Ten. God laid down Ten Commandments on His people. Ten. The number which serves as the basis of the worldwide decimal system. Ten. The fastest man on the planet can finish a hundred meters in less than ten seconds. Ten. I still cannot believe we have reached the tenth chapter of this very typical story, and I thought I would be unemployed after the third. Come to think of it, you are still here! What a coincidence. At any rate, on with the narration!

August 2020: SNS Private Messaging

One thing the ongoing Communications Revolution brought to the 21st century is the internet. Imagine, wireless messages being carried all over the world in mere microseconds? As long as there is reception, communication can be done easily. Short messaging service (SMS), or texting, have become the thing of the past. An antiquated technology that may well be considered the "Morse Code" of the current century. No longer is the Philippines the texting capital of the world, but the selfie capital, as well as the social media capital. So, we find Rendo talking with Eliza through the SNS private messaging interface. While Rendo is not as fond of online chats, Eliza's preference of it showed him how convenient this new technology is.

Rendo: Hi there. How was your day?

Send complementary emoji.

Eliza: You always ask that.

Rendo: Oh. Um. I'm sorry.

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Eliza: There you go again. You apologize after.

Rendo: Okay...

Eliza: Come on. Just messing with ya.

Send complementary emoji.

Rendo: What??

Eliza: Anyway, had a good day. I went to a seminar for international students.

Send complementary emoji.

Rendo: What for?

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Eliza: Oh... I'm going to study in Japan for the next two years.

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Rendo: You are?! That's great! Congratulations!

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Eliza: You seem so enthusiastic, it's like you're the one going abroad.

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Rendo: Iie. Hontou ureshii. Ganbare!

(No. I am really happy for you. Do your best!)

Eliza: Arigatou. Ganbarimasu!

(Thanks. Will do!)

Exchange short videos that they took for the day.

Wait, why are they speaking Japanese now? Better adjust the language settings back to English. Oh, wait, right. They do speak Japanese, so I can, too? Watashi wa narrator desu. Firipinjin desu. (I am the narrator. I am a Filipino.)

As usual, they would talk for hours from the rising morning sun into the dead hours of the night. Even their mobile phone batteries tire first before they do. Of course, after that little chat of some twelve hours (which had a number of breaks in the middle anyway), Rendo begins to think to himself. His thoughts go something like the following:

"If she's going to Japan, and it'd be two years... what then?"

"Well, she is likable enough... but it's not as if I love her, so why bother?"

"Two years, huh? Come to think of it, it has been two years ever since..."

"What is she to me, really?"

That is my question, too, if you catch my drift. Let us see how it goes on the other side of the spectrum. Her thoughts go something like the following:

"Is he concerned that I'd go to Japan? Nah, he's too dense to even think about it."

"I don't exactly hate the guy... but it's not as if I love him, right? Right?"

"It's been years since then... if my feelings are different now, so is his..."

"What is he to me, anyway?"

They may be apart, but their night is far from a peaceful one.

Soon enough, the week passes. It is Sunday again, but perhaps the last Sunday they would be able to have together. At Sunday School, both were quiet. Yes, they are seatmates, but not one word was uttered between them. Then, just as the teacher dismissed the class, Rendo followed her and attempted to break the silence.

"Ah. Wait, Eliza," he said as he tapped her shoulder.

She was walking out of the room, but when he called, she turned to him. However, she is still silent.

"I know you're going to Japan and all, so here..."

He pulls out a small box, dark blue in color and tied with a pink ribbon. It is around five (5) inches in length and two (2) inches in width.

She look puzzled, and while she is looking at it, she dared not to get it. For the first time, she speaks.

"W-what is it?"

"It's a gift."

"For me?"

"I don't see anyone else here..."

He laughs before continuing, "Of course, it's for you. Take it."

"I... I don't think... I should accept it..."

"Oh, really now?"

They stop walking at that point. He takes her left hand and puts the box on her palm. Then, he closes her fingers a little so she can grasp it. She looks away as he does this, but then looks back at him again when he finished.

He said, "You can have it."

They continue walking.

"I was asking... what is this?"

He looked at her intently, and when she noticed this, she took her signature poker face again.

"Himitsu." (Secret.)

She punched him lightly on the arm before saying, "Baka..." (Fool.)

Again, another moment of silence. They both smiled, even though they do not know that the other one did.

Then, he answers her anyway, "It's... How do I say this... a jingi of some sort... I really like that term. But the point being, it is valuable item for me."

