I have long waited to leave my minority stage but suddenly, things go very wrong at the last moment. This may seem a riddle to you but I’m not giving out the full details about this.

I strongly regret what I did but still, I want them all to understand how hard it is for me to avoid such things. Later in life, I hope and I wish they’ll feel what I felt because it seems like an unending torture for me not to do so.

Now that I am finally in this stage, there’s no point going back. I just wish they’ll understand me for this. I wish.

For my family and friends.

I’m just so happy that the first day of our t-shirt design business somehow boomed. We earned P1,500 in just a few hours and I am looking forward to all those who’ll wear the shirts I designed these following days. The shirt designs started as a simple post on our school online community site. Many wanted it seen on a shirt so i told my brother (who happens to be an Economics graduate) to try it out on the market. He printed an initial 100 pieces of two of my designs and an overwhelming number of orders swarmed in.

Today I wore it to school (even as I make this entry, I’m still wearing it) and many of my classmates wanted one. Though they didn’t want to pay for it.

I’m looking forward to more orders coming and more phone calls ringing up the house for additional orders. Besides, I’m now in the business school. I could be a businessman, you know. Kidding.

Speaking of the business school, things are a bit smooth at the moment. But I expect more pressure from my professors next. I even have a homework in Business Math tomorrow and I haven’t started it yet. It’s totally different from the engineering college. Everyone else is fashionable and I have to invest much of my money on clothes rather than brains. I was so used to nerdy classmates once and now I am so intimidated with all those glam outfits.

The business is booming and I expect school will boom on me too.

The Seven Angels

Arnold Jenkins was a devout Catholic. He enjoyed his quiet, simple life. He avoided anything of extraordinaire. Whether it was sport played under the ocean or pasta obsession eaten on a cliff, Arnold never had any interest on peculiar things. Like that ordinary, sunny day, Arnold happily attended his class. He was a professor at a university and, though many of his friends considered it boring, Arnold nearly enjoyed every bit of his career.
“Please take out your essays.” Arnold ordered his students.
The class filed in their folders on the table, all except one.
“Mr. Nuñez, I haven’t seen you put yours here.”
Nuñez, a fat, pale teenager stood up and said, “I’m sorry sir, but I haven’t done my essay.”
“And can you tell my why?” Arnold asked.
“Well, I simple can’t see the reason why we have to write an essay about death when we haven’t died yet.” Nuñez explained.
“You think so? So what about your classmates? They’ve written their essays and they’re still alive. Why can’t you?”
“It’s because they’re a bunch of morons,” said Nuñez teasingly. Many let out snorts and roars of outrage on Nuñez’s statement.
“You have a point there Mr Nuñez.” Arnold said.
“That they’re a bunch of morons?”

“No. That it’s pointless to write about death when none of us alive have experienced it. I mean, we can talk about it on these essays but we’re not sure if it’s true. All these essays,” he pointed on the folders, “are merely speculations. We can’t write a true essay about something we are not certain of. There are different ideas of death but we’re not really sure which is which.”
None of them budged. Nuñez remained standing at that very statement, thinking whether he was right or not about neglecting his assignment.
“It’s just like the different religions. We don’t know which one is true or which one to believe. We acquire our religion by influence. We are baptized long before we say “papa” or we become one because most in the family’s in it. Everything in this world is full of questions. We just have to trust God in every answer we produce…”

***
Not Long Ago

Arnold hunched beneath a great narra tree with his glasses askew and a rifle on both hands. Fear was visible on his young, innocent face. Arnold Jenkins was then a part of the army fighting off guerillas in the mountains. How he came by this profession, he never knew. All he wanted was a teaching job in a university and quietly retire when he was too old to keep his students quiet.
Yet it looked far from where he was now. He thought of his retirement as a bloody corpse of himself after getting killed in this war.
A loud bang echoed through the forest. A landmine might have blown off.

