Mike escorted me from my room going to the huge veranda overlooking the gigantic receiving area for our guests. The scene was so panoramic, grandeur, and elegant. Even I couldn't decipher my true feeling about my status as a billionaire.
I looked down at the guests who stared and applaused when I raised my right hand to them waving. I am not an actor in the movie; especially in the opera house, but I had the charisma to tumble them down through my antics. I used this before and it's needed now.
Two beautifully sculptured stair railings are built for this purpose which made my entrance a dramatic one.
Cameras and videos of different brands started to blind my vision. It hurts. I knew it. I continued my everlasting smile to them descending from the stairs together with Mike and the guards. I don't like it this way, it's like I'm a prisoner!
I remembered those times when Ayah Isabel and I were walking from West Avenue, Quezon City up to Luneta Park to discover something beautiful about Manila. Those were the days...those struggling moments of our lives...those stairways to my life...alone.
I couldn't believe that Danielle contributed so much to my life ever since I was a struggling student; a nobody from the province of Negros Occidental, a trying hard person with lots of dreams, a dreamer, but now, I wanted Danielle to kill the dreamer....to erase those dreams as a payout.
I slowly went up the stage escorted by Mike Luna and the guards. I sat on the chair while Mike delivered his speech at the opening ceremony. While sitting, I observed my guests sitting on their respective tables; buzzing and talking which made the area like an astrodome. Media people were moving from one place to the other to get close-up footage of me and the activities.
At a table near the stage, I noticed Danielle and Roger were having their time chatting with each other or discussing their strategy for the job? I don't know, but all I knew was Danielle wanted the job so much, to pin me down. I saw it in her eyes when I focused my sight on her.
I liked what I saw in her eyes; her motivation to play this game.
At last, I stood behind the rostrum where I received a standing ovation for my guests. I waved my right hand, they stopped buzzing and I spoke my first words.
"Good morning people....thank you for coming and I am really glad your presence here today," I suddenly shouted, "Game FX!!" Everybody stood up and shouted; "Game FX" too, clapping their hands to the highest level. I raised my right hand again to silence them. It added to my ego to know that I can command them this way.
"Today, it's the starting point of the Game FX, truthfully, a large sum of money at stake and the danger that comes with it. But this is my decision... it's final. The agreement was approved by the two hitmen. Truly, I think you know them too. Enjoy your food and drinks...All the guests will receive an envelope courtesy of my kindness to mankind. Mike will be in charge of this gift."
"Right now, I'm ready to answer your queries," I said with conviction in my voice, the power of being a Billionaire!
They applauded as a sign in thanking me. Media people at the front started to ask me.
"Sir Marco, I'm from FNN International; my question is....Why you decided this dangerous game that could result to your death? Thank you."
"I liked excitement....and I have all the material things that I ever wanted in my life. So, this excitement doubled when I knew that my ex-lover will do it."
"Sir Marco Fernando, do you still love your ex-lover Danielle?"
"Actually, I have two children from her which she kept away from me....I missed them....She's married now to Roger Ferrer, also, the accomplice for this Game FX."
"And why you selected them to do this job, Sir?"
"As I said, it excites me...it gives total satisfaction...by the way I have to go...thank you."
I hurriedly left the stage, walked briskly towards the sanctuary room, open the locked door, and undressed naked. I hastily put on the camouflage, get dressed, and carried my backpack. I opened the secret passage where the vehicle was parked for this purpose. I switched it on, push the accelerator, and left through the back door.
From Santa Cruz, Cavite City I traveled to San Rafael 2 up to San Rafael 3 going to San Sebastian, Kawit. I stopped the car at the roadside to urinate but observed the place and the situation. I continued my unknown journey while I read the pamphlet about Cavite province.
Cavite, one of the provinces comprising the Southern Tagalog Region, lies immediately at the southwestern entrance of Manila Bay across the Bataan Peninsula. It extends eastward along its shoreline in the north up to the historical Zapote Bridge and the inland terrain in the south up to Carmona. It is bounded on the east by the provinces of Rizal and Laguna, on the south by the province of Batangas, on the west by the Philippine Sea, and the north by Manila Bay and the City of Manila.
