How Silica Got Her Name

Once upon a time, there was this old man lying on his deathbed. He had been suffering from tuberculosis for three years and he decided to give up. One day, he called his three sons for his last will and testament.1

The three sons came and they were kind of excited. How much they prayed for their father to die so they could have their inheritance. Now, the old man didn’t have anything valuable to leave to his sons but the rice mill, the ten-wheeler truck, and a two-hectare piece of land. To make things simple, the three sons drew their lots to know which of which goes to whom.2

The eldest son got the ten-wheeler truck. The middle son got the rice mill. The youngest son got the two hectare piece of land. Everything was settled and the old man passed away at last. All were happy except the youngest son. I never liked that two-hectare piece of land, he thought. It’s everything but sand. How on earth am I going to farm it?3

Jealous of what his other siblings got and desperate to have much more, the youngest son sold the land he got from his late father. A businessman bought it from him and he thought he was lucky enough dealing with a fool who was interested in such a useless lot. He used the money he got in going to Thailand.4

Now, the businessman who bought the land from the youngest son of the old man who died of tuberculosis wasn’t really a businessman. He was actually a researcher working for an industrial company that manufactured glass products. After months of observing the land he had just bought, he was 100% sure it was rich with minerals particularly silica, the raw material used in making glass.5

So the glass company got the land they wanted at last. They were able to extract tons of silica from it and earned a large sum of money. To think, they bought it from the youngest son of the old man who died of tuberculosis at a very cheap price.6

An international cola company was one of the many giant corporations that partnered with the glass company where the researcher who pretended to be a businessman worked. The glass company supplied the bottles for the cola company to be used for their products. Those bottles, of course, were made from the silica of the sands in the land which was once owned by the youngest son of the old man who died of tuberculosis.7

Let’s focus with this particular cola bottle. Of course, it passed through the belly of the cola company. It was printed with a label, filled with the cola drink that millions of people thirst for, and finally sealed with a metal crown. Then the packaging followed. The bottle was placed in a case along with the other cola-filled bottles all ready for the market.8

A month after the old man died of tuberculosis, a fat man was delivering cola products to a far-flung town with a large delivery truck. Before he left the cola company’s local branch factory, the fat man had a lunch of chicken inasal, two cups of rice, and iced tea. Set aside the viand and the rice. The iced tea caused the fat man frequent urination along the way.9

It happened later that afternoon that the fat man stopped at some deserted place to take a piss. That deserted place was very prone to road robbery. After he urinated, the fat man left with no idea whatsoever that two masked men hijacked the delivery truck and took with them a case of cola drinks.10

Now, in the town proper where the fat man was supposed to deliver his cola products, there was this sari-sari store owned by an old maid. She was kind of lucky that afternoon because she purchased a case of cola drinks from two unfamiliar men cheaper than the factory price. Somehow, she had an idea that those where stolen goods. But who cares? She thought.11

Early the next day, a handsome man was in the old maid’s sari-sari store. He wasn’t there to buy anything but to add something in the list of his debts. He’s a single parent and he raised pigs for a living. That day was his unica hija’s birthday so he wanted to have a simple party at least. He forced himself to kiss the old maid on the cheeks and got himself ingredients for pansit and pochero and half a case of cola.12

The daughter of the handsome man who raised pigs was very surprised. After all they’ve been through, her father still managed to throw her a party. She invited three of her friends and two godfathers and a godmother who arrived in the town a week ago for a vacation. Everyone ate and enjoyed even though the meat used in the food came from a double-dead swine.13

Who would have thought that the birthday girl’s only godmother was a kleptomaniac? Well, it was an urge the godmother couldn’t control. When everyone was outside playing some parlor games after the party, the godmother sneaked into the kitchen and grabbed an empty cola bottle. That was the same bottle that passed through the belly of the cola company and undergone the processing, made from the silica of the sands in the land which was once owned by the youngest son of the old man who died of tuberculosis.14

Two days later, the godmother decided to go home. She lived with her husband in a place far north which was near the sea. Along with a hammer, a spoon, a candle, and a dozen other things she stole while on vacation, was the empty cola bottle she stole from the birthday party of the daughter of the handsome man who raised pigs.15

