“1+1? ”
“Ha? Ano na naman ba iyan‚ French? ” kunot ang noong tanong ko sa aking kaklase.
“Basta baga‚ 1+1? ”
“2‚ ” I answered.
“How’d you say so? ” she asked me again.
“Is there any other answer aside from 2? ” I asked her back.
“Yes. ” said by the guy behind me. I raised my brows at him. Pinagsasabi na ‘to?
“What? Tell me it’s not Lapu-lapu like the usual philosopher answered. ” French asked him.
“1+1 could be 3. ” he answered confidently. Where did he even got that answer?
“How? ” I asked.
“1+1=3 could be correct. There could be a mathematical solution na ma-ce-create but since we don’t know the process yet‚ 1+1=3 is still wrong. Same goes on answering a math equation‚ the answer could be right but some process makes it wrong. ”
“So it’s still wrong since wala pa namang fi-no-formulate ang mga mathematician na solution diyan. ” sagot ko na lamang.
“Yes‚ it is still wrong but by chance‚ it could be right. ”
“Yeah but you has a zero solution to base it on and no evidence to prove that by any chance you say‚ it is somehow right. ” I debunked him again.
“You disregard the existence of ‘could’ on my statement. Anyway‚ it is not up to anyone to approve this speculation naman. If you want the knowledge stop by believing that 1+1 is always be 2‚ then fine with me. ”
“How could you say that the knowledge stop by simply believing to something that already has evidences to prove that is right? ”
“The knowledge stop the moment you neglected the benefits of doubting sometimes. ”
“Oh‚ tama na iyan. Nagtatanong lang naman ako eh. Ang seryoso ni’yo masyado sa buhay‚ ” natatawang pamamagitan ni French sa lumalalim na usapan namin ng kung sino mang nilalang na ito.
“Nag-e-explain lang naman kami sa isa’t isa. ” Pagpapaliwanag ko sa kaniya.
“Para na kayong nagkakainitan eh. Anyway‚ wait na lang natin si prof‚ sa kaniya ko na lang itatanong iyan mamaya‚ ” natatawang sagot niya pa.
Tumalikod na lamang ulit ako sa kanilang dalawa at inuyuko ang aking ulo. First day nga pala ng klase ngayon. Kasalukuyang hinihintay namin ang aming unang instructor sa araw na ito. Ang bilis lumipas ng mga araw‚ parang kahapon lamang nasa bakasyon pa ako‚ ngayon nasa loob na naman ng apat na sulok na kwartong ito.
“Good Morning‚ Class. ” said by our professor as soon as she entered our room.
“Good Morning‚ Miss. ” and we answered in chorus.
Like the usual first day‚ introduce yourself in front of the class so everyone will know how they could address you. Pampatagal lang ba ng oras. Sa halip na sana kanina pa nagsimula ang discussion. Biro lamang HAHAHA. Nagmumukha na yata akong KJ dito‚ but yeah‚ we’ll have our almost one year to get to know each other so what’s exactly the purpose of introducing yourself on first day?
“Hi. My name is Raijhen Castillo but you can call me RJ. Born from the city of Marikina. Need to transfer here for our family business. 17 years old‚ hoping to have bonds with you all. ”
So his name is RJ pala. Kinda don’t like his attitude. Medyo sumasapaw kahit hindi mo naman kausap. Anyway‚ his point made sense. Just wanna question it to know how far he’ll defend his viewpoint haha.
“Kilala ni’yo na rin naman na ako ‘cause magkaklase na tayo since Junior High‚ kung may bago man dito‚ for sure makikilala ni’yo na rin ako within this day lang ‘cause I am very approachable. Please‚ huwag po kayong mahihiya na kausapin ako‚ hindi po ako nangangat. ” daming satsat sa buhay nang babaeng ito. Hindi na lang basta magpakilala eh haha. “So for the sake of this introduction‚ hello‚ it’s Frencheska Kie. Half human‚ half ewan. Kidding aside‚ but yeah‚ you can call me French. Nice to meet you all. ”
I wonder if her essay could take this long. Anyway‚ I’m next in line na. I take a deep breath as I stand in front of this class filled with 43 heads including me and our instructor.
“Hi. Ashterielle Sayco is the name‚ Ash for short. Hoping this school year will be friendly to us. ”
“That’s all? ” asked by our instructor. I just nodded in response to her question.
Bet some of you will think that I am the typical girl who embraces silence just like nerds in a known story but am not. First of all‚ hindi ako matalino. Secondly‚ hindi ulit ako matalino. Guess being stupid would be enough reason to not be compared to school geeks. Just happened that human has the very power to drain me so I keep my distance from them‚ for safety measures. Besides‚ there’s nothing wrong with enjoying your own company.
“Graduating students na kayo this year so we are expecting a lot from you right now. Submissions of worksheets‚ performances during class discussions‚ and all. Hope everything is clear to you. ” We’ve been in pressure since last years naman na. Ano pa ba ang ini-expect nila? HAHAHAHA.
“Anyway‚ I am your Philosophy teacher. My name is Allisha Fuentes. And today‚ we will talk about the Philosophy of life and death. ” What an interesting topic.