“Denver’s down! Somebody take his post!” somebody shouted from nearby. Obviously, one of his colleagues stepped on that mine.
“Hey, Jenkins, stop daydreaming! Get on Denver’s!” somebody yelled again. Arnold hurried towards another spot where Denver had just stood. He dropped himself on the mud and shielded himself on a rock. Another soldier, Lee, joined him.
“How many are they?” Arnold asked nervously.
“About fifty. Quite small but fierce!” Lee replied.
“Fierce? What do you mean?”
“They’re maniacs, man! They’re kinda’ savages. Scary!”
“What do they look like?”
“Guerillas, of course, but Osmonde told me they got talismans and they know some black magic!”
“You sure?” asked Arnold curiously.
“Not really, but they say they can banish you to an unknown place. That’s what the villagers told me.”
“Goodness! What kind of communists are those?”
“They’re freaks!” Lee added.
“Now I’m scared.” Arnold confessed.
“ ‘For the angel of the Lord guard all who fear Him, and he rescues them,’ ” Lee quoted.
“What’s that?”

“Psalm thirty-four, verse seven. Are you a Christian or not?” Lee said as he gave Arnold an intimidating look.
Another loud explosion boomed. This time, it was accompanied by some loud shrieks and roars. Arnold could not imagine what their opponents looked like. He wouldn’t dare imagine.
“W-what happened to those that they banish?” asked Arnold again.
“They’re gone. They’re never seen again,” answered Lee, “Some say they’re transported to some weird place and enslave you. More like hell, maybe,” he added.
Arnold’s insides shivered at the very thought. But he didn’t want to believe a thing of it, it just freaked him out.
“Come on!” ordered Lee.
The troops now ran past him with their rifles on the ready. Arnold joined them with utmost fear in his eyes. If this would be over and he luckily survived, he’d take an early retirement. Or in some sense, resign.
There were silhouettes from afar. The other side was advancing too. Then suddenly, another explosion came from two meters behind them. About five men, including Lee, were uprooted from their spots. A shriek came from above and Arnold looked up.
“Above the trees!” someone roared.
About twenty people jumped towards them. They had red bands tied around their foreheads. Many of them looked old and had rotten teeth. They had bolos in each hand, ready to bury it on anyone’s flesh.

Arnold ducked to avoid his attacker and dropped his gun. Many of his companions shot at the advancing enemies. Arnold quickly got to his feet and ran away while many of his colleagues were stabbed long before they could touch the trigger of their guns. His ears were deaf of the loud screams of pain and struggle as he ran away for survival through the thick forest. Yet he had not gone too far when he realized that somebody was tailing him. He looked back and was shocked to see that it was an enemy running after him. He tried to run faster but his boots made it difficult for him. He could hear and sense the enemy’s cackle and thirst to kill with the rusty bolo.
Arnold saw a clearing on the far end. Perhaps he was close to the village. He forced his protesting feet to go faster. He was near.
Then suddenly, Arnold saw a young woman standing on the clearing. She looked scared of the scenario. He ran past her as the enemy approached, but then he thought of the woman’s safety, feeling a bit guilty about leaving the woman there to die if the old man gets on her, he ran back to her and pushed her to a bush. The woman collapsed into the leaves but did not react to this so he continued running as fast as he could.
As soon as Arnold approached the clearing, a lightning somehow struck his heart. It was not the clearing towards the village he had run to but a cliff. A dead end.
He looked back again. The enemy was near with greed visible in his yellowish eyes. Now Arnold realized that the enemy was a very old man. An old man running like a twenty-year-old athlete, bony fingers clasped around the sharp bolo, ready to attack him. Arnold had no choice but to meet his fatal end. He stood there; ready to embrace the approaching bolo.

Then suddenly, he looked down the cliff, to the waters below. A millisecond before the bolo could slash through his skin, Arnold decided to jump. Losing balance, the old man joined him. Both of them shrieked as the wind pounded their faces. Arnold could see the water fast coming. He closed his eyes. Then, the old man grabbed his hand with a devilish look in his eyes. This scared Arnold more. The water was only a meter away. He was about to plunge when he saw nothing but darkness….

