counting bombs

'twas the afternoon of my december birthday when i received word from my youngest sis about the explosions in unicity and jerry's, two shopping centers in iligan. i asked if the explosions were indeed due to bombs as she'd initially relayed or due to firecrackers exploding in unified booms. the answer was definite: bombs.

the bombs that blew off were deposited at the baggage counters by the perpetrators. they left a number wounded and immediately claimed the lives of two people -- baggage boys, individuals who earn honest living. this happened on december 18.

on december 19, another bomb was left behind in a bakeshop just across where the two shopping centers are. the improvised explosive device (IED) -- the politically correct term -- was placed inside a hollowed papaya fruit and was left behind by someone who ordered something from the bakeshop. due to heightened alert and all that, this was dealt with accordingly and the IED was detonated safely -- save for the fear it sowed from people around, no one was hurt.

when i got home to iligan from batangas last december 20, i felt the difference in the christmas air -- iligan is lacking of that this year. i expected to be welcomed by festive lights and feel more christmas spirit but... upon entering iligan, i had to strain my eyes to look for the lights. iligan was noticeably more quiet, more devoid of people than the last time i'd been around. i relayed this to my friends and one of them declared: "your birthday was literally a blast." i understood the context -- we're talking of IEDs in decembertime.

people are counting the days, the hours, the minutes to christmas day and the rest of the holidays and the good things that these days hold -- i can feel there's still excitement -- but, at the same time, we're also counting bombs here.

last sunday, december 21, another IED was left behind near maria cristina hotel. a group of scavengers discovered it on the vacant lot and the authorities who were alerted dealt with it accordingly. yesterday, two other IEDs were discovered -- the first of the two was left in trendline, another shopping center and the second was left near standard blue, a block away from the cathedral. these didn't have their chance to harm because they got discovered, too.

from the grapevine, they're talking about 100 IEDs to expect. the first number i heard was 15. 15 or 100, that's too many.

when the explosions last thursday made it to the national news, my workmates and even my bosses dissuaded me from coming home. they said i should just stay in luzon. however, my plans were fixed: i'm going home and i'll remain safe with my family and hometown friends. bombs or no bombs.