Saturday, June 16, 2007

Pasensya na

Can i be blamed, really?
If you found a sack on the street with 100,000 pesos in it, would you devote all your time and energy into finding the poor soul who lost it and is probably devastated over his/her loss OR would you just keep it? Finders keepers, right?
Let's be honest... majority of the population would keep it. It's a known fact- money makes the world go round.

Ian "lost" his phone the other day. SOmeone managed to pick it up and, with our luck, decided that out of the goodness of his/her heart, they would return it to us- asking for nothing in return.
A little fishy if you ask me. I've seen enough bullshit and heard enough nightmare stories that i'm somewhat paranoid when it comes to dealing with people i've never met before, not exactly well-off, and insisting we meet at THEIR house, AT NIGHT, in a place nobody knows anything of.

The first time they contacted me was through a phone call. They called me with Ian's number and told me about what had happened. Afterwards, they just kept on texting me, asking when we would pick up the unit. Out of curiosity, and in an effort to keep the bullshit to a minimum, i went straight to the point and asked how much they were asking for in return for the phone. The reply was something i didn't expect:
"Anong akala mo sa amin? Mukang pera? Kung masama and intensyon namin, hnde na namin isosoli itong cp nyo."
Basically, it says that i'm accusing them of being "money hungry" and they're telling me that if they had bad intentions, they wouldn't even try to return the phone at all.

1. People with the worst intentions usually get defensive quick.
2. A guilt trip would force us to feel bad for even thinking that- therefore conceding to their wishes.
3. It just might exactly be what they wanted.
4. Just a theory- they go to the place (that they know nothing of, at night, meeting peple they know nothing about- do the math)... not only do they not get the phone... but they're also robbed of everything they have on them and maybe even beaten to a pulp--- just for fun. Shoot, maybe even by the entire barangay. WHo knows?

I texted back with an apology and tried to make the conversation more pleasant... but they attacked me even more trying to make me feel bad about what i asked. SO i stopped texting. I thought, hey, it's lost. If someone else found it, i wouldn't have to be doing this. I don't have to do this. Either way, it's gone.

Today, they called me again. I picked up because i thought it was really Ian. (all his numbers are under the same name, so if he was calling from the house, it would look exactly the same if it were his cel calling).
This time, they were willing to meet at a place WE suggested and once again assured me that all intentions are good and sincere. They explained to me that they would rather have the rightful owners get their phone back instead of it ending up with some drug addict (who apparently, tried to fight the guy who originally found it, just so he could have it for himself) or the corrupted police (who are supposedly walking around using the unit right now).
They said that because a fight broke out for the phone, the cops came in, stopped the brawl, and confiscated the phone. It's now sitting in the barangay police station at some place in Malabon. Who knows anything about Malabon? What's there?

Anyway... i don't know what's gonna happen yet. Ian doesn't really have time to meet up with anyone, let alone strangers claiming to have his phone, willing to go out of their way, for him, out of the goodness of their hearts.
Could it be true? Modern day good samaritans?

Was i wrong for assuming that they would automatically ask for money?
I don't have a lot of faith in people. NOt anymore. I used to. I still kind of do. But not a lot. I get paranoid a lot now because of things that i have experienced, stories i've heard, and the stuff that i've seen. It really isn't a pretty world. Better safe than sorry. Everybody has put walls up to protect themselves and people are more cautious nowadays- more than ever.
Gone are the days when people used to sleep at night with their front doors left unlocked. People in this country walk with their backpacks strapped to their front. Women clutch onto their bags and are constantly looking over their shoulder.

If this turns out to be a genuine case of the good samaritan... well then, i'll be damned. Shit. Good for you, you know? It's a dying breed. But if it turns out the way we expected... well shit. Why am i not surprised?

We'll see...

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