Live? Love? Life?

He broke the silence with a high-pitched cry. He was the only source of sound in the gloomy room. He should’ve not been born, she thought. He shouldn’t have the right to avail the air the rest of us breathe. He is an unwanted person. He was the product of an accident. He must not live. But still, she carried the child in her arms…but she felt nothing; no connection. As if the kid was a total stranger. Maybe that was it; he was a mere nobody to the mother’s life. Then her thoughts wandered to her past.

The sky was overcast; threatening to rain. They were outside the school, waiting for a jeepney to ride them home. Then droplets started falling. Students ran to the only shed which became jam-packed immediately. She was quite unlucky. She was situated in the middle of the crowd; in the middle of a mixture of scents, some fragrant and some you wouldn’t want to smell.

Note: Is your note genuine?

Last Thursday, we had a nine-hour chat/gossiping at the city Dap-ayan and at McDonald's. It was around 9PM when we decided to continue our talk at a friend's house three kilometers away. Jeepney's weren't available that time so we resorted riding on a tricycle. Besides, there were a lot of them outside the fast-food chain. However, there was a slight commotion. But we never bothered until we finally rode our way to the nearby town.

"What happened, kuya?" asked a friend. The driver mumbled something we didn't quite comprehend. So we asked once more. Turns out that a guy or two boughtlechon manok in a nearby store and paid a counterfeit 1000-peso bill. Good thing somebody caught them.

I am disappointed that Filipinos, much more Ilocanos, use fake money just to gain, well, goods and real money (i.e. change). But I was still proud that some peopleknow how to detect such. Which leads to the point of this post: how do you recognize genuine Philippine notes? The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas presents 16 characteristics and features: (Note: may or may not apply to new generation bank notes)