Running for your life: The Megamall Incident

I don’t know how to start and narrate all that has happened yesterday. Until this morning, I was recalling and recalling every detail of the incident that happened. It was not because I couldn’t get over it. Although I was still scared, and to tell you the truth still agitated, I just really wanted to share our experience so that at least everyone I know could be always alert when going outside.

It started after I got home from practice from Poveda, which is adjacent to Galleria. My mom texted me that they (my sister was with her) would go to Megamall, and that I should quickly follow. I bid goodbye to my friends and went to Megamall where I was alone for at least an hour. I was roaming around in my favorite place in the mall, the Atrium. When I got bored, I decided to call my mother and ask where she was. Turns out, they had a church meeting so I was going to wait a little while longer. But then, she remembered that my aunt w/ her daughter and my grandma was downstairs eating at HK Choi. To cut it short, after eating, we roam around the mall. We went to see some herbal products, the cosplay convention at Megatrade and lastly, went to Ace Hardware because they’re supposedly to buy something there. When they found out that the item they were looking for in Ace was out of stock, they asked me if I could wait for my mom alone since they had to go home already. I was fine with that because I was alone an hour earlier. As I waited again for my mom, little did I know that maybe I've already met the men in the robbing incident. It was because maybe at that same time, they were at Ace Hardware, probably buying the pipe wrench they've used in the robbery. Or maybe, I've already met them in the cosplay convention. This is what scared me the most. It was practically a normal day for me and I never thought things could get worse.

When we left bibingkinitan which was in front of Ace, my mom, sister and I do our usual thing and go window shopping. We were waiting for 7:40 pm for the movie, Hansel and Gretel. We went inside a few shops but found one shop that had a big sale. I went to the cubicle of Hip Culture and tried out the clothes that I wanted to buy for I was going to a debut. My mom did the same. As I was trying to fit the dresses, we were laughing and the staff of the store were laughing too because they were watching a video of Sarah’s Concert and it was also heard inside the cubicle. There was even screaming of Sarah’s fans because Sarah was getting teased to Gerald Anderson. Then suddenly, happy screaming turned into scary, bloody screaming. My mom quickly opened my cubicle and a mixture of horror and panic was evident in her face. All those panic and screaming didn’t register to me as danger; instead, I thought may artista sa labas, Haha! My mom was telling me now to fix my things; I was even half naked when she told me that. My cellphone and my ID was scattered on the floor so I had to stash all these things in my bag and go outside.

That was when lights went off, the voice of the comedian na nangeechos kay Sarah bigla na lang nawala, and we were frozen from where we stood. I could hear all the stores closing, and people running in one direction, to the left. This is where I was thinking that if they were running to the left then someone was chasing them from the right. Panic settled in and I was nagging my mom to call my father because I was so scared. The staff could do anything but lock the shop and hide since we would be dead if a killer was out loose. I was thinking what should I do, I decided to tweet it so that we could get help but Megamall’s WiFi failed me. A variety of people were running, coming from different places. Some from the other stores, a lot from the Cinemas and even employees; adults, kids, men, women, and maybe even babies! I was kind-of preparing myself for the worst in case we’ve come close contact with the unknown “killer”. The supervisor called someone from the department store and we found out that there was a shooting incident. I found out that while I was inside the cubicle, even before the screaming, there were guards who were already running outside. The staff even told the other shoppers that it was only a snatching incident and it was usual in Megamall (which I think was not since I never experienced anything like that. Lol). We couldn’t do anything but wait at the back of hip culture, when everything went still. Naubos yung mga tao tas nanahimik lahat. Even when I answered calls from my relatives and friends, I couldn't make my voice louder and so did the other shopper too. It was like we’re playing hide and seek. 

And the man with a gun was it.

