Sunday, November 13, 2011

Under His Thumbnail


It was dead, of that I was certain.

I saw how it was butchered. I cringed as it wailed in pain. And even more at the gurgling sound it made, as it drowned in its own blood. Life spilled and seeped into the earth, and it gradually faded. Then it just lay there, unmoving.

For good measure, the man with the bloodied hands came back with a hammer and hit it on its head. Neither one flinched. Then the hammer came down a second time. I inched closer after the man left and nudged it lightly with my foot. Not a twitch.

I knelt beside it and stared at its young and beautiful face. What a waste, I thought to myself. Only the shock of what I witnessed kept me from breaking down. A makeshift grave, a quick burial, I patted down even the memory of it beneath the fresh earth.

"Are you sure it's dead?" the man asked again, bringing me back to the present. Behind him, I thought I saw the ground shift. Something stirred, though imperceptibly, underneath. He reached out to touch my face, and I trembled at the sight of caked rust under his fingernails.

I shoved the man aside and threw myself on the ground. I plowed through the dirt with my bare hands until i found what I buried over a decade ago. I grabbed the closest piece of rock that i could find and started pounding. When I finally stopped, I couldn't see with all the dust I stirred up.

I stood up, dusted myself, and went back to the man who was still there, waiting for my response.

"Yes. It is dead."

photo from here

12 comments:

Spiral Prince said...

Is this a metaphor for a feeling, or a sentiment, kuya sean? A life? A dream? The past? Grabe. Napaisip talaga ako! :)

Mac Callister said...

a metaphor indeed...whats goin on sean?

Anonymous said...

you're carrying a burden right now,

and your angry about someone, right?

JJ Roa Rodriguez said...

You made me think sean! Hope you feel better now... Hope that man who is waiting for your answer is there to care for you...

Take care!

JJRod'z

Unknown said...

Whoa, been a while since I visited your blog. What's going on man?

Mamon said...

Someone from the past?

Well, whatever that is, be strong. TC.

By the way, I love your writing style.

citybuoy said...

Wow, I didn't think the ex incident would conjure such strong emotions.

We must deal with out ghosts one by one. Mahirap i-peg si Emily Rose!

ZaiZai said...

you should write a novel sean! galing galing. though I can't imagine what it was that you were trying to bury, I imagined a bird for some reason.

Anonymous said...

patay na kung patay... nakamove on ka naman di ba... walang urungan na...

Sean said...

@spiral prince, @mac callister, @t.r. aurelius, @jj roa rodriguez, @tim, @justin c:

the ex-called again.
ex: do you still have any feelings for me? (in a playful manner)
me: no. (but then it got me thinking...)
i remembered what happened in the past and had to make sure i quelled any semblance of feelings
me: no! (with more conviction)

@citybuoy: yeah, i thought so too until he called again and asked that question ^. you know what? i never saw that movie - i get easily scared with similarly themed films. maybe i should and find out how i can exorcise my own demons haha.

@zaizai: aw, thanks zai :) i gave some background ^

@kikomaxxx: tama! thanks batman.

Blakrabit said...

That Ex of yours is making quite a stir.. not good, IMHO

Sean said...

@blakrabit: thanks blak. will be careful...

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