The sun was at its highest. People hurried from destination to destination. No one wanted to loiter too long under the sweltering heat.

It was funny, the weather. It’s supposed to be cool—cooler—during the -ber months. It’s never been hotter. Well, not completely true. It was at par with the heat of the summer we had just experienced. As well as the heat during the supposed stormy season that delivered a handful of storms before completely evaporating.

These were the thoughts running through Gary’s head as he rushed out of his office building for a quick lunch. He loved his job, loved his co-workers—but he absolutely hated the location of his office. If he forgot to bring a packed lunch, like he did today, he had to race against the other people working at the same building, to get to the nearer food establishments.

Unfortunately for Gary, an impending deadline delayed his lunch by a few minutes. Those precious minutes meant that he would have to dine at the carinderia a couple of blocks from his building. Which was where he was going now.

With the scorching heat, Gary had to squint through the haze of vehicles waiting for the light to turn green. He had thirty seconds to cross the narrow road. It was enough time. Gary took a step forward, and was met with a deafening honk from the green Toyota that lead the pack of idle cars.

Gary swore under his breath, leaping aside from surprise. He wanted to swear out loud, annoyed at the driver for alarming him. But he never got the chance. Because during that split-second he had been airborne, leaping aside, he was hit by a speeding jeepney. The green Toyota had been warning him.