A Rainy Summer Night in Cubao

The day began like a usual summer's day: hot and humid, with a bright sun on the sky. In late afternoon, however, the clouds began to gather until it became very dark. The sun hid it's brightness behind the thick clouds. The sky threathened to rain any minute.

I was walking along Aurora Boulevard towards Farmer's Plaza when the rain started to pour. It was a heavy downpour. Men and women in the streets began running to take shelter in the bangketas, flattening themselves into the walls, their shoulders touching one another. I ran to a shelter to keep my camera from getting soaked. But it seemed that the rain would not stop anytime soon, and I was already getting hungry.

A kindly lady offered me her umbrella, and I thought that she was very kind. Until she told me that her umbrella was for rent. For 5 pesos, she will let me cross the street towards Farmer's, and she will accompany me to make sure I don't ran away with her umbrella. I was amused how some circumstances can produce some very enterprising people. I agreed, and we walked side by side towards Farmer's, trying to make the umbrella fit for the two of us. My shoes and socks were soaked, but it did not matter as what I was trying to protect was my camera inside my sling bag.

Ater a few moments, we arrived in Farmer's and I paid the lady and thanked her for her help. Meantime, she began to seek new recruits, shouting "Payong!, Payong! Limang Piso lang pagtawid o" (Umbrella!, Umbrella, 5 pesos for crossing the street!). The trapped pedestrians were startled, surprised with this new kind of business. Yet the lady managed to get a new customer, a tall old man, and they began to cross towards the other side, their bodies touching, like old sweethearts caught in a mighty tailwind of a romantic storm.