Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Siksik, Gitgit, Dukot! [1/3]

I brought Angel last Friday, Aug. 22, to Toy Kingdom, SM North Edsa to buy her a Barbie doll. It was her birthday that day and she has been asking for a new Barbie doll for the longest time. "Sa birthday mo na lang," I would tell her. Since her birthday has finally arrived, I have to keep my word.

At around 9 PM, we waited at the bus station adjacent to the Edsa (Jollibee) entrance/exit of SM North Edsa. Siguro mga 10 minutes din ang tinagal ng paghihintay namin when we finally saw our bus na hindi puno ng pasahero. As we run towards it, a few people (4-5 'ata) also ran towards it as if they were also riding the same bus. With such situation, for people who ride the bus, your instincts will tell you na makipag-unahan sa kanila at makipagsiksikan to get (good) seats, lalo pa't gabi na 'yun. So I told Angel to hurry up and get inside the bus as quickly as she can. When she got inside, I got stuck at the door along with the other people. Something (or someone) seemed to be pulling me back when I saw an earphone on my bag. Thinking that a man's earphone was caught on my bag, I immediately apologized. Then I got inside the bus.

A few seconds after I took my seat, I realized that my bag was open and my iPod was gone! Realizing the event that transpired, the earphone I saw was my own and it wasn't stuck. It was being taken away from bag!

"'Yung iPod ko, ninakaw!" I told Angel.

We were the only ones who rode the bus. The people who rushed to it are in a group who would mislead the passengers into thinking they are riding it only that ninanakawan ka pala!

Wala na kong nagawa. I immediately told Daddy, Mommy, Ginger, and Biboy about it through text. Salamat na lang at di nakuha ang celphone at wallet ko na nasa kabilang side ng bag.

Sobrang panghihina ang naramdaman ko. Feeling that I am truly upset about it, Angel just kept her silence all throughout the ride. She doesn't normally do that in ordinary circumstances. She'd sit, stand up, talk, and look around. But in that moment, she was quiet. When we rode the tricycle, she said, "Dada, ibibili na lang kita ng maraming earphone 'pag may pera na ko. 'Wag ka na malungkot." With that, my tears begin to fall.

During the night, I remembered a similar incident that happened before we rode the bus. A bus going to Bulacan came when two female Nursing students approached it. Nagkaru'n ng ingay at unahan. "Ayan na! Ayan na!" said the other people who also approached the bus. Then narinig ko na lang na sabi nila, "Ay, masikip na," walking away from the bus after. Nu'ng tingnan ko naman 'yung bus, maluwag pa siya. Nasabi ko na lang n'un, "Parang timang naman 'tong mga 'to." Di ko naisip na ako pala ang susunod na bibiktimahin.

The next day, Saturday, we went to the grocery to buy the things we needed for Angel's birthday celebration the following day.

At the Biscuit section, I asked Angel what she wanted for her school baon. Medyo natagalan siyang mag-decide kasi kung ano-ano tinuturo. Feeling that we are holding up the aisle, I asked her to hurry up. Mayro'n kasing naka-cart sa harap namin na hindi "makagalaw." I had a basket then on top of a mini-cart while she was seated below. Kasunod namin si Ginger pushing a large silver cart.

When we're done, I walked away with my mini-cart. I looked back and saw a traffic in the aisle. Ginger was in the middle, stuck along with other people who had carts with them, as well. I moved along, leaving my sister behind me.

At the counter, Ginger realized that she lost her (old) phone. Inisip niya kung pa'no nawala. Baka nalaglag. Malayo pa sa isip niya/namin na baka dinukot since we always buy our groceries there, in SM Hypermart, Valenzuela and it hasn't happened before. When she inspected her bag, even her wallet was nowhere to be found! That's when she knew that she was robbed! And it happened during the traffic held-up at the Biscuit section. Kaya naman daw pala no reaction 'yung mga taong nanggitgit at talagang kunwari naiipit 'yung iba.

Ayun, in two successive days, nabiktima kami ng Salisi Gang! Different situation and location but same tactics -- sisiksikin ka, gigitgitin, at dudukutan! Basta kung ano ang madukot sa 'yo, finder's keepers na sa kanila!

Naisip ko nga, if I was pushing a larger cart then, ako kaya ang biniktima nila?

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