***
The awful smell of the marshes woke Arnold from unconsciousness. He looked around and realized that he was in the middle of a very wide marsh. The sun was nowhere to be seen but the sky was glowing faintly as if it was about to rain. It was a lonely place that, as Arnold compared it to the paintings he saw, depicted nothing but weeping.
“You’re awake.”
Arnold looked around for the owner of the voice. Behind him, he saw a young woman with radiant yellow hair and a beautiful innocent-looking face.
“You’re-you’re the woman in the forest!” Arnold bellowed.
The woman nodded courteously. Her eyes gleamed through the dim lights.
“Are we dead?” he asked the woman.
“I don’t know. Perhaps.”
“How did you die?” Arnold asked again.
“I was stabbed.” answered her.
The Seven Angels/ 7 of 19
“So I pushed you away for nothing then. If I hadn’t let you hide, I would still be alive.” Arnold blamed the woman.
“Are you blaming me?”
“I was just joking,” Arnold lied. “So what d’you think is this place?”
“No idea,” she said with a little annoyance.
Arnold hushed for a moment, surveying the very wide and scary plains. Arnold’s heart thumped hard. He was dead. This was the end of everything he worked hard for as he lived on earth. His dreams were never fulfilled.
“Is this hell?” the woman asked.
“Not that I’m aware of, maybe. Well, if this is it, it’s not that bad.”
They looked at each other and, after a long time, Arnold laughed with the woman he barely knew, forgetting about what they were now and where they were.
Arnold and the woman talked and talked that day, not thinking about the stinking marsh and the rough surface of the earth where they sat. Really, if this was hell, then where the hell are demons and their great master, Lucifer? Arnold always thought of hell as a burning place as if it was the surface of the sun and the feeling in it was like that of an everlasting torture. They talked about their childhood and later, Arnold found out that she was a villager picking up wild orchids in the forest and that her name was Paula. Arnold told Paula about his dream of becoming a teacher and how he came by to become a soldier instead. He was surprised to see how Imelda was so interested at what he said because all his life, many considered him boring.

As time passed by, Arnold and Paula realized that they were alone and that they were starting to get thirsty. They walked and walked, expecting to find water if there was any.
Night time came and the dim sky was replaced by darkness. There were no moon and stars. Nothing illuminated the lonely place. Arnold and Paula continued to walk despite the dark pathless way. After what seemed like miles of tiring walks, Arnold saw a tiny prick of light in the distance. The two, so eager for a drink hurried towards the light.
When they had neared the light, they realized that it was coming from a lamp held by a silhouette of a man dragging a small cart. The man’s eyes were shining through the light. He looked at them both.
“Hello?” Paula greeted. The man stopped but did not answer.
“We were wondering if—“
“What?” the man asked suddenly with his hoarse voice. “What do you want?”
“W-water,” Arnold spoke. “Please?”
The man placed the lamp down the ground and started rummaging inside his cart. Finally, he found what he was looking for and threw it to Arnold. Surprised by what the man did, Arnold looked at what he caught. It was a small corked bamboo vial that might be containing water.
“Where are you two up to?” asked the man.
“No idea. We don’t even know where we are,” Paula answered, taking a gulp at the vial after snatching it from Arnold. The man gave them a smile and sat down on the

ground. The lamp now illuminated his face which showed a young man with expressionless blue eyes.
“What’s your name?” asked Arnold.
“Gabor.”
“Are you dead too?”
But Gabor did not answer. Arnold realized that it was indeed rude to ask someone about his death and finally decided not to pursue the conversation. They spent the rest of the night talking with Gabor who avoided talking about himself. Paula and Arnold didn’t push it any further.
When they woke up the next day, Gabor had already departed but also left behind a generous amount of bamboo vials. Arnold and Paula gathered them and continued to walk the unknown journey. Maybe, Gabor had left because he was bound for heaven, Arnold thought. He only wished they were too.
As the journey progressed, Arnold and Paula had already passed the marsh and found themselves on a grassy plain. The next day, they met another man who was called Rafa, a man dressed in yellow and emerald green cloak. He gave them some bread and stayed for a little chat under the dim, lonely sky.
“Where are you going?” asked Rafa.
“No idea,” Arnold answered him.
“You should head north,” he suggested.
“Why should we head north?”
“There’s a town not far from here. They might help you.”

