IN MY LIFE

[Memories on December 4, 2012 at 8:40pm]

“There are places I remember 
All my life, though some have changed 
Some forever not for better 
Some have gone and some remain…”

I timidly smiled when a cell phone nearby played within my hearing range. It’s because some of those familiar words brought joy, and some gave pain.

I was then sitting early this morning like Forrest Gump on a bench at the bus stop beside Miagao Catholic Church while waiting for the bus bound for Antique. But unlike Mr. Gump, I never had the courage to initiate conversation with a total alien about shrimps, war, and friendship, much less my own love story.

Several people sat with me on the bench, some were mere bystanders but most of them were travelers too, my fellow commuters. I tried to initiate conversation with some of them but I only got a dry “yes” and “no” for a reply, maybe they were not fond of talking to strangers.

As I simply glanced to all passersby I felt like a virtual unknown in my spot, though I managed to smirk to some familiar faces who also smirked back.

Years ago in that same spot, I felt like a superstar, same with what was felt by everyone else, as everybody knew everybody at any given time of any day. You greet people nicely with a nod, wink and comedic distortion of lips, yeah, making cute faces if and when their names temporarily escaped your memory.

As I frequently looked back, also literally, at the historic Catholic Church behind me, I couldn’t help but remember the times when we were young children yesterday.   Then, like Ninja warriors, if not seasoned mountain climbers, we raced against each other to reach the top of the bell tower.  This every time there were weddings and a funeral, unmindful of a possible slip or fall as we were yet a stranger to the word danger.

And it became more dangerous when we reached high school and flirted with disaster, so to speak, a few more years later.  While others below rubbed their knees on the floor in prayer, we were up there burning weeds as an experimenting teenager.  It was also up there when, as we threw our panoramic gaze around as innocent kids in band, we first suspected there were other life forms outside Miagao and possibly more beyond.

We had only repeatedly dreamed then of boxes of life’s sweetest chocolates. And now I’ve proven Forrest was right, we’d never know what we’re gonna get.