The Graveyard Shift

PREFACE Last night, I wrote my memories in my head as a better understanding of what this is really about - LIFE IS DEATH, DEATH IS LIFE. Whereas - Living is dying, Dying is Living. I have nothing else against that, as I have written another whole story, namely having the similar title to what I'm writing now. The old stories I own are now stored in a corrupted external drive right beside me. I'm planning to get it fixed sometime. I just don't know when. Christmas is coming, and there are times when I wander up in the sky, in my bedroom, wondering what I am going to do everyday. Come to think of it, everybody wants something in life; there are certain values that we tend to store in our ethical wisdom. I like to live to what life's expectations is all about and I do that by making up for the best actions to occur in the best of life. I try to balance all, starting from my chores ending with my hobbies and desires in life. I look up to many authors: Haruki Murakami, Paulo Coelho, John Steinbeck, and other famous writers. I'm writing this right now to let you know what I'm thinking while you are reading my story in which is followed up. A lot of things have happened since the earth began and everybody wants to have a pleasurable death, I know that - even I want the same. To live is to die, and to die is to live. LIFE. I entered the room. Seemingly, everything felt quite strange as I smelt the thick air that surrounded the hangar like facility, an office which consisted of 200 square meters of land filling space. Where in, I thought that someone else was here - I only sought because of the strange shivers. This place was bigger than I thought. I had a glimpse of nausea ever since I stepped inside. I took a turn and closed the big carcass. The door gave a hard knock sound with metal clasps as the knob closed it shut. By now, I only momentarily wanted to get the files out of the cabinet drawer fast. Grant was a tall-guy, fair-skinned with brown hair. Imagine Tom Cruise, but with a shorter nose, black as in color, Hispanic, and a slender body. He worked for the Immigration as an undercover agent. By that means, he was supposed to handle all interrelation affairs with tasks involved in missions which was related to recovering items and or anything that had to do with getting things done. That means he can be tasked and assigned to eliminate someone, without being seen. You can consider that he was slick as a sleeve. He always wandered in shoes in formal style, because he preferred this rather than wearing tennis shoes on his day offs. His number 3-lengthy hairdo, in which he always had cut showed no signs of fear. Every time you spoke to him you would think that he was no foreigner, because he carried many languages alongside with him. Grant was born in Italy. Although, he was multi-nationaled, he was half British, his mom, and half German, his dad. Stating 6'3 he was kind of slender, in which made him athletic, to be successful with actions he wanted to fulfill. To know more about him, you needed to overlook the shape of his features. The secretary's room was near the entrance where it was sealed by a 4-sided glass wall with a similar entry way. I was inside. The single privacy was alright but nobody was there, so I tried to get the files as fast as I can. I scanned the entire whereabouts and scouted the area entity. "The coast is clear." I opened the drawer. "Jackpot." The files were arranged from A to Z. The inside of the filing cabinet of what looked like 3 feet of it was dusty and in this case shroudy. I looked for the file name Gary. I was told to get this file because nobody could access it when it was light, it was highly prohibited to touch this book case: it is complicated. Sneaking in was the only way nobody can notice the removal of it. Most importantly, I was ordered not to let anyone know this file was going to be taken. This file was top access to retired highly ranked navy seals operatives whom are within the CIA's reach. I don't know why it was hidden in the Bin agency's establishment. I was one of those immigration officers, who is a semi-retired navy seal, and also one that works for the air force and other operatives. Grant almost went tiresome thinking what to do next, but the pressure never revealed or distinguished his features. This is why authorities from the immigration in the United States pointed him out as their top assets. Bin's agency was a multipurpose head agency which held documents of all sorts of departments from the United States government to the White House. It also had responsibility for files from top secret or high level authorities like the CIA and FBI. Because of that, one can say that this establishment worked for storage of secured treasures, such as information about anything or anyhow. Bin also functioned as an agency to import and employ personnel for each department, like the president's bodyguards. Of course, there are many people who would've done that, but in this manner, Bin's agency importantly gave a better understanding of their employees' abilities as a workforce. Other than that, this agency had pilots or air force personnel which especially went under their bosses' command: The Bin. This was a well-known establishment around Alabama that nobody could