The Hermits

CHAPTER TWO

"The Hermits"

The people have an idea that the "Sugo ni Kamatayan", the Emissary of Death, is hiding in their area after the 'Revolution'. Everybody was right on the money, but nobody knew where he might be except for Samantha and her father who seemed to be lucid now from his mental illness when nursing his wounds from the battle and bringing back the Sugo back to the world of the living. The people would always need a tangible proof of the things they believe in, except for the supernatural, even though nobody ever saw the Sugo, except those ones he delivered to hell, the people singled out the wrong person and mistook for the Death's Emissary. They would reason out that the wrong person they attached the myth to have the same characteristic to that of the Emissary, based on their self-invented profiles and imaginations. Rumors would always circulate with the intent to always ruin someone's personality. Most of all ruin the personality of the purveyor herself.

Nobody would want to mess with that person after the incident. He's a retired government employee that imprisoned him in a small desk for nearly three decades. He decided to be a urban hermit, a 'HIKIKOMORI', just like those young individuals in Japan who chose isolation and refuses to leave their room, except his age is off by decades, but seclusion and escape like love cannot distinguish age. He has a falling out with life, with the world who dealt him always with a bad hand of experiences, hurt and failures. He invented a new world for himself in his solitude, a world for him alone by spending his time in online games and writing raps songs exposing the hateful aspects of societies and humanity.

The hermit seldom comes out of his abode, except to replenish his supplies. Once he did, a group of bullies drinking on the street picked on him. One from the group stood up from the drinking session as he was passing and stopped him. He stood there silent with his right hand on his chin contemplating as he was being accosted by the half-naked bully with a beer-belly and clad in generous tattoos. His silence piqued the bully asking him silly things, the bully moved forward to punch his face with his clumped fist, it never landed. The hermit's left hand parried the punch, then with lighting speed, the hermit's right palm's base, from the hand that was on his chin a while ago, shot out upwards hitting the bully's chin. The bully started falling backwards, that's when the hermit's left leg which was in an inconspicuous forward stance swung in an outer arc uprooting the bully's right leg from the ground to complete his backward half-fall. The bully hit his head on the table edge where his other buddies were still sat. All of them were surprised at what was happening, finally their jaws dropped just as they heard the thud of their buddy hitting the ground.

When nobody from the gang stood up to challenge the hermit, he started to walk away back to his sanctuary in the Orange painted building, his hermitage. He started to feel sad since what happened was not the event he is waiting for, the end of his life and misery. He believes in what a philosopher once said, that life is full of sorrow and pain, people would be better off if they take their own life. But, he grew up as a catholic. There is a purpose to life, it is still precious.

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The "Order of the Eremites" was founded and established three years before the 'Revolution', and was instrumental in the uprising, along with other groups and organizations who came to aid and or participate in that catalyst.

With its headquarters, or the residence of a benevolent founder hermit who happened to inherit the two floor property in 'Purgatoryo Biente' or Purgatory Twenty. During the early days and first meetings, the founding members had a hard time gathering the member candidates, much alone identifying those who wanted to be non-entities. When they got together, the common sentiment was curiosity as well as animosity towards each other. Someone pointed out that they should stop acting like children, instead start debates on subjects that prompted each of them to hate the world they live in or the reasons why they chose to be outcasts. When this started, they went further theorizing how things can change, then the solutions came when everyone started speaking and contributed what they knew. Each member of the Order knew so much, they all had deep wisdoms. That was their common bond with each other and the collective.

A few years back the hermit of the Orange building was the grand master of the Order. Everyone was addressed in such manner, "of the Orange" for the hermit we met earlier, "of the Forest" for a hermit living in the 'Bukid' area, where the poorest among the poor took up their residents there as informal settlers after that dump site was closed down which they scavenged, near Purgatory Five and within Purgatory Nine, "of the City Jungle" for a vagabond hermit living on the pavements of the Metropolis. While some of the hermits like 'of the Orange' is well kept and always shaven, older ones has kept the traditional long beards and hair, uncut since they decided to be in solitude, in mostly solitude state, that is when they are not attending any forum in the Order of the Eremites.

Being a student of Stoicism at one time, 'of the Orange' chooses not to interfere in matters that do not concern him. Reading one afternoon out on his small veranda on the third floor of the building he lived in, he witnessed an incident involving another lowly member, he recognized from where he was, was of the Order where he was the grand master of. The old man was called 'of the City Jungle' he recalled, an older man of twenty years his senior, looking like a beggar, but boisterously loud and opinionated, barked at a group of men who did something he did not have an idea of. Verbal exchanges and curses were exchanged between the three younger men and the old mendicant. The young men started taunting the old one, and then the younger men started to physically assault the mendicant. "Must have been something he said." he thought going back to his reading to dismiss what was happening two floors and a street away from him.