“Psstt‚ sinong paborito mong Philosopher? ” tanong sa akin ng aking katabi.
“Ikaw. ”
“Ang sama ng ugali mo‚ ” Tatawa-tawa ko naman siyang tinitigan. Totoo naman‚ lahat na yata ng kapilosopohan nasa utak na ni French.
“Ako favorite ko si Confucius. ”
“Hmm? Why tho? ”
“Dahil sa teachings niya. ”
“Malamang‚ ” parang sira naman ‘tong taong ito.
“What do you think comes after death? ” so the discussion starts now.
“Next life? An afterlife‚ Miss. ” answered by one of my classmates
“Is there really an afterlife tho? ” and asked by someone inside the room.
“Hmm? Maybe‚ except if death is the end of everything. ”
“Pero may immaterial soul tayo‚ paano kapag namatay yung physical body natin‚ will our immaterial soul can still be called life? ” tanong naman ng isa ko pang kaklase.
“What if wala naman talagang next life and the idea of an afterlife was just created by those people who thought life after death is beautiful? ” another question from our professor.
At some point in life‚ iniisip ko rin na baka nagawa lang ang philosophy para bigyan ng alinlangan ang mga tao. Kidding aside but half meant HAHAHAHA.
“I don’t believe in an afterlife. I mean‚ life after death. I don’t know‚ it just takes away the essence of living life as it is‚ ” said RJ.
“What do you mean? ”
“People made us believe that only those who do good deeds here on Earth are the ones who are deserving of good life after death. So does it mean na you cannot do bad things in your next life? If hindi‚ then does that also mean that we are no longer human in the life after death and that we are bound by something to keep us from sinning? Kinda complicated. ”
“But doing good doesn’t mean doing what is right. You can do good things here and can still be undeserving. Remember that not all good things are right. ” I answered.
“But that what I think as of right is doing good. ”
“So ginagawa mo iyon according to your own perception. At some point in life‚ did you ever considered everyone around you? ”
“Individual naman yata ang kaligtasan according to Christians who used to believe on next life. ”
“Individual but not self-centered‚ ” sagot ko sa kaniya.
“Tell me‚ in what way naging self-centered ang opinion ko? ” tanong niya sa akin pabalik.
“Let us say na mabuti ang ginagawa mo‚ but by any means‚ can you consider it right? Take for example‚ tama ang sinasabi ko‚ but nakabubuti ba sa iyo? Perception varies. I can’t just depend my standpoint in my own voice without considering someone else noises. ”
“Balance? ” he asked.
“Exactly! We lie in a world filled with different species and kingdoms and to keep the balance between good and right‚ one must consider everyone around him. It’s not only you that is existing. Everyone around you is true. ”
“You were talking in a pearl of wisdom connected to your own belief. Please don’t link this topic to a religious manner.”
“Okay‚ let’s talk about it scientifically. Although goodness doesn’t seem to be a scientific concept but in physics‚ you can count the act of goodness. The more we count‚ so does the more we do good things‚ the more we balance things‚ and understand what life is. In anatomy‚ if you do goods‚ you are feeding your neurons‚ if you do bad‚ you are prying your neutrons. And the only way for you to perform this act of goodness‚ you need to interact with living things around you. ”
“Hmm? ” he stopped for a second. Sending me the signal to continue my explanations.
“Ibig sabihin‚ hindi talaga mag-s-stand independently ang paggawa mo ng mabuti to consider it right. ”
“If it is about the balance‚ can we make the evilness come to the picture too? I mean‚ does keeping the balance between good and evil could make us worthy of good life after death? ”
“Hmm‚ to be honest‚ I don’t wanna argue about being good or bad. We are all born with tremendous capacity to do whatever we want to do. ”
“Yeah. Base sa tanong ko kanina‚ I’m talking about our freedom in the next life. May I repeat‚ does that mean that we are no longer hum—”
“About our freedom. Freedom is shaped by circumstances. Death is already a big circumstance to make some changes. In my viewpoint lang ha‚ death will take away our rights as normal beings. If there’s really an immaterial soul‚ I don’t think we are still capable to do what we want to do in our life after death. Afterlife concern that there’s really a Higher being‚ and that Higher being will take hold to our life‚ and so as you called freedom. ”
“Do you believe it? ” he asked.
“Alin?”
“Our next life? ”
“Hmm. Ewan haha. Sometimes I think that what if we are really cosmos and since we are cosmos‚ we’ll never end but rather be an infinitely dense singularity. Parang lifeless na tayo‚ but still existing tapos the only way for us to feel alive again is to spark another Big Bang‚ an another hot dense na sasabog to form another life. Or we could stay forever be an absolute zero cosmos floating in an unknown space. Ewan‚ what exactly is the final fate of all cosmos? How this universe will die? ”
“The argument has gone long‚ students. ” natatawang sabi ng aming professor. Yeah nga‚ na-carried away na yata kami.
Yet Inspite of all the knowledge I’ve known about life and death‚ there’s still a question left in my mind.
“May kamatayan din po ang kamatayan? ” I asked then the whole room broke into deafening silence.