One Dangerous Foodtrip
My family and I, along with our new golden retriever Marley, were all famished. We were on our way home from Baguio and we planned to eat at Isdaan, a really huge and interesting restaurant--a must-see for tourists and local travelers alike. It didn't matter if we had to wait until past 9 p.m. for dinner. The place was just *that* good.
After ordering our food, Tito Fort's kids decided to explore Isdaan a little bit. Katie had never been there, so they took pictures from every imaginable spot possible: the big buddha, the statues of FVR, Cory, and Cardinal Sin, etc. I followed only because I wanted to take Marley (our new dog, our 20th one!) around and show her the colorful koi fish. I also heard that a guy was taking the Isdaan challenge for the 2nd time (where he'd have to cross an extremely narrow cement ledge with ceramic fish for obstacles. Falling would mean plunging into an 8-9 ft. dirty green pond with lots of koi fish; Making it to the end would mean 1 kilo of free fish and pride at making it across)--and that's something I've never seen before. In fact it's so rare for someone to attempt the challenge that a small crowd was gathering and some were even videotaping the entire thing.
Anyway, the challenger won 2 kilos of fish for successfully crossing the bridge twice. We all cheered for him, and I went back to feeding the koi with Marley in tow. This was when we heard 6 sharp bursts of sound from the opposite end of the ledge, near the kitchen, where the challenger just received two kilos of free fish. It sounded like triangles/a milder version of sawa, but that didn't make sense since it was unsafe to light firecrackers there. I automatically assumed something went wrong in the kitchen--and I wasn't sure whether or not I should be scared.
But then a guy from behind me suddenly started running and said "hala, may nagbabarilan na!" Since I was busy feeding the fish, I did not see what happened and didn't know whether or not to take him seriously. Just in case though, I hid behind a tall, cement column, clutching my new dog. I swear, I think she kept me from panicking too much!
Then I heard Tito Fort asking his daughters where I was in a panicky tone. I ran towards them and we went back to our floating nipa hut. Waiters were telling people to calm down, that it was over and it was okay to keep on eating. Most of us went back to our tables, with some curious bystanders (including my Tito Fort) wandering about, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening and/or asking questions about what just happened. At this point, I wasn't sure whether or not a gun was indeed fired (although Steph claims she saw a man with a gun, shooting at something/someone lying on the floor). All I knew for sure was that I was hungry, and while I heard 5 to 6 firecracker-like sounds in succession, the waiters said it was nothing to worry about and all the other customers (including the tables near the kitchen, where the sound came from) seemed to believe them. So despite my mom's panicky requests that we leave, we all stuck around and waited for our food, with Tito Fort still outside the hut, trying to get more information. At that time, I was hoping that Steph and the guy behind me were wrong--that it wasn't a gun, just something exploding in the kitchen, or anything else aside from a gunman being in the same restaurant that we were at.
It turns out, they were right. O.o
A minute or two later, people were running towards our direction and guys were shouting variations of "stay down", "stay low" and "dapa! dapa!". According to Steph, another guy said "nang-dadamay na!" and that's when I heard another two sharp shots. Okay, this was definitely a gunman. We immediately got down on all fours, trying to stay as low as we can. I remember feeling exposed despite being surrounded by bamboo tables and benches and people crouching on all fours. My mind was racing with thoughts of "uh oh. why did we stay again?" and "what if the gunman comes here? We're easy picking! We're all defenseless in open nipa huts and there's only one way out of here!"
I told mom I was scared, and I think that's when she and the other parents decided the best thing to do would be to run out of there. I'm not really sure how it happened, but we just all started running, on top of unstable floating bamboo rafts, all the while still ducking and trying to stay low. I remember worrying about being shot while we were running, or bumping into the sizzling hot grills to my left as we ran--but I got calmer as we reached the exit with no additional gunshots being fired. We also didn't get separated despite all the running, so there was a huge sense of relief as we walked out of there alive.
Then it hit me--we were in even bigger open space now. No more columns or bamboo trees to hide behind. We were in the parking lot, where the gunman would also have to exit if he had plans of getting out before the police arrived. I had no way of knowing which one of the parked cars were his! For all I know, we could be hanging out near his get-away vehicle. AND OUR DRIVER WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.
My uncle's daughters were crying by now. They were really, really scared. Being the oldest, I thought I should find a safe place for us to hide. I picked a huge column near the entrance with plants beside it, and I sat down and told them to come sit with me on the gravel and hide. I thought this would ease their fears, but apparently I chose a column that was not only *beside* the entrance, but was also in front of a hastily parked motorcycle, which probably is the getaway vehicle for the gunman. Whoops.
As my mom was thinking of an alternative hiding place and bugging my uncle to find a way to get a hold of the driver, she bumped into her friend who was also eating inside. He was really calm and even told a joke. Buti daw yung table na katabi niya, nakakain ng libre (because they ate before the shooting occurred and ran out before they could pay the bill). Kami ba raw nakakain na? I remember thinking, what a silly question to ask at a time like this. How can he be so cool after what happened?
He then told us that he was a table away from where the shooting occurred. He said he got a good glimpse of the gunman's face, and that the gunman was smiling eerily as he fired away. He got cornered and was escorted out by employees at first, that's why they relaxed, but then the gunman came back and made sure he finished the job (hence the additional two shots). That's when everyone panicked and started rushing out.
Anyway, our driver finally arrived (he was stuck daw, with people who were crouching/hiding blocking his way) and we hurriedly got into the car (like most customers of isdaan that night). As we were getting in, an Isdaan employee calmly opened the door for my uncle and apologetically said "Pasensya na po Sir ha." And while I criticize Isdaan for poor security (they don't have guards, after all. just statues of guards near the entrance)-- I have to commend them for well-trained staff. Their staff helped usher us out and remained calm and courteous throughout the entire ordeal.
Strangely, I could joke about it afterwards right after we got in the car. My heart was still racing though, but I guess that's just how I cope with things. To my recollection I've had no epiphany, no revelation, just an incredible adrenaline rush and hopefully a new appreciation for the simple things in life. Like, say, drive-through restaurants. Hehe.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Thanks Lord for keeping us all safe. :) Whew!
Currently feeling: wala lang. :p