He looked up once again prompted by more noises coming from across the street that he was observing earlier. There he saw the same participants, the three agitated younger men, the mendicant old man, and now a little girl just half the size of the full grown men is part of the melee. It was an admirable sight, the little girl was waving an iron bar, that obviously she was having a hard time handling with its weight, in front of the now kneeling mendicant. She was swinging away that big iron bar to ward off the younger men away from the mendicant, until they gave up and left. Throwing away the iron, she started shouting and exchanging invectives at the retreating men, helped the old man up, never took away her hand from the hermit's arm to support him as they walked away from the scene. A grin from 'of the Orange' was the only payment for the entertainment.

During the next discussion session of the Order of the Eremites came to schedule, 'of the City Jungle' took the floor and made his proposition.

"I of the City Jungle, a member of this Order in good standing, propose... no, beseech rather, this collective to execute and start now our plans and discussions to take in students and scholars, as what our brethren 'of Three Mountains' proposed four moons ago, and we all have explored and we, the collective, I believed has perfected and expanded since then in theories and musings.

"I submit my chosen candidate, Samantha, of the Place of the Dead, where I had been teaching Math, Philosophy, Science and Art to since I met her. I assure you brothers that she is very astute and a quick learn, like a sponge even." He now pointed at the corner of the room, where everyone turned to and never noticed until now the dark skinned little girl curled up seated on a step, with animated wide eyes and a composure that she was absorbing everything she was hearing and seeing.

"I admit, I am running out of things to teach her. I would need some time to gather my materials to educate. It has been a while since I taught, and I'm afraid I need to catch up with sleep and rest, since this little monkey badgers me daily after her school, begging me to teach her more." The one 'of the City Jungle' continued, he chuckled followed by coughing.

"I submit to the council, and to the collective that our musings and talk should now be followed with actions. For my belief, and trust, in the objective of the Order is to give back to society our collective wisdom, and contribute to its betterment. This is another opportunity for us to contribute. We interceded once with our influence that made the world we are a part of a bit better, now I say we pour our efforts into rebuilding the future, by transferring our knowledge and wisdom to its future, through our youths. I submit thus for your consideration and action." Concluded the one 'of the City Jungle', as he sat down.

It started with her. At present day the Order of the Eremites had one hundred students, out of school youths, public school children who needed tutoring, street children who needed shelter, food, and education among others. Daycares, classrooms, and shelters were put up by the Order, accreditations and funding by the Education Department and private individuals as well as entities was bestowed unto the program. They did not expect this to happen. What was most astounding was all the members of the order participated, not one of them complained about their status from being a hermit shunning society to a social person. Instead of running away from everything, they find ways to engage more of their time in this endeavor. What they all needed was a purpose.

As the only student on the onset, the Order agreed on a trial program of educating their first scholar, so they can formulate something like a curriculum. With her abilities to easily absorb her lessons in the shortest time, Sam was endorsed by the Program-in-charge to 'of the Orange', where he vehemently objected to since he doesn't have anything to teach, and on second thought he conceded, since being the head of the collective, he should lead by example.

"Ok Padawan, it's my time to teach you for two weeks." One afternoon addressed Sam, after she finished cleaning and washing the dishes, where the Order commissioned her with pay, after the council learned her situation, her near brush with the Mayor which she escaped, how she takes care of her sick and mentally challenged father, where the Order also helped in controlling her father's tuberculosis.

"Good afternoon sinsei, I am ready sir 'of the Orange.'" Replied the little girl glowing with excitement on the new things she will discover with her new mentor, gathering her pencil and paper.

'of the Orange' rolled his eyes at the exuberant child then said, "You don't need your pencil and notebook, leave it. Get those four sticks stacked on that umbrella basket, I will meet you on the rooftop." He was also the grand master of combat 'Arnis', who bested once the grand master in Balintawak. They would practice every day for the two weeks that became months that followed, sometimes her father would mimic them in an otherwise hilarious pantomime of the 'Katas' they train in. He witnessed firsthand the child's astuteness and her abilities to easily master anything, this made his indifference and snobbish facade became an endearment to the child, but he was careful not to show it to anyone.

Like him all her teachers adopted Sam as their own daughter. Their Order of the now 200 wise and learned hermit members, and all the other 'Padawans' became a family. The select mentors willingly passed on to the little girl the things they've learned in their lifetimes, be it in academics, the arts, survival and martial arts, where the Order also found out that their members are either masters or autodidacts in the arts. A handful of them are deadly such as pressure points fighting such as 'Kyusho Jitsu'. It was late when the council found out what was taught to the child when they later audited the mentors. They were alarmed at first, but knowing their first Padawan like their own child, they were confident that she will keep the discipline honored as well as the restrictions of its uses. They have created a deadly individual in just two years, but a smart, wise, controlled, kind, loving, responsible and a cute one.