Cloudheads, are you with me? Can I get a "woot! woot!"? Until I posted this, I had been very hesitant to divide this into two parts. If you've been following along, you probably know by now how much I hate breaking chapters up into parts. Thankfully, there was a small opening in this one, so I took it. I just hope that I didn't make the wrong decision.
I've been aggressively editing the entire story since we're past the halfway point. While lots of things have happened, I'm aware of the slow burn of the recent chapters. Unfortunately, the pacing is intentional, so that you can experience the same doldrums that Ledd feels. I thank you for powering through it.
In any case, this chapter dealt with one of the recurring themes of the series. It's hard for kids to get a solid grasp of their differently abled peers, and they can't be blamed for their lack of understanding. While the earlier depiction was mostly fictional, this time around the event is rooted in reality. Fortunately, no one was pushed or shoved, but squabbles brought upon by Ledd's condition is something that really sadddens me. I just hope that the parents would do their part and educate their children to be more compassionate of others. The whole world will be better for it.
This scene really made me think about my good friend @dreemit's story entitled The Playground Series (It's currently on hold, but that just means you have time to catch up with it). While the only similarity is that it's set in the playground, it made me realize that there are so many lessons that can be told through the interactions there. It's a microcosm of the real world, and it's a place where a lot of formational thought can be shaped.
When I was a kid, I've never been a big fan of playgrounds that have a lot of people in them. I blamed that on my anti-social tendencies, but found out much later that it's because I'm a flaming introvert. I'd much rather go to playgrounds when I'm the only one there. Even though my future kids would have the same tendencies, I'm going to force them to interact with others so that they would have a much easier social life when they grow up. I wanted to send a strong message about how children are dealing with people who are different to them. I just hope that it translated well.
Really though, I don't want this post to become a web therapy about my social anxiety, so I'll move on with my discussion.
"Coche" is the the Spanish word for car, as I've mentioned in a previous installment. So, I'm posting a picture of Zepp boarding it instead :D
I envisioned their relationship similar to Aang and Appa (Avatar: The Last Airbender). If it's still not evident, it's one of the biggest influences of this story. I was huge fan of that series growing up, and I really wanted to tell my take on it. For those wanting to connect the dots, I'm going to list the similarities between the characters. Aang is the last airbender (as of the series). Ledd is the last Sachaphoyan. Both of them can control air/wind (viento), although one might argue that Aang has a wider skill set. As to the reasons for these similarities, you'll have to continue reading the story :) (hey, you know I had to sell it somehow, right?)
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One notable difference here is that they're not riding on Coche's back. That would've been cool though.
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Instead, Coche's more like Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro. Complete with glowing eyes ;)
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Also, the phrase ha anak which Ledd was fixated on in Part 1 is just a common expression said by parents here. Ha can be roughly translated as something that could take the place of "okay" when used in a question. For example, "I'm going to go now, okay?" would be "I'm going to go now, ha?" when you use "ha" in an English sentence or its translated equivalent "Aalis na ako, ha?" While anak is the Tagalog/Filipino word for "son", "daughter" or "offspring".
Here's a song by renowned Filipino singer Freddie Aguilar that's inspired by that very word:
For those interested in its translation, you can find it here. It surprisingly became famous in South Korea a while back. It was even translated and used as the main theme of a TV series.
Oh, and one other thing, be sure to check out @zeppelin's intro post. It's not a long read, but it's official verification of his existence. It was made just in time for World Autism Awareness Day. You can find the intro post here.
Wow, this turned out longer than I anticipated. So I'll end it right here. Until next time, sports fans!
Thanks for reading! Follow me, @jedau, if you want to live.
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