duskwatcher

By the time my rounds bring me to the storage room, it was already waiting inside.

I stand by the doorway to regard the ugly representative of the lifeform that has brought so much fear, misery and death to mankind. From where it's casually perched, it seems to watch me. Calculating if I'd be able to use the metal cylinder in my hand before it makes it's move.

It had been a long war.

There are days when I'd wonder if humans would ever win.

And there are nights when I'd almost know we've lost long ago.

If the other humans have had similar thoughts, no one has spoken it out loud. Chalk it up to the resillience of the human spirit and all that.

The war goes on. Its scale global. Winner gets the fucking planet. Or gets it back. It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose.

A heartbeat lasts for an eon.

Then, the creature makes it's move. It lanches from its perch and, in pure malice, flies straight towards me. On behalf of humanity, I stand my ground.

Tonight, one of us will die. And, fuck, it wasn't going to be me.

Millions of years worth of evolution had given it wings. Well, evolution had given my kind fingers.

I take aim. And squeeze the trigger.

* * *

There aren't enough beer-drinking sessions these days (or, rather, nights).

Either everyone's drinking less or I'm...

...

Awwww fuck.

I have a decent number of his books on my shelves. Though I don't have them, I had borrowed his graphic novels from friends. I follow his online journal. I've had an idea he'd be dropping by Manila since April.

But somehow, to the absolute horror of folks who know me (particularly those I've actually turned on to reading him) I didn't feel like I really had to see the great Neil Gaiman in the flesh.

At least, not as a sweaty fanboy.

For me, I guess it's simply a matter of faith.

Now.

I'm off to run with the wolves.

A Saturday night spent wandering around Glorietta and Greenbelt soon left me thirsting for beer.

There had been changes in my plans for dinner and maybe drinks afterwards for that evening (translation: it didn’t push through). The other folks I would have liked to hang out with were with their respective boyfriends/girlfriends, or were busy with work, or, were, as in Is It Safe’s case, somewhere in China. And as I mentioned, the people who invited me to join them elsewhere somehow weren’t on the list of those I would have wanted to see for that night.

So I ended up having beer by myself in one of my old haunts along Pasay Road.

Having a drink by one’s self can be a very intense experience.

That night, the moment was all mine. My thoughts were all mine. The beef tapa I ordered for bar chow was all mine.

I’ve done it before.

And it’s very likely that I’ll do it again.

I just hope I don’t get too used to it.