By: russelsheim I read stories here from time to time. Minsan pantawid libog. Minsan pampa-inspire lang sa mga kwentong more-or-less parang ...
By: russelsheim
I read stories here from time to time. Minsan pantawid libog. Minsan pampa-inspire lang sa mga kwentong more-or-less parang pang-tunay na buhay. I barely comment on some of the good stuff I read especially iyong mga tagos sa puso. I enjoyed reading more doon sa mga feel mo na totoo at hindi basta kathang isip lang. There are even times that I am inspired to share my story. I have jotted down some talking points, kung paano ko ikwento yong storya ko, kung ano ang structure, o yong daloy. Pero madalas nadedelete ko lang din yong mga drafts kasi nakakatakot akong magsubmit kasi either madisappoint ako dahil hindi makapasa sa admin o mai-publish man pero baha din ang negative comments. Di naman kasi ako magaling sa mga ganito. Magaling lang ako magbasa.This time though I will be braver enough to finally share my story. Pero may disclaimer ako kasi for sure may mga pagkakamali sa grammar especially sa Tagalog. I have better command in English than Tagalog pero masarap kasi magkwento sa Tagalog. Yon bang alam mong masarap sa tenga. Swabe lang. Di nakaka-nosebleed.
Karamihan sa mga nagkuwuwento dito nag-uumpisa sa pag-describe ng sarili nila– kanino sila kamukhang artista, physique o height. Well, good for them. Ako? Medyo malayo sa looks-department. Di rin tall and dark man lang. Malapit na lumagpas ang edad sa calendaryo. “Short chap,” some my friends described. On the lighter side, cute and funny are my best selling points. Di ako nagbubuffer sa kahit ang usapan. Geeky at laging 23mbps sa asaran. Minsan pa-deep. Minsan baliw. Enough for the intro. Wala na kasi akong bangkong mabubuhat para maingat ang sarili ko. Hehe.
Tungkol sa nakilala ko sa bakasyon ko ang kwentong ito. It is one of the most memorable moments I have or will ever have in my life. Last year, I decided to try my first solo vacation. Nakasanayan ko na kasi bumyahe sa ibang bansa during my annual vacation. And I often traveled with friends. The joy it brings is beyond words. Or to put it shortly, it is gratifying. Narerecharge ako. In this last vacation tough it was starkly different. Di lang ako narecharge. I felt more at home with myself more than ever. And I have never felt like this since. Alam mo yong parang ang peaceful at kontento ng nafefeel mo.
I met him in Washington DC. I was in the elevator, going down papuntang pantry ng hostel kung saan ako nagstay. I really didn’t mind kung sino yong nakasabay ko sa loob ng elevator. Nang makababa na ako sa elevator, I headed straight and started getting bread and cereals. When I was about to sit down, there was this guy who approached me and introduced himself. He then asked me if I could share the table with him. I said yes. Di kami nagkailangan. We talked as if we have known each other for a long time. Nagkwentuhan kami sa mga napuntahan namin at sa mga plano pang puntahan. He also shares the same passion of traveling as me. DC is actually the second stop of his backpack travel in the US. Pareha kami. I was also in the second leg of my solo travel. Nag-umpisa sya sa San Francisco at ako naman sa New York. It was around 10 past 8 and I was really in a hurry to start my last day in DC. I told him that I would go ahead since I have to complete my stroll around the city. Niligpit din nya yong kinainan nya sabay sabi na sasabay nalang daw sya sa akin kasi wala naman siyang specific places na pupuntahan unlike me na detalyado ang itinerary.
Our first stop was the White House. We just took some photos. Weird part - ako nagseselfie at nagpapicture sa kanya pero sya di daw nya trip yong magseselfie or magpicture. He said he just take photos of what he sees. I told him that culturally Filipinos are adaptive to fads, pop-culture and what-nots. Sabi ko hayaan nalang nya ako sa trip ko. I told him that some good memories are best captured than remembered. With that said, we were laughing while heading to the National Mall. Saan ko raw napulot yong quote ko. Sabi ko sa bookstore. Tawanan na naman ulit. Habang naglalakad kami, nagkukwentuhan ulit sa buhay-buhay. He was actually working in Canada for a year and finally decided to go back to Germany and pursue a college degree. It made sense na mukha syang bata kasi magka-college pa pala sya. He is in his early twenties, six years my junior to be exact. He’s 6-ft tall. Skinny. Blue-eyed. Masabing mong gwapo.
