Mr. Driver's Words of Wisdom

                                          Chapter 3

             Hiraya is staring into space, wondering what just happened.

            Cars are passing with no care to the world, motorcycles and buses honking their horns at angry pedestrians, and walkers seeking attention from male drivers at the side of the road are the usual sights of my daily life. My senses are accustomed to these noises, the sights are typical to me, but now, it irritates me, like I want to punch and kick every person I see, like what MMA fighters do. I don’t have the energy to throw a fit though; I am too exhausted even if I did not get to accomplish anything.

            She is usually energetic, but this time, she felt like she already did a day’s work. This is not her usual self, who is very cheerful.

            “Ma’am, we’re already here,” the taxi cab driver said. “I will now get your taxi cab fare. It is a hundred pesos to your destination. Please hand me the exact amount, I do not have some change.”

            Please, would someone wake me up. This is just a bad dream; the dream that stops whenever your mom hears you crying from the other room, and she comes to the rescue as fast as she could. The dream that will be interrupted when your mom hugs you tight and gives you a warm glass of milk and hums you back to sleep. But in this case, my mom is not here, she is at home; trying to do and improvise some menus that she watched from the internet that most of the time, smell and tastes awfully bad. And, in this environment, childhood hums cannot be heard in this ear-splitting traffic. A warm glass of milk won’t help either; the burning heat of the sun is enough to keep me warm. I might even have a heat stroke at this point. The air-conditioning system of the cab is not enough to keep my cool, but I cannot let it all out; my mom told me to stay calm at all times. There is no one to help me now, but myself.

            She tried to breathe deeply and calmed down, even just a little.

            “Ma’am, I still have other passengers waiting. I will now get your fare.” The driver sounds panicky. “We are now in your desired destination.”

            Am I really that ugly? Does looking at my face can make a person puke?

            “Ma’am, can you hear me?” The driver asked coolly.

            How dare him cheat on me. He is not adorable nor handsome, but I still loved him. I accepted all his imperfections and gave him my all; well, except my virginity. Where did I go wrong? Is it really because of my appearance? He is really an asshole if that is the case.

            The driver shouted louder.

            “Ma’am!” the irritated driver yelled.

            I woke up from my reverie.

            “What’s wrong with you? Why are you shouting at me? How impudent!” I am angrier than him and my tone of voice is higher than his. I don’t want anyone to shout at me. Especially when I know that I am at no fault.

            It is too late to realize that she is the one at fault. She glances outside, and they are already at the front of the company.

              I want to disappear into thin air.

            “Ma’am, we are already here. I called you multiple times but you won’t respond to me. You won’t move from your seat. We are already in your desired destination. Now, please, may I get your taxi cab fare and get the hell out of my cab? I have other people on my passenger waiting list. Waiting outside in this scorching hot weather is agonizing.” the driver explained as he scratched his bald head.

            “Oh, I am sorry, Mr. Driver.” I searched for the exact amount of fare in my bag, and opened the car door. I said my apologies again.

            She walked to the automatic company door, and upon nearing the door, someone shouted.

            “Hey, old lady! You left your files in my taxi cab!” the voice sounds familiar.

            The driver came back and got out of the car, running, carrying my hefty paper files. He now looks really irritated. With his anger, he can swallow a humpback whale.

            “Next time you hire a taxi cab, don’t choose me! You are a total pain in the ass! I am now late for my next customer because of you! I will have to pay the penalty and bad reviews of customers will be sent to me! People of this age are so absent-minded and unfocused. Incredible! That’s what you get when you use your phones and waste your time on social media and games!” this time, he is really scary, with his eyes glaring at me.

             “I am sorry, Mr. Driver. You came back to give me these files. You are so thoughtful. Losing these files means also losing my life. I will get fired if ever I misplace these. Thank you very much,” my speaking tone is pleasant to soothe his temper.

              I opened my bag to get an extra amount of money.

             “Sire, use this to cover for your vehicle fuel. Gasoline is so expensive these days, and going back here for those files is a true act of kindness.” I offered the money for compensation, I can still live without eating lunch.

             The old driver let out a heavy sigh.

            “No, never mind. You are the girl of the bald man in the front waiting line, are you? I think I know you are. I observed you from afar. You turned red when you saw them. I saw it with my own eyes. Now, I know why that man cheated on you. Just use that amount to buy some presence of mind and focus. Between you and me, you are the one who needs the money more. These days, men value faces than character. Always remember that. You look like a dirty old hag and smell like sweat. Do you know some perfume? Get some grooming in a beauty salon too. Do you know what a comb is? You should learn to love and care for yourself if you want to survive this cruel world. Love yourself truly and others will love you in return. Goodbye.” the driver said, with his caring tone of voice.

             He rolled his eyes at me for the final time. It is so amusing, how a considerate, kind man like him do some things like rolling his eyes. Instead of me being offended, I found it amusing. I still feel his concern for me, even if I ruined his schedule.

            “I will have bad reviews for the first time in my life, and I should get ready for these horrible reviews to flood my phone.” the driver whispered under his breath.

             Hiraya watched as the old driver ran to his cab. He’s really pissed.

             She smiled at herself and walked to return to the automatic company entrance door, but saw someone familiar. She hesitated to walk a single step at first, and her knees felt weak, like they are going to give up on her anytime. Her feet felt numb and cold.

             In an instant, Hiraya's mood change again from having a smiling face to having a gloomy one. His boyfriend's lover is her workmate in the company.

            That woman with exquisite figure and attractive face without imperfections.

            That light brown skin.

            Her mind went blank.

            What a day. This is the D-day.

             What a really good day to slap someone. These hands must be put in good use. They say exercise is good for the body.