Pandora the Explorer

Pandora The Explorer

It was the end of March and I decided to walk at the dark sides of a busy city and some strange thing happened to me. Let me tell you the experiences I had while having a walk at a memorable place of the city.

Walking alone at a place where a familiar man is standing, I was disturbed by the noise of the people who were very busy in organizing some concerts. I just wanted to talk to that person standing in front of the park but then his two bodyguards stopped me. I am not allowed to move closer to his place, and I guess that’s the reason that no one is interested to come near him at some point.

I was surprised when he moved down to my place carrying a book and a torch. He handed me a blazing torch full of anger and sorrow, and he said that this will be the light that would guide us in walking at the darker side of the city.

After a couple of minutes, we entered a street named Tragedies. It was a painful experience to see and watch the dramas happening there. I saw a woman, hanged on a wall labelled “Lawlessness”, and beside her was a child named Ignorance, sucking the grimmer aspects of delinquency. I moved closer to the darkest part where an educated man was chained to the twin iron balls of “Graft” and “Corruption.”

Two slaves named Injustice and Inequality pulled me away and drove me out of the street. They took me to a palace named Democracy. I got a chance to see the cigar-smoking rock star comfortably sitting at the throne of the oligarchs. He has a genuine figure but has a tragic dignity.

I had a privilege to see the activities happening inside the palace and I have seen that rock star’s friends were enjoying their stay. They had pork barrel for dinner and violence for dessert; finally they rested their backs on the couch of gambling. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to sleep in the rooms of Royalties.

I was awakened by the noise, and I finally realized that everything was just a dream. Am I really dreaming?

Waking up in a different situation is a strange feeling, still confused about the truth. I went back to the places where I have been in my dream. I walked along the park where a familiar man is standing. As far as I can remember, he was the national hero of the country.

Jose Rizal once said, “The youth is the hope of the motherland.”

This is the place that allows me to be free. I can hear him saying: “Young lady, you are the hope of the country.”

What is hope if you I am restricting myself to be free? How can I say that I am free if there will be no hope for the betterment of the community?

This is the place where I am free. Liberal ideas are coming out as I am continuously walking along the bay and great walls of Intramuros. I am free in such a way that as a teenager, I am free to change the life I am living through for the better generation.

Manila.

About the Author: She is a Literary Editor at Jose Rizal University’s official publication. She is a scholar in her university taking Liberal Arts.

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