mess with. They are known to give the city and a bigger picture an employment for the private sector, also considering the public sector. It was, in fact, compared to a militia, but a licensed and legal one. Rumor has it, that it had a weapons armory somewhere inside the building. This establishment was also an agency to employ mechanics for the air cockpit or port for navy seals in Birmingham, Alabama. I heard that it even covered the whole United States and outside its city limits, if you would've known. It is worldwide. I was told that the documents I was going to retain for the president's use were going to be burnt at stake since the personality in the papers, named Gary, was a traitor. I don't know what happened to him. I scrimmaged the whole area, thinking about what else could be here besides the flat surface. After taking the files, I left the area. As I stepped out of the building, I noticed a shadow walking by the window, the shirt said "Top Secret". I had a feeling the vacation here in Manila would be good. Before anything else, I quickly held my itinerary which was on paper in hand and looked at the things I had in mind beforehand. The sun outside looked like a speckle of providence for those kings who made a grand entrance, but on the other hand, it looked like it was about to rain hard. This was what I liked about Southeast Asia: it had a tropical climate. Also, it wasn't that cold compared to the weather they had back in North America. I checked into the Heritage hotel when I arrived with the documents. The signs of not-so-overwhelming expectations came from all sides of the earth, as I controlled my emotions inside the lobby hall. The chandelier up above the cold air, enabled me to take a glimpse of all the people that were present in the vicinity. I had the strange case of thinking that the chairman of the board of the concerned recipient was somewhere expecting me. "Hey there." he said. The chairman waved at me to take a seat near the restaurant. When I came close to him, I responded, "Good afternoon Mr. Green." I had arrived late, maybe 30 minutes or so, carefully preparing my documents and everything I necessarily needed when I was going out of the hotel room. I glanced down at my shoes, seeing that they were wet from the puddle of water I had in contact with in the hotel arch before entering the cab. Calming myself down, my body felt good for a moment. I peeked at the sky on my right, the parking lot was filled with cars, most dashed with muddy spectacles. A dot on the car went gleaming into my eyes. It seemed that the rain had stopped pouring. I walked north towards the opening between the railings that surrounded the restaurant, where in there were flowers arranged on both sides, the left and the right. The restaurant, "Gerry's Grill", looked as promising as it could get as I took a smoldering sniff of pork knuckles in the air. It was located inside an establishment, you can consider a mall. You had to go left after entering a door which had another entrance/exit that you exited. Outside, the restaurant was there. It was still connected to the building because of the roofing. It stood alongside the rows of food chains. The restaurant was beside the bay. "How are you today sir?", I asked him in sincere attention. Standing in front of him, my eyes quickly captured and grabbed the presence of his brown Bali shoes which were also soaked in water. He couldn't hide the fact that he had also undergone some trouble traveling in the rain. I guessed that he could've walked or also took a cab to get here, depending on the situation. Although I thought, for an instance, this just wasn't my business. "I'm fine Grant, gotta love the weather here in the Philippines." Now, I know. "I'm okay. The weather is okay, it's just the rain. I don't think most foreigners would like that, because they want to go out and see places. It's a white guy thing.", he granted. "Your right. I almost hit a wall just thinking about the rain. I can't do anything about it. It is what it is." I laughed at his appearance, while talking to him. He didn't look funny at all. I just felt like laughing. A sign or expression. What you want to say about it. "I apologize for making you wait." "It's okay." "How long have you been sitting here waiting for me since it has stopped raining?" I asked. "About less than an hour. It's not much. Well... let's get down to business." he muttered while staggering steadily to move his blonde hair using his right hand. Who was Mr. Felix Green to me? He was a man from Manila. For all I know, he had a house in the Philippines. There's been a few years that he's been living in Manila. However, he has been traveling everywhere because of business and work purposes. Those years that he lived here, he spent the time knowing what there was in the country; touring, eating, studying, working, and others. Now, his home base is in Israel, where his wife is usually staying. I have a feeling that she is living there right now. Felix is here because of vacation leave and work. With 3 kids, he is still working with the same company as I am. Felix Green was German. He is 5'9, and had a little bit more weight than me. For me, Green is my accomplice, and much more than that. "Take a seat my friend." "Thank you.", I acknowledged. I