“Where’s North, anyway?” Paula asked Rafa.
Rafa took out an old compass from his pocket and gave it to them. Paula thanked him as Rafa walked south, leaving them alone again. Arnold smiled at Paula for their grateful chances and started the journey north, but now, it wasn’t unknown anymore. It was a journey for answers.
Arnold and Paula walked for the rest of the day and stopped at night to sleep, constantly glancing at the compass to make sure that they were heading in the right direction. They went on walking for several days and found themselves grateful that they were not alone throughout the journey. Everyday, they met friendly strangers who offered them the assistance the needed. After Rafa, they met Urio, a small knight who ate and chatted with them. When Urio finally bid goodbye, he left them his sword as a sign of allegiance to his new friends and parted ways. Another day came and they met the trader Sean who gave them a coat with a balaclava in exchange for their empty bamboo vials. He was bearing two fish hung from a string and a staff with a water gourd tied to it.When Sean had left, the wind blew hard and they sheltered beneath the coat thinking about how the poor stranger would manage without it. Feeling a little guilty, Arnold and Paula continued their journey.
On their fourth day, they met Julio, an old but kind man who helped them mend the deep cut on Paula’s the leg, which she’d gotten after tripping on a sharp-edged stone. Julio, who knew his own remedies, tore strips of cloth from his white pants, dabbed it to some of his oils and strapped it around Paula’s knee.

The overwhelming number of strangers they met somehow bothered Arnold as they made their way through the windy plain. Not that he was unhappy about it but it seemed to him that something wrong was going on. He kept his thoughts from Paula because aside from her leg injury, she sure had more things to think about.
The following day, another man came their way. He was named Barahk, an Arab-looking man who looked battered and tired, holding a bread basket.
“What happened to you?” asked Arnold.
Barahk did not answer him but pointed north.
“You’re not far from where you’re going. You should find your way easy enough.”
“How did you know we’re going in that direction?” Paula asked suspiciously.
“Because it’s the only place to go,” Barahk replied. “You’ll need these,” he added, handing them two pieces of black stones.
“What are these for?”
“You’ll need them to open the gates. Just throw them in and it’ll open. The answer is inside.”
Arnold and Paula did not understand a thing he said but pocketed the two stones in case everything he told had sense.
By the end of the day, Arnold and Paula reached a village. It had high walls and a large wooden gate just as Barahk had described.
“What do you think this is?” Paula asked while massaging her aching leg.
“I have no idea. It’s fishy though,” answered Arnold.

“What’s fishy?”
“Those six strangers we met on the way. It seems they know why we’re here.”
“I thought about it, too. They keep coming everyday,” added Paula while surveying the high walls, “but at least they helped us. They’re our angels!”
Arnold thought hard. He sensed that something wasn’t right. It’s as if the village and the strangers had some connection.
“What day was it when we first came here?” he asked Paula.
“I can’t remember. I didn’t check the date after I went to church for the prayer for Gabriel, the angel of the day and –“
“It was Monday! Gabriel is the archangel for Monday!”
“Yes, and so?”
Arnold thought hard again. Something told him that the answer was near. Paula looked at him and said;
“You don’t think that Gabor—“
“Gabor was Gabriel!” burst Arnold.
“It’s impossible! How could Gabor be Gabriel? He didn’t look like an angel!”
“Don’t you get it? They want to help us! Gabor came on a Monday, followed by Rafa, who I think is Raphael!” Arnold explained with enthusiasm.
“So you mean, Urio was Uriel, Sean is Sealtiel and Julio is Jhudiel?”
“And Barahk is the archangel Barachiel! It’s possible! It all fits, Paula!”
“But why do they want to help us when we’re dead? Unless this isn’t the afterlife?” Paula asked.

