Overdrive: a short fiction story [Part I]

I never learned how to drive.

Or perhaps, it's more accurate to say that I didn't really try learning. I realized early on that I had a very poor depth perception and sometimes, I even get nauseated from focusing on moving objects. Driving plus all that is a recipe for disaster.

So driving is out. Also true for most sports since I fail at tracking and catching thrown objects 90% of the time. As a kid and teen, it does sound bad but I've come to accept my eyesight issue as a quirk rather than a weakness. It unwittingly became part of my daily life, making adjustments and giving caution whenever required.

So this story messed up that norm a bit. Life's often crazy - flipping established parameters and giving you moments that'll leave you absolutely perplexed. "... Huh?" Kinda like that.

Daming charot. Lol. Sana maitawid yun punto. Pero gusto ko lang bigyan ng kakaibang panimula ang isang medyo kakaibang karanasan noong ako ay High School. Totoong medyo nagulat talaga ako sa pangyayaring yaon at hindi ko akalaing gagana ng husto ang mga matang matagal ko nang naisip na kahinaan. Medyo nakakabibo din talaga ang bilis ng "brain processing" ko sa pagkakataong yon. San ka pa?

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I was in Junior highschool then, around my early teen years. My friends and I visited a beach resort on a moody Summer. Philippine weather rarely cooperates and doesn't understand Summer is supposed to be sunny. But it compromised on that day, it was neither sunny, nor cloudy, nor rainy - a mix of all those three.

The outing was fun. It was uneventful but fun. We had the beach and a responsible amount of booze. We also responsibly not swam too far from the shore during the night. That would have been incredibly foolish considering it was a full moon that day and the tide was high and strong. I recall looking at the glorious moon a lot that night - the sight was exquisite, staring at the sky in a wide open space with sloshing waves in the background. While the sun won't allow me even a split second to gaze at it, the moon's very inviting and mesmerizing.

At one moment, something seemed off. There's a gnawing feeling that I can't quite place. Was it just the pull of the moon? But there wasn't really anything. The outing was normal fun. It normally ended and then we're off to a 4-hour long drive home nearing midnight.

Baka echos lang yung ibang detalye pero natatandaan ko na medyo maliwanag ang gabing yoon dala ng malakas na presensya ng buwan. Isang bahagi ng isip ko ang medyo na-praning at napaabang sa kung mayroon bang hiwagang mangyayari. Naalala kong ako ay tumitingin sa malayo, hanggang sa dulo ng dagat na tanaw ko. Minamasid ang mga anino at mga kumakabig na alon, nagtatanong kung may kakaiba ba akong makikita. Sa kabutihang palad, walang kinahinatnan ang panandaliang kapraningan. Sa huli, nagtapos ang araw nang masaya at dumating na ang oras para umuwi.

And then we were driving home

It was my friend's uncle who drove for us. Their family owns a piece of the place we went to. It was really nice of him to stay up late and sober during the entire night. He says it's what he often does - drive for family and friends going to the beach.

The van was packed and we all barely fit. I'm pretty sure we maxed out the recommended seating capacity twice over. One more person and it could have been a very unpleasant ride. But with our semi-comfortable seating arrangement, most were able to doze off. The night is high and is lulling everyone to sleep. Not me though. I've been sitting beside a good friend and we've been chatting since the moment we stepped in the car. Loudly at first but out of consideration for those sleeping and a tinge of drowsy feeling, the volume simmered down, and eventually into a lull.

I've run out of energy and fire to talk. "Quickly, I must think of something." Maybe it was because of the full moon and the weird mood it brought earlier, I decided to do a mini-test of courage with my friend. I imagined daring her to stare at the roadside just a few feet away from the van. I was plotting in my head to scare her a bit... Boy, I was about to get punk'd by Karma big time.

Totoo. Minsan meedyo mabilis talaga ang karma. Hindi ko pa nga nabibitawan ang mga salita at nasa isip ko pa lang, nariyan na agad ang karma. Dahil yoon ang nasa isip ko, syempre ako muna ang unang tatanaw sa labas. Ang masklap ako yun taong nakaupo sa gilid at nasa window seat. At mas masaklap, nakabukas ang bintana sa tabi ko nang todo kasi masarap ang hangin ng madaling-araw.

Remember that bit earlier when I said I have poor eyesight and all? Until this time, I'm still wondering WHY was I was seeing it so vividly, like high-definition-level clear.

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Next part

*Itutuloy ... *

_{Image by Jack Ward from Unsplash edited using SparkAdobe.com}