Last night, I drove to Magallanes Village to meet Kris, who was coming from Miriam College, as we planned to dine out.I got there first.Not wanting to enter their house without Kris, I decided to park xwind in front of their house and just stay there ‘til he arrives.

We chatted via SunCell while he was on the way about my great cosmic theory: that Kris is a berby-luck-magnet!Before him, things were all effortless for me; him, vice versa. Then, now he has my easy luck in everything he goes into; me, well that is why we have a move to change murphy’s law to berby’s law. Haha J! I was enumerating incidents to illustrate my theory when two cars of opposite directions suddenly stopped in the middle of Magallanes Avenue parallel to how I parked xwind.

I did mind them ‘coz I thought magkakilala siguro those two cars or nag-aaway, especially with the way how they were previously running fast and how they suddenly stopped to fully block the street.

One car then sped away.The other, which was side-by-side with me, still did not budge.Then the passengers of so went out; one went to the house across; the rest went to xwind; and the car made a U-turn.Still chatting with Kris, when the said passengers (mestizo looking; aged 18-20s; may basketball pang dala yung isa) suddenly started thumping the back of xwind and I noticed the u-turning car is very close to hitting me na.Since marami sila, natakot na ako.

Then they shouted, “bangain mo na, bangain mo na!”

I rolled down my window and shouted what is their problem.Still, they did not stop their “kuyog’ actions.Thus, I started xwind and shot out.The other car suddenly sped out din.

Grabe, takot ko talaga.When I calmed down a bit, I turned and drove round to see if they are still in the area…hoping to get a glimpse of them para ma-jot down ko man lang the plate number.Wasn’t able to see the car or anyone of the guys na. And so, I decided to go back to Kris’ house and parked at the bawal-side-for-their-cars-only na lang — thought to myself, mapagalitan na lang kesa mabalikan nung mga punks na yun where I usually park na side.

However, as I approached the house, the same car is back, now occupying my former parking space. I took a photo of it (plate WJW-259) and since papasok ng car yung isang bumaba kanina na nag-enter ng neighbor’s house, I shouted at him why they were banging my car a while ago.

He nonchalantly replied na the other kids who were walking daw mga yun.I told him, no, those kids were the ones who got off their car (which I noticed hindi kasing puno na ng passengers as kanina). Again, deny siya. And their car sped off.

Kris was mad bakit hindi ko raw tinawag mga drivers nila to come to my aid when the incident began à That time, I could not even think of anything else to do but to shout for those guys to stop ‘hurting’ xwind, and when they didn’t and with their shouts to bump my car, then automatic reaction ko was to start the car and drive away (I cannot even remember how fast I did this; buti in my panic, na-shift ko pa yung shift-stick!).

Kris was mad bakit I did not call their drivers when I saw the car the second time à First, in my mind then, I wanted to go near the car and be able to take down their plate number before they disappear na naman.Besides, how can I call anyone else when I was inside the car, the drivers are a few meters away inside their garage.Second, baka tuluyan pa nila si xwind if iwan ko to call the drivers.Third, I am inside a gated-community where I expect civilized people; thus, why would I need the backing of some brawns to ‘solve’ a problem?

Na-intermission ‘coz dumating si Kris and tinawag na kami for dinner.

Since my phone has a small screen, I cannot see clearly the photos I took – if na-register the plate number.Asked Kris if I can Bluetooth the photos to his phone with wider screen and zooming options.Ayun, napagalitan tuloy sa dining table for tinkering with phones and not eat as they were already eating.

Sigh sigh; nanginginig pa ako sa sinapit ko (delayed onset of trauma), I am still thinking of further actions (go to that neighbor for confrontation; or report to police)…naturally food is the farthest thing in my mind.

Recount recount what happened sa dining table…time ticking away.

Seeing I am still distraught, Kris gave me his phone to speak to the village security personnel.

Security people came a few minutes after. Recount the incident again.

Bottomline nila — baka hindi lang kasi napansin na may tao sa loob kaya they were hitting my car; lalo na medyo dark ang tint ng car ko.

So, kung walang tao ang kotse na nakaparada inside Magallanes Village, people therein can just thump/bump any parked car. Hookay.

Told them to log the incident pa rin. Trace the plate number and let me know if resident or guest yung car…but do not confront the car owner that I asked for a track down.

Kasi, if resident yung car, knowing pumasok yung isang tao sa house ng neighbor, I don’t want to create animosity between that house and house nila Kris; or worse, if they know pinapa-investigate ko sila, as counter reaction, they will make abang na my car and when I leave it there in the future, ‘saktan’ nila.

With the former reasoning, from experience kasi, I know how they value their neighbors more than how they considered how their action/words could affect me (aside, I am still suffering from what they have done to me and my boss that I can never really get past the big mess they created).

With the latter reasoning, with how I take care of our vehicles, how can I ever feel safe to drive and leave them in Magallanes Village, despite parking them properly in front of Kris’ house?

When I was alone na at the end of the day, I can’t help but cry hard.Post-trauma self-pity, feeling how defenseless I was.Nananahimik lang ako, protected my property when being harmed; yet, in the end wala rin naging positive action and ako pa ang mali for being “pasugod” lagi.

Replaying the scenes in my mind, I was wondering, what should I really have done?!The very moment may mali, natural instinct ko talaga is to demand stoppage of the wrong; lalo na’t wala naman ako sa highway where delikado tumigil and makipag-confront-an.

Siguro it would have helped if I created a racket too and honked my horn like there is no tomorrow.I guess pasalamat ako na I wasn’t harmed; and xwind is intact.Blessing din siguro that I did not disconnect the battery pa so I was able to get away (since nadidiskarga battery ni xwind, when I know I will park for a long time, I remove the battery connections). Sana talaga the guards stated my incident in their logbook so if this happens to me again, then, may “history” na and no further questions of proof especially it would just definitely be a case of he-said-she-said.