My mind's wandering where I can give Danielle and Roger the value for their effort to do this Game FX. I liked the mountainous terrain but the setting in the city can give more excitement to me. I decided to travel heading to Redemptorist Church in Baclaran.
I entered, kneeled at the pew, and released the things inside my heart. I prayed for my children, the people who trusted me, and to all Filipinos who suffered poverty and discrimination. I washed my soul with tears that I could not control anymore.
I stood up, made a sign of the cross, and slowly walked to Dimasalang Street where my heart was crumpled over my family because of the fire that gutted my house. I can still smell the burned asses of my struggling neighbors who toiled day and night for a meager salary for a family of ten members. The same was true for Overseas Filipino Workers, who dreamed to have a better paycheck abroad, but their souls were being sold to the history of the Philippines.
I looked around to savor the emptiness that I felt where it's better those days when I have nothing, no money to depend upon, where I sacrificed myself to fulfill my dreams. Now that I reached those dreams, still, I'm empty deep inside....wanted to end my life...
XXX
BILLIONAIRE MARCO FERNANDO (BACKSTORY)It was in...The year 1976 – 1980, Bacolod City, on the island of Negros Occidental, Philippines:I met Ayah Isabel Gonzales in the college of Chemistry Department at San Jose College, Bacolod City, in the province of Negros Occidental. Bacolod City is the capital city, one of the developed cities of the Philippine archipelago struggling for growth at that time, where students from different towns used to study for their college degrees and find their destinies. Different people with different characters met and traded for their wares; a place for newcomers to discover what this place meant to their lives.Ayah and I were on the same academic course, and each day, we had time to discover ourselves together. I have taken this Chemistry course just please my father. I was not interested in taking this course, in fact, I hated Chemistry subjects. It did not give me an interesting value with my whole being. It was natural for me to be there inside th
Even my friend Edward Ramirez helped me without any boundaries. I released the very core of my existence to the people who loved me. Edward and Ayah were the two human beings that always lifted me up for whatever problems I was entangled with my vices.Edward Ramirez and Ayah Isabel Gonzales nursed my soul to be back again. Knowing that I can revive my spirit and resume the ambition I have had. They stayed for a while and encouraged me all the way."Best friend, are you alright now? I'm very happy about the changes...I mean, the changes in you. Glad to know that you can work again. I'll tell our manager about your comeback... You know, he's asking about you and I lied, knowing that I want you to work there again. Yes, my friend?" Edward asked me one day."Yes my friend, now I realized... how foolish I was...how weak," I answered crying.I started to concentrate on my studies for two consecutive years through which I gave real meaning to them. The vital things that matter most to me we
Danielle and I enjoyed every moment of our lives without any recourse for anybody, anywhere, anything that could stop us from becoming lovers. We had done so many nights together, exploring our most precious gift from heaven. The remnants of our past didn't hinder an inch for which Danielle played her part so well. And, even my soul didn't bother to collide with my greedy ambition from wanting it.Both of us developed something beautiful within our hearts, according to the dictates of our minds. For each of us, there's some kind of understanding that we wouldn't have to be spoken about, our actions were the prime movers of our future.We were together all the time and found ourselves at the rooftop bar of the hotel. She held my hands, squeezed them tightly on the table, and said, "Marc, I like this moment so much, with you, having dinner in the Skylight. Bar. It reminds me, when I first saw you, for the first time I felt very different from myself. I knew too well, deep in my heart th