Now, in the place far north which was near the sea, there was this housemaid who was suffering a cruel fate. Her master sexually abused her. Every time her mistress would leave the house, it was hell for her. That week, she had been a sex toy of her diabolical master. Thank God her mistress arrived at last from her vacation.16

Three months later, the housemaid was vomiting. Obviously, she’s pregnant. And who else could be the father? Her master was the only one who torn his hymen and entered her again and again. I’m not going to have this baby, she thought. This is the child of the devil. And so, she decided for an abortion. 17

Her only equipment was the empty cola bottle she got beneath her mistress’ bed once when she was cleaning. She got it along with other countless items mysteriously scattering in such an unusual spot. So she had that bottle and a plastic bag and she sneaked into the seashore in the middle of the night.18

It was a bloody crime with a silent scream. The poor fetus was then placed inside the plastic and was thrown into the sea. The bottle was washed from blood and was left in the sands. The housemaid died three days later due to sepsis.19

Three weeks later, there were these two fishermen talking in the seashore. They felt so unlucky that day. No catch. The sea was teeming with fish but big ships harvested them first. They cursed the big ships. They weren’t there in the seashore talking for nothing. They were in fact planning for something to get those fish in the sea. Their solution: dynamite.20

The idea began when one of the desperate fishermen noticed an empty cola bottle with half of its body buried in the sand. He pulled it out and decided to make use of it. The two fishermen created an improvised explosive through the bottle and they headed out to the sea early dawn. 21

To recall, that was the same bottle that killed a fetus, stolen by a godmother from the birthday party of the daughter of a handsome man who raised pigs, sold to an old maid by two felons, supposed to be delivered by a fat man in a far-flung town, passed through the belly of the cola company and undergone the processing, made from the silica of the sands in the land which was once owned by the youngest son of the old man who died of tuberculosis.22

The two fishermen eventually got a huge catch. By the morning, their boats were teeming with fish. There were like celebrities on the shore with all those people swarming around them to buy fresh fish. One of their fans, however, was a cop who had in his pocket a warrant of arrest.23

Of course, the bottle broke upon explosion. The fragments were scattered and settled in the seabed. Weeks passed, months, years. Fate assisted the waves to carry a big fragment of the broken bottle along the shore.24

Exactly seven years had passed, there was this annual skimboarding competition in a particular beach resort. In history, that beach was once a fishing port of local fishermen. There was a rumor that a fetus was once thrown in the waters of the beach. That fetus haunted the excursionists in the form of a ‘tiyakoy’, a combination of tiyanak and syokoy. So there in the beach resort, an event was to take place where young people try to slide in the shore waves for fun.25

Now there was this hopeless romantic guy who was joining in the skimboarding competition. The truth was, he wasn’t good at skimboarding. Since it was an open contest, he tried to register. He wanted to impress this recently dumped girl who happened to be watching the event. The hopeless romantic guy was head over hills in love with the recently dumped girl.26

He must have been so excited that he played along the shore prior to the competition. Poor hopeless romantic guy, he got himself wounded by some sort of a broken glass. The beach was safe according to the management. But what was that dangerous broken glass doing in there?27

The hopeless romantic guy hurried back to the shore. His blood trailed in the sands. The cut was huge, the flesh was trying to say hello. He would want to cry or scream in pain but if the recently dumped girl would hear it, it would be a turn off. So he hid himself in an isolated cottage and tried to put a bandage in the horrible wound.28

“You should apply more pressure,” a voice said. The hopeless romantic guy was shocked when the recently dumped girl came in the scene. “I saw you coming up and I noticed something. I thought I could help. Here…lemme apply this on…”29

And so, the hopeless romantic guy wasn’t able to join the skimboarding competition. What for? He got more than he desired. Mission accomplished. He got close with the recently dumped girl. And everything because of that broken glass which was actually a fragment of the bottle which exploded seven years ago, killed a fetus, stolen by a godmother from the birthday party of the daughter of a handsome man who raised pigs, sold to an old maid by two felons, supposed to be delivered by a fat man in a far-flung town, passed through the belly of the cola company and undergone the processing, made from the silica of the sands in the land which was once owned by the youngest son of the old man who died of tuberculosis.30

A year after, the hopeless romantic guy and the recently dumped girl were married. And then a year after, they had a very cute daughter. When the very cute daughter was seven years old, she asked her father why she was named ‘Silica’. Her father, not knowing what to say, made up this story.