took a seat. I chose the chair opposite of him facing the waters. We had our turns saying our greetings and turn arounds. He asked me how I was doing. I had to know how his family was doing. Other things that we had in mind were shared together. I went for the glass of water that was already there since I saw him, and took a sip. "Do you have the documents?" he asked. "Yes." Answering him, I quickly unfolded the brown envelope I had and emptied the only item I had inside, another brown envelope, which read "Gary". I then handed him the concealment. "That must be really important." I pleaded in advance. "Yes. For your info, I had to leave behind other leisure and wait for you to get here. So that I can get a hold of this piece of document. Even - I don't know what is inside. Only, I can presume - for what I have learned since I worked in our company." "I never looked at it just to be honest." "I can only see what it says in the middle of the envelope, Gary." "That place gave me the creeps. gosh.... I wonder what else you can find out and discover that is hidden there." "Anyways, I followed every order that was given to me by the commission, and did all directions that was sent to me." There was a sudden pause between our conversation, it was an observation of silence. "And?" "And what?" I asked. "And did anyone see you when you took it out? "No. Nada." I complimented. "That is all I wanted to hear." We ordered our food. He had noodles, and I asked for spring rolls with rice. It was just a casual meet, where I'm supposed to hand him the object of particular. I clinked his glass to propose a toast, as we drank and submerged the water in our stomachs. The air was a bit humid compared to other countries in Asia, but the Philippines was more like Hawaii. That was my opinion. We enjoyed our food, and even had dessert. I didn't know the Philippines had mango with sticky rice, and that is what is exactly what we ordered. It took us a while to have our meal. After which, we finished everything, I paid the bill. He rumored me not to take the pay, but I mentioned to him that I was happy with the servings, and so I did. "Had a good eat?" he asked. "Yes. The food was great. Always liked Asian food. Moreover, I always eat rice when I'm in the area. I mean when I'm in Asia or somewhere similar." I commented. I wiped my mouth with tissue paper. "Well, yeah? The food can't be any better. Besides, it's a lot cheaper than what we used to have back in the States. Where I lived in the bay Chinese fried rice cost 20 bucks a box. Hahaha.... I thought you weren't that diligent with what you ate. You didn't have too much. Usually on my first days in Manila I order a few plates and eat it just by myself. Wifey likes it too." "Oh yeah. About the mission." "What is?" "I want to tell you that boss' said the mission was well unexpected and I could say that if it wasn't for the effects of being that traitor, Gary, everything would just be running fine." "Traitor seems to carry a lot of negligence with him." "What do you mean? Gary..." "I meant....aughhh...aughhh...well...He is an illegal immigrant, Gary, turned into legal citizen, only because he hired an illegal fixer or setter more like a scalper ones you would pay more than what you used to for immediate tickets in a ball game to get him a new passport and the necessary documents, and the papers that you need if your an American citizen. Even the green card. I don't know how that happened. That person who arranged everything for him tended to be his cousin who worked as an Illegal fixer was an American citizen since birth - all on that side of his family came to the U.S. - It doesn't concern me much. They are Puerto Rican by Nationale. He grasped while giving out a coughly disadvantage. "My oh my." "That is something I know now. I had an idea he was Puerto Rican, and all that, but never knew all the details about the work I had to do. I only had a slight briefing before engaging into mission. Once I was told, I didn't ask anymore." "Ok. Oh another tip. Errr. A lot of people don't know him, and those that do, which is the higher supervision of our staff, laid down the news that he is the reason why our entire database had been corrupted; those that don't know him whom are working for us hates his guts. He is a spy." "He managed to get into our system, by stealing one of our employee cards back in Alabama. By that, meaning he sneaked in to our headquarters. Then, he worked his way out to get what he wanted." "That Gary person, wanted to be a head of illegal immigrants. I'm sure you understand what I'm saying." "Go on..." "In other words, he wanted to establish a legitimate illegal immigrant affair where in he is the boss. Or sort of saying, the leader. Working with his cousin, can earn him tons of money for whom people might want to take advantage of easily being a citizen in American soil. That seems easy, hah, I don't know what happened to him right after getting caught." "Who caught him?" I asked him. Hold on for a second... Felix mingled with his cellular phone and looked at the time on his watch. He also took a glance at the sky as if checking if it was going to rain. Grant laughing. I knew that the only thing that concerned him at present was the weather. "I did." he answered suddenly. I was