I could not help but to imagine the worst. When you are locked inside a small fitting room with a few panicky people sending text messages and making calls here and there, it is difficult to keep calm. I am not the type of person to make such calls and make people worry so I just kept quiet on one side. And then thoughts of other bad things that can happen began to come to my mind. What if they have high-powered guns? What if the gunmen take the whole mall as hostage? What if they have bombs?
I had to take two puffs from my inhaler.
After the longest 20 minutes of my life, staying inside the fitting room, we peeked outside. Still, there weren’t many people on the corridors but we saw security guards roaming around. Then, we decided to come out and asked the guard nearby how we can go out of SM Megamall. He said there was an emergency exit nearby but I had my car parked in Building A so there was hesitation, though very little, for me to go. We waited a few more minutes and when we saw shoppers walking calmly towards Building A, I told my friend that we should go with them and exit at the parking lot. I have this feeling that the incident might not be in total control yet so when I saw an out, I knew we had to take it.
So we did. We walked towards the parking lot and it seemed like the crowd is a lot calmer now. We went straight to my car, I started it, revved the engine, and just when we were about to exit, we saw a lot of people running out of the mall to the parking lot. My heart began beating fast as I thought that there might be gunmen coming towards us. I was stuck in line to pay for the parking fee. I was praying that nothing bad would happen and when it was my turn to pay, I gave the exact amount and without waiting for the receipt, I drove as quickly as I can.
Fortunately, we managed to leave SM Megamall unharmed. I am still pumped up with adrenaline and gasping for air but I thank Big Bro for keeping us safe. It was a traumatic experience and just hearing loud noises now gets me paranoid. I don’t know what happened next after we left but I really hope those gunshots we heard hit no one. I don’t know how public safety can be improved but this isn’t the first time this has happened. Maybe in a different mall, but the same scary stuff that could have been prevented. All I know is there is something to be done – a lot of things to be improved.
The experience I had a couple of hours back may be scary. At worst, it will give me nightmares tonight but the silver lining is I had a deeper appreciation for life. I could attest that it’s true, when you’re life gets on the line, you see your life flash before you. I suggest you make awesome memories now so that you’ll feel resolved when they flash before you. I realized I still have a lot of memories to make.
When in Manila, you need to be extra careful. Always be on the lookout but don’t forget to “Keep Calm and Rock On”.
SM Megamall Robbery/Shootout and a Deeper Appreciation for Life