Hopeful Red Mango Inside

It was a Saturday. The sun was setting down to give way to a new backdrop---orange-y skies, scenic horizon, awesome cloud formations and stuff. Well, you know how it's like when it's six in the afternoon, right? Not much of the people are on the streets since its a weekend. Students and regular pedestrians are if not at home, they probably are..somewhere else, I guess. And they're not on the streets, too, if you get what I mean. It was just an ordinary day, except that for one tricycle driver, it wasn't.

Out of the ordinary, Mar roamed the streets for passengers. He has been having a hard time earning money, always on a weekend. After several minutes of looking for passengers, he was able to spot one girl. Ah. Better than nothing.

So he drove the girl to where she instructed him to bring her. It wasn't too far, maybe 20 minutes away from where he was earlier. When they get there, the girl got off the tricycle and told the driver to please wait for a while, she have no money with her so she'll walk home first to get some. Mar agreed and he waited for her. He waited. He waited, yes. And he waited. And he waited some more. He waited long enough that he could memorize the littlest of details in his surroundings. He waited until waiting becomes painful already.

Mar started wondering where the girl had gone to. He thought to himself, I've been fooled. He started asking for her in the standbys. Sir, do you happen to notice the girl who just passed by here? Yes, a bit earlier. She was my passenger. You might know her because she's from here. Uhm...she was fair-skinned, 5'3 tall, she maybe is in her early 20's. She was wearing a pink summer dress. Her hair was coiffed up. Maybe she attended--or is attending--a party." All he got for an answer was "Sorry, I didn't notice her." "No one walked by here." "You better find her for yourself." Mar was getting annoyed. He was disappointed. Tired, too.

It was getting dark already. While he was wandering off the unfamiliar place, he saw a group of people embraced by bright, yellow lights. He thought he could use some rest there so he went there in the wake. As he was approaching, he was supposed to ask some of them if they've seen the girl that he was looking for, but something uncanny really caught his attention. He have this strong feeling that the picture on the coffin was familiar, he just couldn't place where or how he came across the girl in the picture. His hands were shaking. He felt his face getting drained of blood. He could almost hear the thumping of his heart caused by intense fear. He wanted to abandon all the senses that he have. He refused to see who's beneath the glass but his feet were acting real stubborn. Then, he cried, real hard. He cried for himself being so afraid. He told everybody in the funeral wake what he's afraid to believe in. The girl---his passenger that he's been looking for for several minutes---is inside the coffin. His passenger was dead for two days already.