Modus Operandi

It was a dreadful Monday morning. The sun completely pushed itself out of the horizon, forcing a more frantic crowd to move faster to their respective destinations. After being crushed to death by an oversized passenger, who took most of the space, while I sat a fraction of my money’s worth, I ruefully paid the tricycle driver. After giving a fatal stabbing look at the lady, who was in dire need of a workout, I sped along to the jeepney station hoping to get a quick ride to UP.

Dodging cars and public utility vehicles on the way, which seemed to insert themselves to the plethora of other vehicles at rush hour, I half-walked, half-trotted myself a kilometer away from the jeepney stop. It would mean assurance that I could have a decent seat worth all the bucks I pay before the milling throng of people scamper for their own. Besides, the quicker I get into the vehicle, the better chance to sit at the rear end of the jeep. Sure enough, I had the honor to be the first passenger of the vehicle. I situated myself at my favorite location and brought out my books to prepare for a looming exam due afternoon.

When the jeepney arrived at the designated stop, people came rushing in and quickly filled the empty seats one by one. In less than a minute, the whole jeep was cramped with passengers. After the barker made sure that not even a sliver of hair between passengers, the jeepney sped on; I returned to my books and read intently.

Suddenly, I was surprised by a raspy voice of a middle-aged woman, about late 40’s, and obviously caught attention of other passengers, even the barker and the driver themselves. "Sumandali po tayong tumahimik at tayo ay magdasal sa ating Panginoong Hesus…’ she started. I took a good look at the woman: she had a rather unstylish hair, pony-tailed but slivers of unruly hair still showed through. She was wearing a somewhat dirty cream-colored blouse, long black, heel-length skirt, and low-heeled shoes. In her right hand clutched a black bible, and a rosary on the other. I bent to look at the other passengers, and I had a strong hunch that the woman must be mentally ill, or asking for financial donation.

She began to pray aloud. A few elderly women took their own rosaries, closed their eyes and prayed intently. A number of people paid no attention whatsoever, some went to continue their disrupted sleep. A man, wearing formal business attire, continued reading his broadsheet newspaper. Out of respect I stopped reading and kept quiet, thinking a minute of prayer would spell a difference between a pass and fail.

At first, the prayer seemed "normal". But after passing two barangays, about eight kilometers away, the prayer was becoming alarmingly lengthy. People were starting to stare indifferently, their faces with looks of doubt and amusement. Apparently the passengers, including myself, had second thoughts in terms of the woman’s sanity. I also anticipated the fact that the woman might be doing it on purpose, then ask for donations later. A new modus operandi.

After what seemed like hours of prayer, the woman had opened her bible and started preaching. She mentioned several verses so long that I could not remember, but she knew them at heart. Her voice was crisp and clear; it was audible enough to cause distraction of other passengers. Some were becoming irate and annoyed. The man who had been reading the newspaper was visibly irritated and was not trying even a slightest bit to hide his annoyance to the woman. She flipped the pages furiously, accompanied by "tsk" every now and then.

The woman still continued on with her preach, despite the obvious hints of other passengers. The man lost all his composure and scowled at the woman. "Bakit kayo nangangaral dito? Gumagawa kayo ng ingay!"

The woman stopped talking. She closed her bible carefully then faced her assailant. "Sir, pasensya na kung naistorbo kayo, pero ‘wag ninyo akong pagbawalan na mangaral sa loob ng jeep." Her features show character and determination; her tone cool and confident.

Her reaction seemed to infuriate the man. He folded his newspaper dramatically, smoothened his oily hair, and bellowed. "Bakit? Simbahan ba ‘to?"

The woman’s reaction was very much anticipated by the other passengers. The woman said nothing, apparently dumbfounded. But after a few seconds, she mumbled in closed eyes, "Kung ang Diyos nangaral sa gitna ng dagat sa pamamagitan ng bangka, bakit hindi pwede sa jeep? Mapalad ang mga taong nakikinig sa salita ng Diyos, dahil idudulot sa kanya ang walang hanggang kaligayan ng Panginoon…" She began preaching again on verses that made sense, saying that we Christians should be missionaries of faith, to try our best to spread the word of God to people.

The man grew silent, his face red, obviously ashamed of himself. He opened his newspaper and covered his face.

Then the woman took out her purse leisurely, which was in her side pockets, paid the fair and went off the jeepney.

Somehow, I felt a pang of shame inside me. After thinking the woman was crazy or doing some freaking new modus operandi, It never occurred to me that her intentions of spreading the word of God was honest and sincere. And the worst of it was never doing anything. I could have backed her from that freaking man who thinks he could push around anyone he likes. I could have acted like a true servant of God and said something. But I just sat silently.

The passengers were obviously incensed over the incident.

I replaced my book in the bag, and sighed. As I spun around to look backwards, I could have sworn I saw that woman holding a black leather wallet, with a wide grin on her face, as she walked along the overpass at Ever Commonwealth. Then I glanced at the man, who suddenly become jerky, and looked as though he lost something.

Life is difficult these days, I just told myself.

--ency

huhuhu,,
lapit na naman pasukan,,
pahirapan na naman,,
mga peyups, handa na naman sa malawakang hell week,,
damn,, hirap talagang mag-aral,,
pero xempre, masaya kasi daming gimik everytime makatapos ng exam,,
hehehe,,

gudluck na lang sa lahat ng mga estudyante,,
lalo na ang mga UP students,,
hehehe,,^^