It was a hot and humid afternoon in a small alley in Tondo, Manila. The loud sounds of children playing filled the air, along with tricycles passing by on the narrow road and karaoke music coming from a nearby house where someone was singing popular songs.
Mang Carding was a simple worker at a big shoe factory, but this day was very special for him. After working hard for almost eight years—never missing work and often doing overtime even when he was very tired—his effort was finally noticed. He was promoted to supervisor.
To celebrate and surprise his wife Minda and their two young children, he ordered food from a popular fried chicken restaurant. He bought a full bucket of chicken with gravy, rice, and soft drinks that the kids loved. Their family rarely ate food like this because money was always limited, so he knew his children would be very happy.
While waiting at home, Carding kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with an old towel. He called the delivery rider to check if he was close.
The rider said he was already near the basketball court but there was a little traffic because of a local basketball game.
A few minutes later, Carding heard a motorcycle honk outside their small gate. He quickly went outside with the money ready and gave it to the rider.
The rider thanked him and warned him that the bag was a bit heavy.
When Carding held the bag, he immediately noticed it was very heavy. It didn’t feel like it only had fried chicken and rice. It felt like something much heavier was inside.
He went back inside where Minda and the children were already waiting at the table with their plates.
Minda asked why he looked worried. Carding told her that the chicken bucket felt unusually heavy. When he placed the bag on the table, it made a loud sound.
Minda guessed maybe there was extra gravy or rice from a promotion, but she also sounded unsure.
Carding slowly opened the bag. Inside were the gravy and rice containers. The bucket of chicken was also there with the lid closed.
But when he lifted the bucket, it felt extremely heavy—almost like several kilos of rice were inside.
Carding started to feel scared. He wondered if something strange or illegal had been accidentally placed inside the bucket, since he had heard news stories about suspicious deliveries being used for illegal items.