“I have no idea. But remember what Barahk told us? ‘The answer is inside.’”
“Fine, let’s just get in.”
Arnold nodded and gestured Paula to come with him. They walked towards the gate and took out the stones from Arnold’s pocket. Feeling foolish about the idea, he threw the stones simultaneously to the wooden gate. The gate gave a faint clunk and then slowly swung open.
Arnold saw people inside as they entered. The people were busy on their work and looked somehow tired.
“Look at them!” Paula whispered to him as she led him behind a pile of sacks.
“What? Why’re we here? We should go ask someone!”
“Didn’t you see them? They looked like the guerillas you fought in the forest!” said Paula in a worried tone.
Arnold peered through a hole in the pile and saw that all the people had red bands strapped around their foreheads just like what the old man in the forest had.
“So what d’you think is this place?” asked Paula again.
“Oh my God! This might be what Lee told me about!”
“What? Who’s Lee?”
But Arnold ignored the second question, thinking hard about the situation.
“The guerillas had some kind of ethnic powers. They’re like shamans. They had powers to banish people to an unknown place.”
“Damn! This might be the old belief in our village, those witch doctors in the forest make people disappear if they don’t pay a generous amount to them!” Paula added.

“Why would witch doctors become communists?” asked Arnold.
“Maybe the communists use them to taunt people to pay revolutionary taxes!”
“I didn’t think they were this powerful.”
There was silence between them both as they thought of a better plan.
“I know the portal, or something to that extent is in here. We should look for it.” Paula suggested.
“But how do we wander around without getting caught? We don’t have those red bands on our foreheads.” Arnold cut in.
“But we have strips.” said Paula, pointing at her leg. The white strip of cloth wrapped around her wound had absorbed too much blood that it was now dyed red. Imelda hastily took the strips of cloth from her leg. She gave one to Arnold, who tied it around his forehead while Paula also did hers. They gave each other an approving glance and went out of their hiding place.
As they walked on the narrow street, Arnold’s heart pounded as hard as he surveyed the area. Fortunately, none of the people recognized him as they had the bands. On the other end of the street was a large and high wooden tower with small windows and a small door. It was the tallest structure he ever saw in the village. Arnold gestured to Paula that it was where they had to go. Perhaps the ruler of the place might be residing in it and maybe, he alone had the answer to whether they can come back to earth or not.
Suddenly, the tower door swung open and out came an old man in thick woolen cloak and a red band on his forehead. He had large eyes, rotten teeth and little hair. He

had very long nails protruding from his bony fingers. Arnold and Paula were shocked to see the same old man they had encountered in the forest.
The man saw them immediately and his eyes bulged and shouted.
“INTRUDERS! CATCH THEM!”
In an instant, the people around came running at them as the old man disappeared behind the doors of the tower. Paula shrieked in fear as Arnold shoved her behind him. If only they could fly or disappear from that very spot, he might once again save their necks. But suddenly, he felt a hard thing clinging on his back. He took it out and held it high at both hands. It was Urio’s sword that might save them this time. The first attacker jumped towards them and he brandished his sword. It slashed the attacker’s stomach but spilled no blood. The attacker dropped to the ground but instead of dying, he stood again. Imelda shrieked. More of them were coming now. His heart pounded so hard that he felt his chest protest. The two of them were doomed.
“In here!” Paula shouted as she dragged Arnold who dropped his sword towards the tower door.
They squeezed themselves inside the door and locked it. The tower was airy inside and had a large atrium. On the other side of the hall was another door with a large brass knocker.
“You cannot come back!” said a voice from the left side of the atrium. It was the old man once more.
“You will be like them forever! You’ll be my slaves!”