My heart was racing so fast my sister and I prayed the rosary. My mom who was brave went outside w/ some staff. They went inside again when they saw that it still not safe. When the tension was over and we could see some shoppers walking like nothing’s happening, we thought it was safer now to go outside since my mom also wanted go to the comfort room. We went straight ahead and passed by Max's and Bench. I was even supposedly going to take a picture of the staff of Bench posing in front of the still models. The three of us could already breathe but we know we had to go outside fast because it was still not safe. The people in Max’s were either talking to someone or calling someone on their cellphone. No one was eating. Well, no one could probably eat! We went near Sanrio and I told my mom some stores really closed na. Tumatawa na talaga kami nila Mom. When we went inside the women’s comfort room, isa isa ko pang binukas ung cubicles and I was joking around and telling “ngayon lang nawalan ng tao sa cr ng babae sa mega” after washing up, we were outside now and I was pointing at the stores which was closed, my last remark was “matetest tlga security ng mega ngayon, ha ha ha” then.. Two gunshots echoed through our floor.

I couldn’t run immediately, I was facing the escalator and I saw a lot of people run and scream again. Actually everyone was screaming even the guards, this was when I cried.

I cried and practically ran for my life. The gunshots were so loud you’ll know andyan na siya. Alam mong para makarinig ka ng ganong kalakas na gunshots, ibig sabihin, they were nearby. My mom held my sister and my arm and we ran and screamed and ran and screamed and went back to the comfort room.

Paulit ulit naming kinalabog yung cr ng babae. Nagsisisigaw kami ng “Bukas niyo yung pinto!” I even remembered I was screaming “Ate please buksan niyo ung pinto maawa kayo sa amin” We know anytime we could get killed because there was a blind corner on the right of the cr’s and we wouldn’t know if the killer was already there. Yung guard nga kinareer ung cr ng men at doon nagsisigaw. I thought everything was hopeless. Akala ko talaga papatayin na kami.

The men’s comfort room suddenly flew open. I don’t know how, or why they did open it I was just glad they did! Then the men were so stunned, and they were asking what was happening which for me at that time didn’t make sense. Muntik na kaming mamatay tapos ang tatanungin niyo anong nangyayari, was all I could think of. Then I cried in the stinky corner with my mom and sister. I called my bestfriend Abby then mumbled things I couldn’t remember. My voice was shaking and I was going to cry again. There were still lots of screaming outside and the man with the gun was I’ve heard, from the radio of the guards, was downstairs. All I thought was I don’t ever want to experience anything like that ever again. I was holding my rosary ng buong magdamag since nung nasa hip culture kami. When the guard peeped outside and told us to run for the nearest exit, all of us did. We went to the parking lot, which was also scary because it was dark, and ran for the fire exit and ran and ran and ran until we reached Galleria. This is where my nameet na namin si Dad.

Last night, my mom was thinking, what if ganito what if ganyan. When we even looked back, we had suspicion that the men we saw inside the comfort room were maybe the robbers since they were changing their clothes(I mean, who does that at a time of a crisis??). Naiiyak pa rin ako kagabi. Our whole clan was practically at mega. My aunt and her family. Yung isa ko pang tita. Pero, as I’ve heard from my mom, our experience was far worse than theirs was. And that wasn’t good news.

The week before all these things happened, nananaginip pa ako na hinahabol raw ako ng killer at Red Apple (my mom’s preschool) to think that a similar situation was going to happen the following week. Also, last week, our Filipino teacher told us to write one experience which we think that no one in our room had experienced it yet. Sinabi ko pa na wala naman akong ganon experience, then this day came, January 26, 2013. The biggest scare of my life.

I don’t know if you’ve felt the gravity of the situation we were in, all I just wanted to say is no place is safe. Let’s always be alert and let’s not go to malls alone. Especially to those of you na ka-age ko. If I was alone and that happened, I seriously wouldn’t know what to do. Dati, sumisigaw lang ako pag nagkakatakutan ng multo, sumisigaw lang ako pag natatawa, 

kahapon, sumigaw ako kase akala ko mamamatay na ako.

Be safe and always pray. God be with us always.

XXXXX