Allan (not his real name) once lived a normal life, until the incident happened. Stares from every corridor looked at him as if he was a criminal. Every day he faces the burden of being feared as if he was a savage. He lost his parents in a shooting incident and from then on, he lost everything. Yet, what made it worse was people thinking he was next.
“Sometimes it is hard to understand why all of these [things] are happening to me? I mean, just like everyone else, I am still human. I have not done anything wrong.”
Since his parents died, he never had an easy day. Every time he went to school, his classmates gave him empty stares, as if they doubted his intentions to learn. After all, the school seemed like the perfect place to hide from those who wanted to hunt him down. When it came to seats, there was always one vacant on either side away from him. Most of the time, when it came to group work he would be left out as nobody would ever take him in for fear of being associated with him.
He neither had a contagious disease nor was he a bad example. He was a simple kid with a simple life who happened to have lost his family in an incident which was still under investigation.
He lives a life suffering in a void as though a part of his heart was taken out. He was alone.
Allan is a victim of an ongoing problem within the city. Every other day, the street would have a body of another innocent victim of a shooting incident.
For him, the world was no longer safe. Even in school, to which he once felt safety the most, had lost its security. It was not the campus’ security that gave him the eerie feeling. It was the students. The intimidation from his schoolmates felt horrible.
“So, when is the next shootout?” jested one of his classmates.
The incident was not a joke. The horror of seeing loved ones in a coffin was never an easy ordeal but they seemed heartless. Yet, the classmate could have meant something else. He was always confused with whatever people said for he had not slept well for the few days since the incident passed.
Every day, the struggle got heavier for Allan. Yet for him, having a few friends stand by him in his dark moments is more than enough to keep him going.
“As of now, one of the few things that hold[s] my sanity together are my friends and what little family I have left.”
People like Allan need understanding; a lot of times they are troubled. They need a hand in situations where in it is hard to find trust. They live a life that may never find itself whole again. These souls are seeking for justice on the incidents that have plagued their hometown. Until that time comes, we should be there to give them a helping hand.~
By: John Rey L. Villareal
Column name: Amidst the Rey
