Feb 17, 2003

TONIO AND THE BLUE LIGHT

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The young Tonio was dressing up for work when he arrived. He explained that he has no more home to go to and asked if he would take him. His past-self agreed. And so it was settled. He was to live there for the rest of his remaining life.

The young Tonio later quit his job and had his own home built. After a year, he got married, settled down, and introduced the future Tonio as a long lost uncle.

The first year was a bliss. However after a few short years later, he found out that the girl he longed to marry before was not the angel she seemed. Often, he would see his past-self and Sonia arguing about money. The young Tonio, having had no education, could not find a job to maintain their status. They were losing more money than they were earning. He decided it was time to open the second envelope.

One morning, after a heated argument between the couple, he called young Tonio and encouraged him to buy lottery tickets. He said he was sure to win. Inside the envelope were three consecutive winning numbers that he copied from the library from the future. His young-self obliged. True to his words, they won. Now, they were richer than ever. But just like anyone who couldn't understand their own human nature, he did not expect the turn of events that he would forever curse.

The young Tonio first entertained the idea of putting him on a home for the aged as suggested by his wife. He had to admit that he was getting weaker all the time and had needed much more attention than before. They also left him with just a nurse when the family decided to go on a vacation abroad.

Tonio did not anticipate the deep hatred he had for his relatives. When he was a child, he blamed everyone for the death of his parents. He had to swallow that bitter pill called reality on an everyday basis. He could no longer enjoy the money they have since he was bitter; things are't just worth the way he wanted to.

He felt the treatment given to him was unfair. After all, he was the one responsible for the family's wealth. When the young Tonio came back, he decided to tell his past-self the truth.

The young Tonio, probably blinded by wealth or was it the innate greediness in him that he himself did not know, thought of his future-self as crazy, completely nuts.They simply wouldn't believe his story. He reasoned the lottery tickets as proof, young Tonio said it was just luck, a form of repayment for the harm done to his parents. Trying to convince his past-self over and over again, young Tonio got fed up.

Sonia and young Tonio decided to send him to a mental institution.

It was on a cold December morning when it was finalized. Tonio is no longer fit to stay at their home.

And what is the future Tonio to do? No one would believe his story and no one knows the truth. For them, there was no such thing such as a time machine. He was locked in a mental hospital. He himself even started believing that he was crazy. He never expected any of this to happen but it did. He could only explain that fate had played dirty tricks on him.

One night, in his cell, he shouted, "The tragedy of my life is nothing more than just a malicious joke from someone who created my existence."

He cried all night. In order to pacify him, he was permitted to roam the corridors. The next day, he was found dead, electrocuted while touching the bulb of a blue Christmas light.

Simbang Gabi as a tradition