Barracks Dwellers (First Draft)

Guy and his girlfriend talking about writing, and types of literary writing

styles out there. Discuss about writers and how they write. Writers who write

poetry. Some can't write poems, they write in prose. Others write in short

stories. But some find it difficult to write, so they sit down and write novels.

Guy and gf live in the same small apartment with separate rooms, a toilet and

later on with a large dog named Bronn, after two break ins in their apartment.


The apartment is located in Cebu City, in a squatter area most residents still

called Barracks. Fire here happens often than other areas in the city. It was

once owned by the Government military during the Marcos era. Soldier stationed

here, a strategic place for their operations in the city. After the Martial Law,

the new city government wanted to get rid of the place, which became a symbol of

oppression and torture. Hardened criminals, political activists, anyone the

government wanted to get rid off was said to be brought here, to the center of the

Barracks where they "got exactly what they deserve." People who now live here

tell of haunting stories of people moaning and gnashing of teeth. Barracks later

sold to the rich Ayala Family.


The place where the apartment is looks dismal and stinky, the walls covered in

graffiti that looks like a work of a madman with severe mental diarrhea. There's

also plenty of mosquitoes. But the rent is cheap.


"This is perfect," he said.