Two Cabbie Stories - The Good and the Bad (Forget the Ugly Part) PART II

The bad story is told.

To balance the equation is another cabbie story and this is the good part. I thank God for the natural tendency of nature, called balance, or in literature, equilibrium.

Right after the convention ended, noontime of Sunday, Cherrie and I, packed our things ready to fly back to Bacolod. Of course, in the case of Cherrie, Bacolod serves only as middle ground to her final destination, Kabangkalan City in the south.

The plane landed safely at Silay Airport. We were the last to board the van for Bacolod. Thirty minutes passed. She was the first to alight the van at Ceres bound for South. Then I followed at the Bacolod Plaza near Video City.

I was fully loaded. I had one bag in my shoulder, a laptop bag, a convention bag, and a suit bag equally divided according to their weight for my two hands. I immediately called the taxi that parked few meters away from where I stood. Feeling the tiredness and exhaustion, I almost fell asleep while I fully lay my back and head in my seat. Ten minutes after, I was already standing outside my gate. It was dark so I tried to grab my cellphone from my jean's pocket. (My cp by the way has a flashlight in it. I used it most often in karaoke rooms, which are usually dim, to locate songs in the songbook.  Most often, my friends are amazed with this feature. And I tell them, this is the major reason why I chose Nokia E5.) I couldn't locate it, so I just grope for the pad lock. Luckily, I opened it quite fast. When I finally put down everything, the first thing I searched was my cellphone. I wanted to check the time. So I checked again all pockets in my jeans. There was none. I squeezed it to reveal any hard object inside. There was none. I opened all searchable pockets of all my bags. There was none. I emptied my bags. There was none. Suddenly, I felt the tension of the possibility that I dropped my phone inside the cab. I refused to entertain that thought. So I searched again. I went outside of the house, traced my way, hoping I dropped it somewhere after I went down the taxi. There was none. I panicked. I starved more.

I forced myself to relax. So I lay on my bed, closed my eyes, and tried not to think of anything. Five minutes after, when I thought I have gained back some energy, I searched again. There was no Nokia E5. I gave up the search. I resolved to the fact that its lost. I left it inside the cab. I imagined already the next passenger holding it with a grin on his face and throwing my SIM. I am facing head-on the fact that the possibility of recovering my phone is nil. So I told myself, "Tomorrow I will buy a new phone". And that made me a little okay. Acceptance made me okay. The turn out of events made me really physically drained so I slept like a log.

The next day, without my phone to reveal the time, I turned on the TV. And it made me wonder why I was able to wake up early without the annoying sound of my cellphone alarm. It must be the angels.

The first thing I did when I arrived in the lab was of course borrow the phone of my officemate. I dialed my number. I couldn't believe when it rang. Yes my phone still has my SIM tucked inside. I felt a sudden surge of hope. My heart beat faster. My phone was not stolen. It was just in someone else's possession. And that made me happy early in the morning. The phone just continued ringing. So I thought that person was still asleep. I was out of the laboratory for a while to conduct an audit. I did not know, Mr Alain - my boss, looked for me, and called my phone. This time, the driver answered. There he knew about my phone being lost. He called me up where I was thru landline and told me this, "Mr. Jay, the driver of the taxi is on his way to the Plant to return your cellphone." I refused to believe it. This must be another early morning prank. Although, part of me also longed to believe it was true. I said, "How did you know Mr. Alain of the lost cellphone?" And he told me his conversation with the cabbie driver. My self is celebrating inside. I was very ecstatic. 

I immediately made my way to Gate 1.

I was very excited to meet the person who saved my lost cellphone. The person whose honestry is still an integral part of his life values. The person who deserves an honorary salute. The person who is brave enough to combat against dishonesty.

I am glad, a person like him, still exists. I am glad, he personifies a dignified person in a world full of untruthfullness. I am glad to know that world is still a beautiful place to live in because of Manong Driver. Thank you very much Manong!