"Okay, it's okay. What more...what he said to you?" I asked her in a higher tone. "He said to try to visit him at the Riviera Café & Restaurant."I lowered my voice, "Okay Ayah, thank you. How's your life in the boarding house? How's your family?""In my boarding house... it's quite problematic but I can manage. And my family...they're fine.""Take care always Ayah." I started to leave when I remembered something inside my pocket, "By the way, take these drugs and read the prescription first before taking the pill, I think you knew this...." Ayah looked at me squarely, smiled, and said, "Okay love, bye!"The next day I visited Edward Ramirez at the restaurant where he's working. He excused himself from his duty asking his Manager to have a day off instead. We got a taxi cab going to One Springfield Complex, a beautiful night spot outside the city. We played bowling for about an hour and seated ourselves in a restaurant in an open place. I ordered a case of beer, sliced cucumber, and
We arrived early at the Golden Dragon Restaurant located in front of Bacolod City Hall. It's located in the heart of the city, five minutes ride from our place. The ambiance is totally Chinese; the intricate golden dragon motif with a red background, the music, the waitress uniform, and the lantern hang beautifully in each partition with silk curtains as a facade. The aroma of Chinese food triggered my voracious appetite. I composed myself and gazed at Ayah Isabel walking separately from me. She's nervous, I thought, but she's calm, calmer than me. We are seated at the corner of the restaurant so that I can see who's coming inside the restaurant. I ordered two glasses of coca-cola soft drinks for a start and we waited.Danielle Gustilo came ten minutes past eleven in the morning. She's wearing a sleeveless red dress that suits her milky white skin, and a red leather clutch bag that blends with our environment. She looked at me first, then, shifted to Ayah Isabel, then sit down in fron
Let me tell you what I worked for temporarily...where I started my first job...for the past months after my graduation. An amazing story indeed!I am a Chemistry graduate, right? But I was accepted as an extra news reporter for the newly founded TV station. At the end of my shift one Monday morning, Arthur Jimenez, the sports director at News TV 717, said, "Marco, this Friday night there's a boxing championship fight in the Paglaum Astrodome. You've been bugging me for a break, so here's your chance. Today, around noon, I need you to get me a three-minute interview with Billy the Kid. If you do a good job, that interview will be fed to all TV stations locally and nationwide. Getting to be heard countrywide amounts to decent exposure, wouldn't you agree?"How could I not? Man, talk about excitement! After some time, I had finally landed a weekend-only, graveyard shift job at what, with a great payment check. Hopefully, this job would provide opportunities to climb further up the ladder
Even Lydia Leynes, a beautiful lady from the north of Negros Occidental became my live-in partner, which gave me terrible problems with my job. I was out of the job instantly; I was totally broke when things got better which brought hope to my life.Edward was the one I enjoyed being with, for it gave me the freedom to reveal something deep down in my heart. He was there for me to listen to whatever I wanted to say, whatever I wanted to do with my life at the moment. He suggested working again in the restaurant. I hesitated at first, but my hopeless situation told me to accept the job.I felt down and out I missed her...them...her...XXXDanielle's father invited me to the Sugarlandia Hotel to talk about his daughter's status in life. I went directly to the place, asked for information on the counter, and sat in the lounge. I felt some doubts within me, that I couldn't explain. Is it I am afraid, afraid of what? Fear..? Fear of rejection? Or I was not ready to meet him face to face?M
I saw Edward approaching where I stood, pulling my arm, and taking me to our table."Hey Marco Fernando, what are you doing? People are looking at you. Behave my friend okay?"I only nodded and started to pour a shot of tequila, with salt and sliced lemon, and three slices of beef steak. Then, I ate the kinilaw and gulped a bowl of soup. I was satisfied and contented that I asked Edward to order more."What? Slowly, Marco, I'm not rich enough to order for more...""Hey...hey Edward my best friend...next week, I'm rich...a rich man!! We will paint the town red!! We'll go shopping, swimming, drinking...until the end of the world!!!...and...and..we'll buy everything...as in anything!!! I shouted."Hey, Marco!! Stop it...stop!! What's your problem, my friend?" Edward angrily asked. "What happened to you? Are you crazy? You don't have money in your pocket... Okay, let's go!"" Joel, bill please...how much?""One thousand and five hundred pesos sir," Joel answered."Here, two thousand pesos