With A Bang!

It's a tradition we observe during these times when one year is ending and another one is about to start. It's a loud send-off to a year gone by, and a merry welcome to a new year ahead of us. The fireworks, the noise, the merry-making - they're all part of this tradition during New Year's.

But a few days before New Year's Eve, on a relatively peaceful post-Christmas evening, only the sound of little kids playing along the streets could be heard. It was still Christmas vacation time. And it only meant that kids had the license to stay out and play without the worries of finishing up their homeworks and assignments for the following schoolday. You could hear it in their abandoned laughter, their shrieking shouts of joy as they play, and the careless stomps of their flip-flops as they run around jauntily.

Suddenly, a loud BANG came shattering the peaceful noise of the night. The innocent merry-making of kids suddenly stopped. Something happened. The shattering noise was quite distinct. The sound of metal crashing against metal. It was a loud, abrupt, booming crash.

Tatay, who just drove to our place to fetch Mom, rushed outside to check on the source of the noise. Mom, who immediately had an idea as to what caused it, followed him.

In front of our gates, the image of Tatay's Pajero smashed on its front end by the long passenger rear of Mr. A's jeepney was already being gawked at by the kids who were playing just a while back. I can just imagine Tatay's reaction upon seeing the scene.

What was supposed to be just a few minutes of fetching Mom from our house stretched into a protracted discussion and negotiation on how to resolve the mess. Obviously, Tatay's vehicle, which was just innocently parked outside, was the aggrieved victim in this case.

But shit happens.

PUJ vs. PAJ. Is there a more apt word, either English or Tagalog, to describe our situation other than the word "lugi"?

This wasn't exactly Tatay's idea of ending the year with a bang.