surprised, almost giving a giggle. In my true presence, I carried a hint of thought that it was him. Inside my head where the brain cells interacted with one another, where entities played upon floating shells, like space probes, that object that was centered in my decision of choice, that particle was him. It was him all along, the one responsible for getting Gary red handed, getting him caught doing misdemeanor actions, not me. God. Luckily, I was handed a gift of approval. Ok. "No wonder, it was you that I was supposed to hand the papers to. No one else. Nobody else.", I whispered. I kept alter repeating to myself the word "No", and I didn't know why. It was a strange feeling I can't take out back off since I noticed that encounter back in the Bin. And now I don't know the reason why I can't take it out. No reason why I can't take it out my system. No sense of reason why I can't remove it off of my head. This is why people went to the hospital, because of paranoia. I began laughing. "I couldn't tell you just yet." "Nobody else knows, but the people back in the office. I had to delay time, before anyone can find out. It was a surprise." "You know if I told you everybody would've known." "And I am the type of person that will start leaking?." I mustered. why me. "Yes. BINGO. haha. I don't mean to offend but that's how our code works right?" he noticed. "YEAH, code of silence." jackpot. "Anyways, there are times when I can't tell you anything because your supposed to know that right from the gecko. Seemingly, everyone will start becoming stupid if they start mesmerizing rumors like hippos sharing gossips. You know we can't have that." "For sure. for sure." I descripted. "To tell you the truth I caught him in the monitoring room. He tried to save all the files that he can in his diskette. I turned him over to security right after that. I left him alive. Who knows who could've killed him. I'm sure somebody did. Those turds don't have a place on earth. Screw them." They had a moment of silence. By far, it was sure and worthy of being the last one. Felix fixed his cup of water and wavered the waiter "Thank you". Grant did the same "Muchas gracias". They cleared their minds, and had turns to take the last drink of water, clearing each others throat. Felix interrupted their serenity. "Any other questions?" he asked. "None. hooha." salute. He sergeant back. We said our goodbyes for a moment, until I left him with the files that said Gary. I was told being in Manila was a benefit of the doubt. You can tell that I'm back in the hotel. Staff and personnel of the hotel were tremendous since I arrived. The people here in the country were very friendly and corteous everywhere, including the daily breakfast buffet that was offered to me for free. Of course, it didn't come for free, I had to pay for my hotel room. My room was upgraded to Executive Suite, because it was recommended to me by the manager. When I first entered the hotel room, I thought to myself how lucky I am to be upgraded to suite and also business class in the plane. I can reminisce all my travels, including this one. It wasn't over just yet, but I can portray how it will look like in my brain when pass comes to past. Looks like I was doing a great job, Jesus was rewarding me with pleasurable grants. To know more about of it you had to discover of what lies beyond; to get what I wanted I had to settle in before anything else. I slipped on my slippers and headed downstairs for my morning coffee and meal. I consumed the whole 2 hours eating my food and sipping on some Arabica coffee with brown sugar. The buses bustled alongside the "jeepneys" that were the main vehiclular transportation for people and for goods. Fruits and vegetables went to the province where they were labored from the mountains. I can hear the beeping of car horns everywhere, street foods and vendors selling a variety of stuff. Cigarettes here in the Philippine cost 18 cents per piece, back home you couldn't purchase such small servings, only in the corner store standby. You can compare the daily cost you had to spend here than in the States; you only had to spend about approximately 300 pesos and you'll live it out just like that. There are more middle class people than low class society and the rich. One can say Filipinos know how to work hard, because of the way they value their money. I got out of the hotel hoping to hail a cab, when I catered grab instead. This was truly a vacation as I headed for a place called "Mall of Asia". I wanted to go there, because I heard a child say in the dining area repeatedly from where I was sitting - "MOA". Then, I asked one of the concierge what it was, they said it was a mall nearby. And so, I did my research. It was walking distance from where I stayed. I could've walked but it was no choice because of the rain. Anyways, I didn't want to tire myself because I was going to be strolling my way out in the mall. Many say that it is one of the largest malls in Asia. My grab arrived and I opened the blue Volkswagen sedan car door. "Hello, can you take me to the Mall of Asia?" I asked. "Yes. no problem." the grab driver gave out a distinct sound." "Where you from?" "I'm from America. and you?" "I'm from Manila. My province in Laguna." he answered. Coming out of nowhere, I asked