 |
| "I am Charlie" |
May
5, 2013,
Around
7:25P.M.
It was a Sunday. The whole family split
ways inside SM Megamall. Dad went on his own way towards the hardware store or
the men’s section of the department store. Mom, my brother, and I stayed at
Komoro Soba, a Japanese restaurant where we were supposed to meet at for
dinner, but Mom needed to go to the restroom, and the restaurant didn’t have
one. Placing all our bags and shopping bags on the table, she leaves my brother
and me, waiting for our order to arrive. He plays with his phone. I tend to have
wandering eyes on the people who pass.
In a matter of minutes, screams could be heard. Wow, people are really worked up on the sale, huh? Then, people are running, running towards the exit near where we were. Is there a celebrity? Finally, a huge wave of crowds is running in panicked terror. Screams intensify. “May pumuputok! (There’s a shooting!)”, “Takbo! (Run!)”, “Bomba! (Bomb!)”, they yell.
My brother and I looked at each other with a sudden realization of what was happening. And the sound just seems to drown out from you.
In a matter of minutes, screams could be heard. Wow, people are really worked up on the sale, huh? Then, people are running, running towards the exit near where we were. Is there a celebrity? Finally, a huge wave of crowds is running in panicked terror. Screams intensify. “May pumuputok! (There’s a shooting!)”, “Takbo! (Run!)”, “Bomba! (Bomb!)”, they yell.
My brother and I looked at each other with a sudden realization of what was happening. And the sound just seems to drown out from you.
