Stories and Parables

This is dedicated to Miss Nympha Bengco of Mabalacat, Pampanga, a good friend who requested for a love story. Here it is. Let me name the girl after her, and the boy after a concept only the two of us know, Lionel. What does love mean?



Lionel is driving his motorcycle too fast, inviting accident on every turn. He knows Nympha, sitting at the back of the motorcycle, is very scared, but he ignored her fear. He wants to savor the moment.

“Lionel, please slow down. I’m scared!” pleaded Nympha.

“No, this is fun!” replied Lionel.

“No it is not. Please, I’m scared!,” Nympha is almost crying.

“Then tell me you love me,” said Lionel with a smile on his face.

“Fine, I love you, and you know that I really do. Now, will you please slow down?” Nympha’s voice shakes.

“Not yet. Give me a BIG hug, first.”

Nympha obliged. The temporary comfort that that hug gave her lasted only for a moment. Although being near Lionel always gives her comfort, but the situation they are in scares her to death.

“Will you take my helmet off and put it on? It’s bugging me,” Lionel asked Nympha next. Again the girl obliged and a few seconds later, they crashed into an abandoned building.

In the paper the next day: A motorcycle had crashed into a building because of break failure. Two people were on the motorcycle, but only one, a girl, survived.

The truth behind the accident: Halfway down the road, Lionel realized that his breaks broke, but he didn't want to let Nympha know. Instead, he asked her to say she loved him, felt her hug one last time, then had her wear his helmet so she would live, even though it meant he would die.