1.3 Reds and Yellows

January 11, 2012

Motorcycles passing

Children shouting cuss words
Fingers typing on the keyboard
People speaking in Ilocano
Laughter
Sweat
Cigarette smoke 

I urged him to take me around the town on his motorcycle. He reluctantly agreed to my request, like I knew he would. He would never say no to me. I had perfectly established that in the past three years. He started the engine, I got on the back of his motorcycle, and we took off. The wind blew against my face and I could feel strands of my hair fluttering in the wind. We were close to a turn and I closed my eyes momentarily. When I opened my eyes, a beautiful mix of reds and yellows filled the sky. Despite the cold air, the colors that played in the sky made my body feel warm all over. After the sun had completely set, he brought me home without saying a word. My mother, my aunt, and my grandmother were extremely furious when they found out I rode on a motorcycle. Hysteria turned to anger, but I didn’t let it get to me because after all, it was all worth it. The sunset I witnessed still remains to be the most beautiful sunset I’ve seen in my life.

An attempt to capture that same sunset from December 2011.