A jingi is the Japanese term for a sacred treasure. In particular, the sanshu no jingi (three sacred treasures) is Japan's national treasure, and the nation's imperial regalia. In Japanese mythology, the three sacred treasures are given to their goddess, Amaterasu-ōmikami. Once, Amaterasu hid in a cave, putting the world into darkness. These were supposedly gifts which amazed her, causing her to come out of hiding. When she did, the world saw light again.

"Mm? And... you're giving it to me?"

"Yeah. It's a remembrance gift, you see. So, like, when you have it, there's a chance you'd remember me..."

"Oh, I see..."

"What's 'where do you want to eat' again in Japanese?"

"There's a lot of variations you can use to say that."

They take lunch together in a nearby fast food restaurant, but they were dismissed earlier than usual, so it means they have more time to spare before attending church service. After eating, he begins the conversation again.

"Are you sure about going to Japan? It's two years. Will there be credit to the units you take there if it is less than the number of units prescribed in the curriculum here?"

Usually, a semester for international students in Japan take only 18 units. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, 18 units is even minimal. Most Filipino universities usually assign a normal load of 21 units per semester to students, and it depends on the degree being taken. However, some international students in Japan are allowed only to take 12 to 15 units, depending on the fine print of their respective grants.

"Yes, I am. You know well that it is my dream to go to Japan."

"How about the expenses? Last time, you're worried about it."

"God will provide. Besides, my parents already gave their consent and they'll support me financially."

"I know... But, is it okay to leave family? Friends? You also said you had a lover, right?"

"It's not as if we're in love. We are just MU, and without commitment. He's just there for me, you know what I'm saying?"

MU, in contemporary urban terminology, is an abbreviation for "mutual understanding."

"Hm? Isn't MU the level between best friends and lovers? So what you're saying is that there are also levels when it comes to MU? Like, MU without commitment? Or, best friends during weekdays?"

"Touché."

"Anyway, as I was saying, have you thought of this well?"

"Are you underestimating me?"

"N-no..."

"Look, it's my choice, okay? My own free will."

"Free... will?"

"Yes. I did notice that you're so happy for me the other day, but now, you seem to have changed your mind."

"Oh, really? See, it's just..."

"It's just?"

She began to look at him intently, although she still wears her usual bored face.

"You believe in free will?"

"Ha? Yeah. Why?"

"As for me, I don't. I believe that all things have been arranged beforehand. Even our own decisions."

"Free will is biblical. Don't tell me you believe in destiny?"

"No, I don't. But okay, on what grounds do you say that?"

"Deuteronomy 30:19-20. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

She cites the verse as if it is etched in memory. There is no need for her to check the Bible.

"But, free will is not mentioned there. Choice is different. Look at what the people of Israel did after what Moses said. Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you,after he has been good to you." Joshua 24:19-20."

He also cites the verse without the need to look for it in the Bible. The discussion between tw heats up, and her apparent boredom is gradually vanishing.

"If you say so. But, without free will, what is salvation? Why would God even say whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life? Did we not choose to believe? Did we not say in our prayers that we accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior? Therefore, it is our choice to make."

She quotes a section of John 3:16, perhaps one of the well known Bible verses.

"Jesus said, You did not choose me, but I chose you. Even as a man, Jesus said, 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done.' Luke 22:42. And they are both God, still. Jesus, being in a form of a man, shows that we, too, are not masters of our lives."

He quotes a section of John 15:16 for the first part of his statement.

"How about bad actors, then? The villains like Hitler. You mean to say that the ever gracious God purposely let them be bad?"

"Peter writes that 'They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.'"

He quotes a section of 1 Peter 2:8.

"We should have been robots! Mindless robots. That is, assuming what you say about God is true."

"Hey, that's injustice for robots with artificial intelligence. But seriously, God is omniscient. Are you saying that what you choose is beyond His knowing? For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:29-30. I do not believe in destiny, because destiny can be changed. I believe that we are predestined. For example, I want to be taller still, but I cannot. That is because my atomic and biological structure would not allow it. You see?"

"Hrrmm..."

She looks down.

"W-what is it? Come on, this is just an intellectual, and biblical, talk."

At that moment, he realizes that he made a mistake. Eliza is smaller than him in terms of physical height. He is 173 centimeters tall. She is 140 centimeters tall. While Filipino males are usually taller than Filipino females, the former averaging 162 centimeters, while the latter 150 centimeters, they are both beyond average.

Before he snapped out of his embarrassment, she walked out of the restaurant already. Of course, he is fast enough to catch her speed walking away. They walk together, once more in silence. Meanwhile, the jingi he gave her remains a mystery.