the air towards the young man like shooting a basketball with one hand. But Mr. Pilitan miscalculates his throw and came up quite short for the young man to reach. Mechanically, the young man stretch out both his arms to save the food from falling to the ground but he had bend too forward and dismissed a quarter of a second from falling down himself if only his hands were not quick enough again to caught hold on something for support. His feet dangling dangerously in the air trying to regain his footing while his arms hold on with all his strength to lifet himself up. A chorous of wild shrieks erupted from ever mouth and for a minute or two until the young man finally regains his footing, there was a general commotion. A young lady was screaming at the top of her voice in a verge of hysteria. She was tearing her hair out that she had to be led out, dragging by four strong man while she keeps on struggling from their grip like a fish suddenly drew out of the water; while a very old man with gray hair suddenl and without a warning, throw up the half digested food of fish and vegetables on the shoulder of a young student with long shuggy hair and wearing on a black t-shirt with picture print of Marilyn Manson; another saw an old woman crossed herself twenty or thirty times in succession; and the children, who was more upset by the sudden strange behaviour of the people around them rather than the young man's near fall, was biting and clubbing their elders with their little fist, begging to go home.

When the young man finally regains his footing and surveyed the world around him as if in releif, in spite of himself, he let out a little chuckle. The crowd was quite amused to see him chuckle to himself.

Another plastic bag of cold plain rice was brought to Mr. Pilitan and after five or six times of dangerous tossing and catching (the rescue workers below actually using their nets to catch the plastic bag of rice that missed and fell) it finally found its way safely into the hands of the young man. Although he scarcely tasted food for the past few das, he does not feel like eating at all and he took only a swallow or two. But his actions produced an extraordinary effect on the crowd. They gazed intently at the young man with gaping mouth and wide open ees as he took a swallow of the the rice as though watching a caged wild animal having its dinner of live chicken.

"This is getting more and more interesting," said one good looking young man munching a chicken sandwich to a charming young lady next to him.

"Nothing could be more exciting," agreed the young lady as she sipped the cold lemon iced tea the good looking young man bought for her. Interestingly too, this two young people were already developing a rapport and have already secured each other's mobile phone numbers. It is no surprise if one would find this two young people walk hand in hand at the end of the day. Strange it may seem, sometimes one can expect to meet one's partner in some of the most unlikely places.

At last, after the young man had enough of the rice, he made a gesture at Mr. Pilitan by levelling his right hand to his face as though he was holding something onto his mouth as he tossed his head back. Itwas very plain to see that he was asking for something to drink. Murmurs of excitement rose on all sides--it was the first time the have seen him communicated directly with anybody all that day.

Mr. Pilitan Looked down at the rescue workers below and waved his right hand away indicating to let the young man have what he wants.

Fifteen minutes later the water arrived, also in a small plastic bag



TO BE CONTINUED IN TWO DAYS...