“Her name is Muni?”
How many times do I have to tell them?
“But it doesn’t make any sense!”
For a guy like me, it made perfect sense. Sure, I was young and reckless, but it was she who saved me many times, while you did nothing.
“Know what? This is hopeless. We’ll just get back to you in the morning, okay?”
Exactly what I have been waiting for. As soon as they left, I went back to my room, where the majestic Muni again appeared right before me. Her hair flowed down like silk, her dress sparkled like the starry sky, and her face shone like the vindicating sun. I leaped to her open arms, and told her how those people in white and blue were so mean. It just goes to show how outward appearances should not be one’s sole basis in judging others.
“Don’t think much about it,” she gently said while stroking my hair, “I’m here.”
Indeed, she was, and is, always there. But how did we meet? Once more, it came back to me. As a kid, I have been bullied, and for various reasons even I never understood. Then, one day, when I was being kicked on the ground, Muni rescued me. I did not recall how she did it, but I always remembered the sight in my bullies’ faces. They were spooked to the core.
While hugging my vandalized bag, I cried out, “Who are you?! Are you here to bully me, too?!”
She turned to me, not with a fist, but with a smiling face. It was the first time I learned to love.
“I don’t know,” she answered with an outstretched arm, “But what I know is you need help.”
I did not mind how horrible I looked then, or if there are other people to witness the scene. I just wailed my gratitude after she aided my rise. Then, she stated the obvious.
“Who are you?”
It struck me hard. Who would take a risk for someone you do not even know.
“I’m Damgo, and you are…?”
She looked around, shrugged, and tried to keep her tears from bursting.
“I know,” I excitedly said, “I’ll call you Muni.”
She did not express anything in words, but she liked the name I gave her. Since then, despite the daily oppression from my peers or my seniors, Muni was there to give me the strength to carry on. One thing I noticed, however, is that while I aged, she retained her youth and beauty. I figured I was just too small to begin with, and Muni an exceptionally slender, gorgeous woman.
“She’s no princess. She’s a menace!”
So they say now, acting like they actually care. But this is no fairytale. This is real life. There is no knight in shining armor. No damsel in distress. No lords leaping. No don chasing windmills. Thankfully, a dream princess like her exists, for I know not what my world will be without Muni.