We reached the National Mall. After few minutes walking, we decided to rest. Nakakahingal kasi. We spotted a tree. Umupo kami sa may lilim neto. Marami siyang pa-deep na kwento regarding his experience while he was in Canada. He was by himself at malayo sa pamilya. Salamat daw sa skype for easing the homesickness. He shared his struggles and triumphs working from one job to another – from a barn to a store, living in a transient room, which was prison cell or spending the night in a tent or at times totally broke. Teary-eyed sya habang nagkukuwento pero alam mo yong proud sya sa mga napagdanan nya. Sobrang humanga ako sa kanya. Sinabi ko na wala namang panama yong experiences ko kumapara sa kanya. Never experienced anything like what he went through. He said it was his game changer. It totally changed his life. He sees the world in a different perspective. Better. His level of maturity is beyond his age sa isip ko. Damn! When I was of that same age, I didn’t think that way. Ang lalim e. He said that he never really shares his deepest thoughts to anybody but me.
We decided to continue our stroll heading towards Lincoln Memorial. Medyo malayo-layo pa kasing lakaran. When we walked past the obelisk, the Washington Monument. I told him that we should stop and take photos of this colossal structure, a symbol of greatness. I was back of course with my obligatory selfies. I tried to convince him that I should take a photo of him with the obelisk as the backdrop. After few minutes of convincing, he finally gave in. Magaling din akong mangumbinsi better than many networkers.Just kidding. I took the first ever photo in his trip that he was on it. After that one shot, I told him that someday he would be great like the obelisk. And he just smiled. Tumingin sa akin ng matagal. Umiwas ako at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad.
After we finished our National Mall tour, I invited him over lunch. I told him that it would be quick though because I would be meeting my cousins that afternoon. I saw in his face that he was sad. Weird feeling. Sinabi ko nalang sa kanya na we can have dinner and grab beer pagkabalik ko from Baltimore. We went to a burger joint nearby. While eating, sinabi ko sa kanya na iinom kami pagbalik ko para di na ako makatulog kasi flight ko pa-SFO 3am. Sabay sabi na di daw sya katulad ng ibang German. Hindi sya umiinom. Nabigla ako. Natawa. Malakas na tawa. Inaasar ko sya na baka di sya German. Genetic mutation sa lahing Alemanya. Germans coined Octoberfest, isang buwang pyesta para sa manginginum ng beer. Tapos sya hindi. Di naman sya napikon sa pamimikon ko. Masayang usapan lang hanggang sa dumating na mga cousins ko at umalis na ako.
Pagkabalik ko galing Baltimore, it was past 8PM. Naghintay sya sa akin sa lobby ng hostel. He doesn’t look fine. Told him na maghintay lang sya sandali at magpalit ako ng sapatos kasi nagkapaltos ako at aalis na kami to have dinner. Pagkababa ko sinabi nya na nagdinner na daw sya. He was upset I am sure about it already. Di ko lang masyado binigyan pansin kasi parang ang OA lang naman. I started cracking jokes at him. I tried again. Kala ko mauubusan ako ng bala, buti nalang ngumiti nong malapit na ako sumurrender. So I just told him that we would just go to a pub but we will not drink beers. Just wines. And he reminded me again that he doesn’t drink at all. Despite his reminders, I still ordered Reisling for both of us. I told him that he should at least try a sip of German’s finest wine. He refused as expected. Nagbakasakali lang naman ako. Inubos ko nalang ang inorder ko pero masayang usapan naman habang fries at juice lang ang pinagkakaabalahan nya. He shared about his family. I shared also about mine. He said that his passion for traveling is just secondary to his passion in soccer. He plays soccer really good, although not professionally, he said. He is a soccer enthusiast and a really huge fan of Maine 05.
We headed back to the hostel around 11PM. I needed to checkout and ready my stuff before my airport shuttle picks me up at 1AM. After my checkout and all, we just stayed in the lobby. It was quiet. He was sitting right across the couch where I was sitting. He said that it would have been better if I would extend my stay in DC so that we could visit Smithsonian museums. His voice sounded meek. Sad I guessed. I wanted to rush towards him and hug him. Instead, I just took a long heavy breath and sighed, and bowed my head. Feeling ko ang bigat. Di ko alam. Gusto kong i-consider mag-extend para makasama pa sya pero masisira ang flights and booked tours ko. After few minutes of silence, he moved towards me. Mukhang excited. He sat beside me and told me that we can still meet again. I was wondering what he was talking. There is no way we could meet again unless I will visit him in Germany. He read my confusion. He then said that we could still meet up in New York after my LA trip. This time ang tagal na loading ko. Nagba-buffer pa ako ng mga ilang seconds. Tapos parang nagka-lightbuIb bigla. I remembered that we shared our travel itineraries during breakfast. I did the math. Meeting in New York is doable for 5 hours, if and only if my flight from LA pabalik sa JFK will not be delayed. I told him good-luck. We continued talking anything about us. But that last thirty-minutes before my shuttle came, it was on a different level of feeling. Parang my needles na tumutusok sa puso ko. Malungkot at masakit. Hanggang dumating na ang shuttle.
He hugged me. I hugged him back. We shook hands. He said – “Just a day but it feels like I’ve known you forever.” We hugged again.
To be continued
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