"Carrot Boy"
As the young man opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.
The area was surrounded by countless flowers and verdant plains. It was a tranquil and peaceful setting, enjoyed by small animals that played joyously across the landscape.
From where he stood, he could see lush trees heavy with ripe fruits. Looking up, he gazed at the clear blue sky and the pure white clouds that partially shielded the sun.
He heard the chirping of birds and the sound of clean water flowing in the river, and along with his admiration for the view, a strong breeze swept over him.
He felt the touch of the cool, fresh air on his skin as it blew around him, a truly pleasant sensation.
In that moment, the young man wondered if what was happening to him was merely a dream or a type of illusion. He asked himself how he had arrived at this place without realizing it.
While observing his hands and savoring the refreshing breeze, a woman's voice suddenly spoke to him.
A mysterious woman with long black hair, wearing a simple white dress, abruptly appeared behind him.
As he turned, a light shone into his eyes, causing him to instinctively cover them with his right arm.
The young man couldn't make out the woman's full face, perhaps due to the sun's glare or the light emanating from the mysterious woman herself, but all he knew was that she was asking him a question with a smile.
"What do you think of my home?" she asked the young man.
The young man was puzzled by the sudden question and was unable to answer, captivated by the woman and startled by her sudden appearance. The young man desired nothing more than to see her entire face and know who she was, but he was not given the chance.
Just then, a strong gust of wind swept through the surroundings, carrying the petals of the flowers and seeming to encircle the mysterious woman.
Her vibrant hair was caught by the wind, dancing as the white petals fluttered around her.
The woman continued to move her mouth, appearing to speak, but the young man couldn't hear her.
All he could hear was the echo of the wind and the chirping of the birds. He couldn't tell if the sounds of nature were simply too loud or if the mysterious woman's utterances truly had no voice.
"What's happening? I can't hear her. What is she saying?" he whispered to himself.
The woman spun around, seemingly narrating things with delight, pointing to the mountains, the river, the sky, and the animals around them. Yet, the young man could do nothing but watch and observe her actions.
As the mysterious woman continued to move her mouth as if speaking to him, she briefly bent her head and held her chest.
A look of concern crossed her face; her smiles were replaced by a sad expression, as if contemplating a problem. In that instant, she suddenly fell silent, and silence enveloped the place.
The young man sensed that the mysterious woman was troubled and he wanted to know why, so he could help. But as he tried to step closer, she suddenly lifted her head and looked at him.
He stopped his attempt to move from his spot when he saw the mysterious woman smiling at him again while reaching out her hand.
A raised hand that seemed to be offering him an invitation to come with her.
Was she giving him something, or did she want him to accompany her? The young man had no idea, because no matter how hard he tried to understand the movement of her lips, he couldn't grasp what she was trying to convey. He only knew that she wanted to communicate something to him beyond words.
It was a moment that greatly surprised and perplexed the young man, but even though he couldn't hear any question or request from her, he wanted to respond. However, even his own voice wouldn't reach the woman before him. He couldn't tell if any sound was leaving his mouth when he spoke, or if he was merely whispering the words in his mind.
He didn't know what he could do to hear her voice. He wanted to know everything and hear her again, even for a single moment.
Even without an idea of what the mysterious woman was truly saying in front of him, he slowly raised his right arm, wanting to reach out to her hand and hoping to find all the answers to his questions.
As his feet took a step towards the mysterious woman, she spoke again.
"The Motherland calls you and requires your help. Will you answer it?" This utterance from the mysterious woman halted his step toward her.
"Answer it?" he whispered to himself, questioning, while observing the mysterious woman's smile.
"What do you mean?"
As the mysterious maiden opened her mouth again, a strong wind blew, causing the young man to shut his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was facing a roof without a ceiling. In that moment, he reached out his hand and slowly realized that he had woken up from his sleep.
He just lay there staring, his undershirt soaked in sweat due to the heat inside the house he lived in.
He sat up from his sleeping mat on the floor and rubbed his eyes to fully wake up. He looked around his home, and, as usual, he was alone.
It was a small house made of patchwork wood and bamboo, a common type of dwelling in their provincial village.
At that moment, he held his head, thinking about the weird dream. He clearly remembered the scenes in his dream but not the face of the mysterious woman.
"My dream was so weird," he muttered to himself.
A moment later, he got up from his seat and folded his bedding. He hurried to the kitchen to wash his face and prepare to leave.
This young man was Erik Lumagbas, fourteen years old, a normal boy with a small build and vibrant black hair. He lived with his family in a small settlement in the province of Ifugao.
The villages in the province were few because much of Ifugao was mountainous and forested, so many of the inhabitants made their living by growing vegetables.
Their small area was just one of the farmlands in the town of Lingawin, from which they supplied neighboring towns.
Since his mother and father went to work early at the vegetable farm, he was always the one left at home and was accustomed to looking after himself.
His haste and preparation to leave were not for school, like a normal teenager, but for work and earning a living.
Wearing an orange hoodie and pants, he was ready to head to his destination and do his routine work as a vegetable vendor.
At a young age, Erik had already started working hard, helping his family meet their daily expenses.
He quickly locked the door and ran out of the house. From there, he went to a warehouse full of vegetable workers busy loading sacks of vegetables onto a truck.
"You're late, Carrot Boy! Hurry up and load the vegetables, or we'll leave you behind," shouted a muscular man in the driver's seat.
They were not the main group supplying vegetables to the towns, so they didn't have a permanent buyer or outlet. Their group simply gambled on selling all their produce during each delivery run.
Their trips usually lasted four to six days until they sold all the produce grown by their families.
He wasted no time and immediately grabbed the vegetables piled up in a basket and loaded them onto the truck. These baskets contained the carrots grown by his family, which his father had harvested.
~
After a few minutes of loading the vegetables, the truck started up and left the area to head to the large markets.
While sitting on the sacks of vegetables, the young man ate boiled carrots he had brought as breakfast. In that moment, he had nothing else to do inside the moving truck but look outside and watch the roads until they reached their destination.
~ Erik's Point of View ~
If you sow, you will reap. Those are the first words you learn and live by if you come from a family of vegetable growers.
Every piece of these vegetables was planted with the sweat and toil of our companions and families. They are guarded and cared for until they can be harvested to be sold at the markets in the city.
My family rents a plot of land to plant carrots, and after a month, my father harvests them. At that time, I join the other growers to sell them in markets in various places.
It's a bit complicated because at first, our leader didn't want me to join because he thought I was too young to sell in the city. I don't know what his problem is with my age, but this has been my job for a long time, so I'm used to dealing with people and avoiding being cheated.
I'm away from home for several days, and honestly, it's hard being far from my family, aside from the loneliness. But somehow, this job is also fun because I get to go to different places and cities.
I admit that it's a bit difficult for my small body to carry big baskets and hawk them, but I have to do it to earn money for next month's expenses.
I can't go home without selling all of our carrots. My mother borrowed money for the seedlings and the land plot to plant them.
Truth be told, only a small amount of money is left for us from this job, but we have to do it and continue because it's the only way we know how to survive.
Hard, tiring, and no guaranteed income.
Repetitive things and problems we face every day.
We have no idea how long we'll have to keep doing this.
How long will we live in this hand-to-mouth existence?
It's sickening.
Truly sickening...
To live as a poor person in a poor community is a punishment and not a good thing.
Perhaps I'm happy and grateful to be the son of my mother and father because, even though we are poor, we live happily together. But that's not enough to say I'm lucky in life
End of part 1.
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