Andong couldn’t recall the last time he had cut his finger nails.
“They were…filled to the grim!” He always loved this original expression of his and let out a hearty chuckle. “The dirtier, the BETTER!” He added laughing even more.
He felt the sun’s searing heat beat upon his neck and back. But years on the road made him impervious to nature’s cruelty whether under sun or rain. They were, as he liked to remind himself, additional perks to his trade.
“I was born in the streets! Here I am king…,” Andong proudly surveyed his concrete domain.
He knew not his father, his mother…nor siblings. What did that matter. He was alive!
Andong steadied himself like an actor preparing to steal a scene on the stage. He slouched his shoulders slightly, bent his knees, practiced a staggering limp, and added a tilt to his head that made him look like someone who had suffered a mild paralyzing stroke.
Enter the beggar!
The day’s traffic had just began to build up. The drivers were not yet impatient as those he would encounter during noontime. This was the best moment to beg for alms….
[HOONK…HOOONK…] [SCREEECH!] [CRAAASH!]
“You idiot!” Andong screamed his head out. “Look where you drive! Serves you right for not following rules.”
He runs to the scene of the accident. Fortunately, no one is hurt. The traffic enforcer slowly comes into the scene.
Andong skillfully slithers away. “All in good time, a good day for a jam! My pocket with coins I shall cram!”
This was an unexpected bonus for him. Traffic would probably be stalled for hours! And that meant begging through an eternal lane of trap cars. This was his show, the stage was set, the spotlight was focused on him and he was in total control.
“Alms! Alms! Alms! For a poor beggar and his family?”
He tapped the window of the first car along his way. He waited…
The window didn’t react, or at least the lady inside.
She was evidently taking her time putting on makeup.
“Just my luck,” Andong lamented. “She’s also taking advantage of the jam.”
Undeterred, he moves on and puts on a sadder expression on his face. Yes, the hungry look was sure to move even the air-con cooled hearts in this now hot hissing concrete desert.
[TAP TAP TAP]
To his delight the window slowly lowered. Clearly this car didn’t have automatic windows. A waft of cold air embraced Andong’s face. “Ahh, how refreshing!”
“Here…old man!” A few coins jingled on his palm.
“Thank you, madam, thank you and may God bless your kind heart.”
“Not bad for my first catch, twenty pesos.” He quickly pocketed the coins. An empty palm was sure to attract more generous hearts.
[TAP TAP TAP]
He waited. There was no rush. He sneered at the traffic lights that changed chronologically but without any command over the cars. Horns were blaring and beeping. Some passengers began to alight from some public vehicles. This was going to be a long jam.
The window did not budge. Andong was about to move on but his eyes suddenly caught sight of a shiny ten peso coin behind the lightly tinted glass.
The man inside seemed to be offering it to him, but did not seem to make any move to lower the window. Andong was hesitant to tap the glass again less he irritate the driver and lose the coin. He just had to wait, to be patient, and sooner or later that coin would be his!
The driver, however, began playing with the coin between his thumb and index finger. He flicked it again and again. The gesture became quite hypnotic for Andong. If it weren’t his growling stomach, he would have remained there captivated by a coin that seemed to twist and turn in the air by itself.
Suddenly, the man flipped the coin. It landed on his palm. He then covered it with his hand and the coin disappeared from Andong’s sight.
“Are you taunting me?” He thought impatiently to himself.
But he was surprised to see the man open his hand, and instead of a coin he saw a 100-peso bill.
“Magic?”
Then the man began sliding the bill between his fingers, and it slithered like a snake through his fingers.
Andong could not help but be amazed at this unexpected performance. He had never seen any like it, nor had anyone ever caught his attention on the road.
Again the man folded the bill and clasped it with his hand. The bill disappeared. Slowly, he opened it again and a glistening brand-new 1000-peso bill appeared.
Andong almost clapped his hand in amazement! But he held himself in check! He could not allow anyone to know his true self. Instead, he smiled at the man as if to say, “What a great trick! Do that again, please!”
Suddenly, the window lowered. They were automatic. The driver was still playing with the 1000-peso bill with his fingers. He stopped and folded the bill into two and gestured to give it to Andong.
“I have never received such an amount!” Andong’s lips trembled with excitement. He extended his hand. He rectified, the cleaner one. He held out his eager hand closer to the bill the other man was holding.
He imagined the crisp texture of a brand-new bill would feel, the scent of its paper and above all its amount.
The man let go of the bill. As the bill dropped, it mysteriously turned into the ten-peso coin that the man first held.
“Old man,” the driver smiled. “Learn that and you will perhaps not be begging but driving a better car than mine.”
* * *
[BEEEP! HONK!]The road once again came to life as the accident was cleared.
A car stopped for the red light. A boy lowered the window and stuck his head out. “Old man, here’s a coin for you!”
But the beggar sitting on the gutter’s edge did not seem to hear the boy.
“Mommy, why doesn’t he want my coin?”
“I don’t know, dear. Just keep it for another person.”
“What’s he doing mommy?”
“I don’t know, dear. He seems to be obsessed with his coin.”
The traffic light turns green. Cars speed on, and on and on….
An old man is left alone, endlessly flipping a coin.