The reason behind green

“May Impyerno nga ba sa langit?” This was the starting line of a short story which I wrote as a requirement for my Filipino course. This story is about a boy named Tim who had lost his hope in life. Anyway, the story began in a point where Tim had decided to run away from his home because he just can’t stand his father uselessly wasting the family’s money in his vices while their family is being plunged into utter poverty. He also can’t stand the chaotic environment he is plunged into, a place where most people does not anymore believe in hope and salvation because of the distressful lives that they have and some how this has affected Tim’s perception of hope. Taking this question in his mind, Tim even tried to challenge God while he was running and searching for an alley in which he could just sit and cry out his pains. When he has finally found that place of refuge, he sank into sadness not minding his environment and even the rain that has been pouring. He stayed this way until he came across a person who changed his outlook in life. This person helped Tim to realize how beautiful life really is and how hope should always be kept in a person’s heart.

One of the memorable lines in their conversation was this “Mas magandang umasa ka sa wala kaysa sa wala kang asahan. Kasi kung umasa ka sa wala, yung wala maaari pang magkaroon ngunit kung wala ka namang pag-asa, wala ng mangyayari sa’yo. Wala na yun eh!” through this words, Tim was able to realize even in the last moment of his life the true essence of hope and the meaning of heaven. The story ended in a tragic manner. Tim died in the end because of the cold rain but before dying he realized something important, that was shown in his last words “Salamat kaibigan, nakita ko ang Diyos sa iyo. Kung may impyerno man sa langit ngunit katabi ko naman ang Diyos at ang lahat doon ay katulad mo, handa na kong pumunta doon ngayon, hindi na ko natatakot at nagdadalawang isip pa. Umaasa na ko…” (his last line somehow contains the message of the story, that is heaven can exist anywhere as long as you hope for it and you believe in it. Even if life could be hell sometimes, if you just look at it from a distance, it is already heaven.

When I asked others to read this story, I was overjoyed by the impact that it had with their lives. Especially when they told me that “Now I know what Hope is” Indeed, this story has met its purpose. It has brought hope to the one’s who would read it. And that is exactly the reason why I write. It is also the reason why I chose the name “Green Alley” for my column. I want my works to be beacons of hope to others, something which could inspire them to HOPE. Everyone who has known me knows that my favorite color is green. But they do not know is the reason why I like green and the impact that this color has in my life. For me green symbolizes Life, Hope as well as love. Whenever I see a brown tree grow green leaves, I see hope and believe that it could still happen even for the most succumb situations. Whenever I see a green tree standing tall and giving beauty and life to a barren place, I see the love of God present in that barren place. The reason why I always wear green is because I want to be a like a tree in a barren land. I want to give hope to the people around me.

Have you ever seen an alley? Its dark isn’t it and usually, everyone is afraid to stay there. But have you ever seen an alley with the greenery of tree? How does it look like? Isn’t it more pleasing to go to now? Somehow a dark alley contrasted with green makes it a more pleasing place to go to. Well that is exactly the way I want my writing to affect people. I want it to bring light to an already darkened place like an alley and make it into a pleasing place to live in like a “green alley”.