Vampire Of The New World

"When the university president finished her speech, she noticed that her chair was missing and she tapped my shoulder, saying that it was me who took her chair." Steve recounted the story of how he met Celie. "I was talking to Celie and Lisa then, so I ignored her and just said that I didn't know who took her chair. She turned her head and murmured inaudibly, showing her irritation. Then, she pulled her scarf which was pressed behind my back and the chair I was sitting on."

Everyone at the table laughed. "It looks like you won't be getting any invitations or research grants from the university soon," said Nestie.

"Did you?" pressed Lisa.

"Surprisingly, I did," said Steve. "The university president personally asked me to become part of the work group that was doing research on dengue. They received a substantial research grant from the World Health Organization and she wanted me to be part of the team. She was very professional and I was more than happy to accept."

"Glad that ended well," said Brent.

The guests at Table 89 went quiet for a moment. They picked on their food and drank the beer served to them by a waiter who was a bit more attentive towards Nestie.

"So that was how we met." Steve took another swig of his beer.

"How about you, Brent? How did you meet Celie?" asked Nestie.

"It's a long story and not nearly as funny as Steve's," said Brent.

"Go ahead, Brent. Celie told me about it, but I want to hear you tell it," Lisa said eagerly.

"Okay. Here goes…"

Brent told his story:

I had just submitted my investigative report on the dubious awarding of road and civil works contracts by the local government and was thinking of other possible issues to delve on when I was approached by my editor. She just walked to my desk with a few pages of printouts on her hand.

"Brent, you're not working on anything now, are you?" asked Regina, my editor. "I've just printed your report. This looks controversial and I need time to digest before I can comment."

"I'm free at the moment, chief," I replied, wondering at her need to print everything and add to paper waste. "Do you have anything for me?"

"Katy, phoned in sick and I need someone to go to the press conference after the tree planting activity at the foothills."

"Can you get someone else to do it, Reggie?" I asked. I thought it was a boring assignment that any of our interns could cover. "I was thinking of taking it easy today after working long hours on that report."

"Celeste de Luna will be speaking on her father's behalf. You will just need to be there to record what she says. No need to ask questions. Just write a short article about the event."

"I can write that article from here, if that's all that you want. I know what she's going to say. They all say the same thing. 'We need to save the environment for our children, etc.'" I leaned back and placed my hands under my head. "It's not like you'll see those saplings surviving the summer heat."

"The press conference is an hour from now. You can still make it if you go now on your motorcycle." Reggie then turned her back and returned to her office. It's amazing how that woman can just ignore everything I say and I had no choice but to obey her, I thought.

I arrived at the foothills and parked my motorcycle under the trees. I saw the gathering of people under the shade of the trees at the fringe of the forest and heard a man speaking on the microphone. The crowd applauded and I saw Celeste coming to the microphone to speak.

She was more beautiful in person, I thought. She looked comfortable in her white shirt and short pants and she had her hair tied in a ponytail. I wondered how she went on digging and planting saplings without soiling that attire. I saw the reporters gathering in front of her and joined the group.

Celeste spoke on the microphone. "Thank you all for joining me in this very important activity. Seeing you all here warms my heart. Your concern for the environment is touching. Whenever I read about the flash floods happening in many parts of the world and the effects of climate change, I am saddened by the destruction we are inflicting to our environment. Our forest areas shrink by the day and with it, we deprive the next generation of the experience of seeing our magnificent trees and the animals that roam the forests. We need to save the environment for our children…"

"And there goes the quotable quote," I thought.

"…so that they too can enjoy climbing trees and picnicking under the shade." Celeste ended her short speech and the crowd clapped their hands. Celeste was about to go back to her seat when I raised my hand and asked a question.

"Ms. de Luna, I would like to ask a question, if I may."

Celeste smiled at me and nodded.

"What can you say about the recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that highlights the strong correlation between poverty and loss of forest cover."

Celeste lost her smile and paused for a moment before speaking on the microphone. "It is unfortunate that there are still many poor people and they are contributing to the loss of our forests, but our mayor, my father, has initiated a lot of programs to help the poor in our city. My father works really hard to help the poor and the needy."

Celeste was about to leave the microphone again when I shouted my next question. "Ms. de Luna, how about the allegations that funds allocated for programs for poverty reduction and disaster recovery are not entirely reaching its intended beneficiaries?"

"I-I'm s-sorry…" Celeste began, but was cut short by a loud bang that filled the air. The people looked around and wondered if it was thunder, but the skies were clear. Celeste's security escort suddenly ran to her and grabbed her arm to take her offstage when another bang was heard. Celeste and her escort fell off the stage and there was a scream. The people, realizing what was happening, ran in all directions.

I ran to Celeste and helped her up and told her to stay with me as her security lay motionless. I knew that we needed to move fast. Running with the crowd might endanger them so we ran in the opposite direction under the shelter of the nearby trees.