Wake at your own risk

Let sleeping vendors lie. Neighbors of a coconut vendor in the Pasil market are wary of him whenever he sleeps, and for good reason. While awake the man is known to be friendly and amiable, having no enemies at all. But in the few seconds between sleep and wakefulness his friends swear he is a totally different person altogether. Those who have tried waking him up say his first instinct is that he is in danger and he rises with a start, grabbing the closest thing he always keeps with him…his bolo.   Many times he has chased off someone who has woken him up only to realize they were his friends or family.

Violent past? His acquaintances say he must have been awakened by an attack in his sleep during his younger days and now everytime he is jolted awake he thinks he is in danger. If so he has not told anyone, even his own family. Their advice? Wake him up slowly…or preferably just leave him to rise on his own, much safer that way. Lucky for them he is an early riser. But also unlucky for them he seems to be able to sleep just about anywhere he can lay his head.