“Leave us alone! We’ve done nothing to you!” Paula begged but the man merely cackled.
“Do not worry, woman, I shall bring more companions for you! Soon, I’ll have plenty of slaves in my world!” the old man said and laughed some more as he made his way towards the door on the other side. He opened it and a blinding light appeared from it. The old man entered and closed the door behind him.
“That’s the portal! Come on!” Arnold bellowed and ran towards it.
But as they were halfway across the hall, the front door burst open and the slaves swarmed in towards them.
Paula and Arnold had nearly reached the portal when the slaves grabbed their backs. Arnold closed his eyes and shielded his face with his arms as he was kicked and punched in every part of his body. He could hear Imelda crying from pain but there was nothing he could do to help. His soul ached as his body was. Torn by this traumatic experience, he’d really want to die instead.
The torture suddenly stopped and he saw the people retreat towards the front door. He looked behind him and saw the portal shine so bright that it blinded him. He stared hard and realized that a tall man was standing beside the portal, shining so bright. That might have scared the people away. Arnold walked towards him with a look of amazement, his face soaked with blood while Paula tailed him.
“You should not waste time. You should get into the portal,” the man said in his kind voice. He smiled at Arnold and Paula as he pointed to the door.

“Are you Archangel Michael?” Arnold asked thinking that he was the last to show up.
“No, I’m Miguel,” the man answered and winked at him. Arnold understood what it meant and gave him a wide smile. They were saved. He led Paula to the door first; she looked at him with a look or relief and said, “See you in a bit.” She kissed Arnold on the cheek until she disappeared on the portal. Arnold felt his face swell as he felt the very spot where Imelda’s lips touched his and looked back to Miguel. He was still smiling at him, his handsome face full of hope and joy.
“Why are you doing this to us?” asked Arnold.
Miguel patted his back and answered.
“Psalm thirty-four, verse seven.”
“Thanks a lot.” said Arnold.
“Thanks to Him,” corrected Miguel.
Arnold stepped into the threshold. A weird feeling engulfed him as the environment began to change. He felt his eyes close. He felt his fears vanish, until he felt nothing.
***
The bell suddenly rang and the students began to vacate the room. It was then that Professor Arnold Jenkins realized his idleness.
“Nuñez, I want your essay tomorrow, okay?”
Nuñez nodded and left the room as well. Arnold gathered his things and went out.

The sun began to set that afternoon as he strolled in the oval after class. He savored the sweet smell of fresh air as if he would never feel it again. Not long ago, he felt that every bit of hope to enjoy the beauty of this world vanish, now, he had it and he would never let anyone or anything to ruin it once more. He walked a little further until he heard a voice call him. A woman had just arrived with a basket in her arm.
“You’re late.” Arnold said smiling.
“I’m always late. You should get used to it,” said the woman smiling back at him. They both sat down on the oval grass and ate sandwiches and an orange juice. They talked and laughed until the sun bid goodbye. Arnold and Paula waited to welcome the starry night.
“I’m glad we could enjoy this again,” said Paula as she laid her head on Arnold’s chest, staring at the stars, “I’m glad they saved us.”
“Because the angels of the Lord guard all who fear Him, and He rescues them,” Arnold answered.
Imelda laughed and looked up at him, her eyes full of admiration.
“What happened to you when we got back anyway?” she asked.
“I plunged into the water. The old man was nowhere to be seen. Good thing I was rescued sooner. How about you?”
“Well, I woke up in the hospital. I got twelve stitches on the chest because of that bolo,” Paula explained.
Arnold smiled and sat up to kiss her.

“I’m grateful it happened to us, because if it hadn’t, we wouldn’t have met.” said she as Arnold stroked her radiant hair.
“How can you be grateful for it? We nearly got killed! Or worse, enslaved!”
Arnold ignored it as he kissed her once more. The moon shone brightly, rejoicing with the stars. The wind blew enthusiastically while the leaves nearby rustled with joy.
“It’s just weird God wanted us to meet this way.”
“Everything happens for a reason. It’s always God’s will.”