him, "What is there to do in Mall of Asia?" "You can walk by the bay, there are restaurants. There is a fair in the mall grounds." he answered. "Okay. Thanks. By the way, Manila is nice. People are polite." "They should be ser. Or else." "Or else what?" "Or else we run out of customers." he replied. I came out laughing. Driving to the mall was not long. From the Hotel, we took a u-turn and crossed a stopped light full of cars. I sought a jeepney saying "Pasay", and I remembered that this is what the city is called. We managed to reach the other side, and saw a plaza on the right side. There was Burger King, Chow King, Krispy Kreme, and other establishments doing business well. A boy knocked on the car window begging for alms. The driver opened the window and reached out his hand to give him coins. An example of what poverty was like in the Philippine Islands. We traveled towards a broad road heading for the mall; crossing another stop light or intersection, I was able to see a big digital globe, with lights somehow on a round screen. We reached the premises of Mall of Asia of what was the roundabout of the globe, a circle where taxis were riding back and forth to catch a client to hop on. I can see a queue stand in front of what seemed to be a taxi stand. On the far left, existed the Mall of Asia Complex where events were taking place. We took a right turn to a road mentioning for the 2nd u-turn because the first one was closed. - it said road blocked with an x sign written onto it. As we took the turn I noticed a few office buildings with the mark "SM" engraved on it. The word was familiar as I did my research before and saw the chains of mall it owned, including the Mall of Asia. I told the driver to drop me off the very front of the mall and that is what he just did. I saw some workers running back and forth the area, and thought the section of the mall was newly renovated. I got dropped off. I paid the grab driver. "Thank you. Maraming Salamat." in an awkward term. "Your welcome." he fathomed. I entered the mall and had pause or glimpse of the inside for a while. The view from here was cool, the air conditioner was in full blast and you can see people of all nationalities that are enjoying their time with their accomplices. I bought myself a coffee and continued on. Looks like I was going to be caffeinated earlier than expected. Uggh. I needed this. I was so sleepy on the way here to the mall. I sought a crispy kreme kiosk where what I reached and bought me a few original glazed donuts. I took a seat on one of the marble trenches that were used by some people around me; I was still sipping on my coffee, to wake me, to think of what had happened in the moment I was here in the Philippines, where others were doing the same. I respect the fact that this country had so many malls, and variety of restaurants that I could just pick few to say its making outstanding food, even if I haven't eaten it, just by looking at the name and how you pronounce it. There are a few things I have forgotten, and that includes enjoying my time in Manila - for vacation. This is not just for work purposes that I traveled all the way here, it was also an opportunity to have memories to reminisce in my lifetime. I was old, and by then, I understood that there are things in life where you need to appreciate the most. This is what you needed to appreciate, the serene, quiet, and discreet moments of your life. I thought for a second that this part of my life, is the most promising and must never be forgotten. I went up and down the floors of the mall, to the bay, and to Timezone to play some game. Then, I came back to where I was sitting now. I decided that I was coming back to the Philippines; to get to know more about the people, and for god's sake take a tour somewhere around the islands where some say it is most beautiful in Manila. It's more fun in the Philippines. A saying that I would never forget, a pamphlet I was given as I left the plane, and a quote that has a better understanding for all. I saw a kid buying an Ice cream, in which advised me to do so, but I did not; I was thinking of what I didn't do that I had to do in this mall. I clamped my shoes together telling that, by now, the coffee has relaxed me to subzero. I bit the last piece of donut in my hand, licked the cream off my hand, and sipped the remaining coffee inside the white cup I was holding since then. Honestly, I was full. I threw the junk I had in hand into the bin right beside me. I went home. Days have gone by, and rain went pouring as time passes by. I can mesmerize the times that I have been up and down, like a roller coaster. I can remember the time that I was eating that spring rolls. I could take back the photographs when I was taking the ride in the grab cars. Morever, I was thinking - is this all? No. There are more to it than life is expected. The music of the lobby music turned on my TV went glamouring around my suite. I went scheming about the things that have happened in my entire life. phew. I breathed out a sign of relief. I was more than lucky to be alive than others. I was like in the cinema, by the window, watching the people walk by and the clouds change its looks. I stretched my arms, welcoming the world in front of me. This is what life was all about.