TAXI DRIVER TURNS THE CAR AND LOCKS THE DOOR WHEN THE GIRL PASSENGER WAS ABOUT TO GET OFF IN A DARK CORNER, THE WOMAN LOST FEAR AND BUT SUDDENLY HEARD A SEVERAL GUN SHOTS

A rainy and dark Thursday night. Clara had just finished her shift at a BPO company in Ortigas. She was very tired and just wanted to go home and lie down in her soft bed. Because of the heavy rain and flooding on some roads, the ride was difficult. She stood on the sidewalk for almost an hour before she was lucky enough to have an old taxi stop in front of her.

“Manong, to Sampaloc,” Clara said after getting in.

The driver just nodded. He was Mang Romy, a fifty-year-old man with a deep scar on his cheek and a bit of messy hair. At first glance, he looked scary. He was quiet and kept looking in the rearview mirror.

As they drove through Spain, Clara noticed that Mang Romy was acting differently. He kept looking behind him, and occasionally muttered to himself. Clara was nervous. She remembered the news on social media about taxi driver robbers or those who snatch passengers to sell their organs. She held her umbrella tightly and put her hand on her cellphone to dial the emergency number just in case.

“Manong, just here at the corner of Lacson. I’ll be right there by the 7-Eleven,” Clara said when they were close.

But instead of making a move, Mang Romy suddenly pressed the door’s central lock. Click.

Clara’s eyes widened. “Manong? I said stop!”

Mang Romy didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped on the gas pedal to the fullest. The old taxi sped away. They passed the 7-Eleven. They passed the corner where Clara was supposed to get off.

“Help! Help! I’m being kidnapped!” Clara shouted. She banged on the window but it was on the child lock. No one could hear her because of the heavy rain outside.

Mang Romy looked in the mirror, his face sweaty and serious. “Don’t make a sound, Miss!” he shouted.

Clara became even more scared. In her mind, this was the end of her. She was going to be taken to his lair and treated badly. Because of adrenaline and fear, Clara grabbed her umbrella. Using its hard handle, she hit Mang Romy on the shoulder and head while driving.

“Stop this! Let me go! You’re shameless!” Clara shouted while crying and in pain.

Blood dripped from Mang Romy’s forehead because of the umbrella’s impact, but he didn’t stop. He ran even faster, as if he was racing against death. “Miss, stop it! Don’t be so naughty!” the driver cried, but he didn’t let go of the steering wheel.

They turned onto a well-lit road and stopped right in front of a Police Station.

Page: SAY – Story Around You | Original story

As soon as the car stopped, Mang Romy immediately opened the lock. He was panting and blood was dripping from his eyes. Clara was shaking with fear, about to open the door to run into the police.

“Help! Police! The driver!” Clara shouted after getting out.

The police came out. “What happened, Miss?”

“He’s kidnapping me! He doesn’t want to get off! I hit him to escape!” Clara complained while pointing at the taxi.

Mang Romy got out of the taxi, holding his bleeding head. “Chief, I’m sorry. I brought him here. It’s dangerous where he gets off.”

The police were about to handcuff Mang Romy when suddenly a patrol car arrived in a hurry. The policemen from the patrol car got out, looking like they were from an operation.

“Chief! There was an encounter at the corner of Lacson and España just now!” the newly arrived policeman reported. “There’s a group of ‘Laglag-Barya’ gangs waiting there. They shot a woman who had just gotten off the jeep. It’s critical now!”

Clara was stunned. She froze in her place. The time of the police report was the exact time she was supposed to get off at that intersection.

She looked at Mang Romy. The driver was sitting in the gutter, wiping his bloody forehead with a handkerchief while the other policemen investigated.

The chief approached Mang Romy. “Dad, what happened?”

“We were being followed by two motorcycles from Ortigas,” Mang Romy explained, his voice raspy. “I noticed in the side mirror that the people hanging around the corner of Lacson were signaling something. The people hanging around had something bulging around their waist, probably a gun. When Ma’am was about to stop, I saw the motorcycle approaching and they were about to open the door of my taxi. So I locked it immediately and told them to hurry. If I had stopped there, it would have been a holdup or we would both be dead.”

Clara burst into tears. She thought the kidnapper was the one who saved her. The “whispers” she had heard earlier were Mang Romy praying that they would reach a safe place. The speed he was running was to get him away from danger. And the wound on his head… was his doing.

Clara slowly approached Mang Romy. She was very embarrassed. Her hands were shaking.

“Manong…” Clara began. “Manong, please forgive me…”

Mang Romy looked up. Despite the blood and bruises, she smiled at the girl. A smile without any anger. “That’s okay, Ineng. I understand. Who wouldn’t be afraid of my appearance? The important thing is that you’re safe. That’s all I do, to get you home to your family.”

Clara knelt in front of Mang Romy and hugged his knee. “I’m really sorry. What I did to you hurt you. You were the ones who saved me, I even hurt you.”

“Stand up there, son,” said Mang Romy and helped him up. “It’s just a scratch. It’s far from the intestines.”

Clara had Mang Romy treated at the hospital and paid all the expenses. Not only that, she also gave him a big reward. She posted the story on social media and Mang Romy went viral as “The Hero Taxi Driver.” Many people helped the old man, and a car company even gave him a new car because of his heroism.

From then on, Clara learned not to judge based on suspicion and fear. And everyone proved that behind the rough appearance and old taxi, there was a hero at heart who was willing to sacrifice himself—even if he was hit in the head by an umbrella—as long as his passenger was saved.