At the Festival: a cross-cultural love story

"Dad, why Mom looks different?" 

"Son, it's because mom is from Asia." 

"What is Asia, Dad?" 

"That is a continent, just like Europe or North America. We are in Germany and it is in Europe. Grandpa lives in Canada and that is North America. Asia, Europe and North America are all continents." 

"Hmmmm... but why? Can we go to Asia Dad? Maybe I can take the train again? I love it!" 

"Maybe this summer, Son. I will discuss it with mom so you will be able to see your relatives there too. And that takes an airplane, just like when we had our trip to uncle in Turin three months ago, remember?" 

"Wow! That's even more exciting then! Okay dad, I hope we can go soon, I really would love to fly again!" 

It seems just yesterday when I met Sharry in the Philippines. My friends from Germany decided to see this festival in a city in middle Philippines. It happens every third week of the January and there are just so many activities and contests that happen during this festival. Not to mention of course the "to-die for" beaches in that country. 

First, we went to a paradise-like beach called Boracay for one week. That was the second week of January in 2005. The week after, we visited Iloilo to enjoy this "Dinagyang Festival". It is a religious and touristic festival at the same time. Deeply, I am not so aware why this festival came in mind but maybe my friends have more ideas about this. All I can remember is that it was full of fun and people were all happy and nice. 

After the festival, we were supposed to go back to Germany. However, I got some virus from tropical water and I had to be admitted to the hospital. My friends did not have any choice but to leave me and take their return flights. My condition was hopeless. No relatives, no friends, weak health condition and no family member was there to attend to my needs. 

Sharry was one of the nurses monitoring me in the hospital where my friends brought me in. I was lucky to have mentioned to her my problem. She made it a point to make my life easier: helping me in every means she could and trying to comfort me that things would go all right. After a few days, I was back to normal. I did not go back to Germany that time. Sharry and I spent a little bit of time to know each other further. After 3 weeks I finally went back to Germany and Sharry went on with her work in the hospital. 

From the very moment we I was alone, I could not stop but to think of her. A year later, I went to witness Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo agian. I went to the hospital where Sharry work and lucky as I was, she was still there. We dated and and we got married a year later. 

Now we have our belowed son. It seems just yesterday but Dinagyang Festival had it happen

The First Snowflake By Webbielady

It’s third week of November. We were trying to hold it together up there. It’s not our time yet. We needed to hold onto each other, trying not to fall down, not to precipitate. We held each other strongly yet our force was futile: we had to fall; we could not stay within the atmosphere any longer. We, as crystalline water ice, had no better choice but to turn from clouds to snowflakes, as the humans call it.

We were told from the very beginning that we have a cycle. We cannot stay in one stage of our life for a long time. Just like today, after a few days of staying as clouds, we have to turn into rain or snow. And here I am, one of the many billions snowflakes drifting down… down…down… and now I landed as a beautiful snowflake, fresh and pure. I landed on a leaf.

Very near where I landed is a lady enjoying the snowfall. She hums as she tries to catch some of us still falling down immensely. She did so for about 10 minutes happily but as time goes by, she eventually got bored and started to feel cold.

“What on earth I forgot those keys for! I hope mom doesn’t get caught in traffic thatlong…. Brrrrr….brrrr…”

Now I knowwhy. She is waiting in the doorway for her mother to arrive home. Anotherquarter an hour passed and her phone rang.

“Where?...What?!... Still in Utrecht? But that’s another at least 30minutes mom. To who? To Helma’s? No..no.. I cannot, I am soaked… I better waityou here… An hour? Why?... Please mom, I’ll just wait you here….brrrr…. takecare, Mom. Love yah!”

Now Istarted to pity her. An hour in cold is a challenge. I feel a bit guilty fornot holding strong enough up there. Now we cause trouble down here, we are muchunexpected as it’s only November! It’s our fault! We were not strong enough toresist falling down.

-Hi Jes! Why are you here in this weather? Youlook cold too!

=Yeah, I’m waiting for Mom. I left my keysinside.

-Oh, that doesn’t sound fun. Mind to come inwith me to have some hot chocolate, tea or coffee?

= No, never mind. Mom will be here in fewminutes. Thanks anyway, Rob.

-A’ight. I’ll wait with you here. It’s a fewminutes as you said anyway.

=No, no! Are you crazy? It’s cold here.

-No, don’t worry. Let’s just chit-chat tillyour mom arrives.

=It’s not really necessary, jot get in. Momwill be here very soon.

-I’ll get inside if you come with me. So, untilyou change your mind, I am stuck here with you.

I am amazedby Rob’s insistence. For another 20 minutes Jessica and Rob talked aboutschool, work, life and everything. I was a happy witness on the leaf abouttheir conversation. They laugh and talk and she almost forgot she’s half-soaked.

Theconversation continued, a dinner date for the Friday evening has been set, atennis match has been set, a Calculus tutorial on Sunday has been fixed and alot of other plans have been discussed. Yet, Jessica’s mother has still notarrived. I assume another 30 minutes. Another phonecall…

Yes Mom. You’re near?... Huh? … Arnhem? Why? Oh,no…. I’mokay Mom, Rob’s here inviting me inside his house but I told him you’re near….Another 30 minutes? That heavy and slow?... Okay…okay… take care, Mom. Bye.

-So?

=Okay, in we go.

-That’s it. I’m starting to freeze here too.Let’s go!

That’s it.I am not sure if I am still here to witness the tennis match and when they goout for dinner. It’s only Monday. I hope not to melt until weekend to witnessmore but my life in each stage is short. I will be in the atmosphere againsoon, during my condensation cycle. It is not a boring and disappointingprecipitation after all. I have a story to tell when I condense back to theatmosphere. I will surely tell the lovely story of Rob and Jessica. I bet theirstory is only starting.

At the Same Place by Webbielady

"Where are you going to have lunch?"
"The same place."
That's noontime.

"Where are you going to have dinner?"
"The same place."
That's evening.

It is more than three years already that I blurt the same answer out every time someone asks me about my eating place. It is always at "the same place".

I am Antonio and I am in my late thirties. I am a municipal employee in my home town. I live a regular life but there is always a strong taste of bitterness in it. That is why I always, and yes, literally "always", eat at the same place to at least remember that once, life had something sweet in it too.

I have very vivid and sweet memories at this place I refer to as "the same place". It is a restaurant where I always go to eat and I always want to remember those good old memories and keep them alive inside of me. These memories are what make me keep going in my day-to-day sorrowful existence.

In the past years my lovely wife, Heda, would always ask me if we could meet at lunchtime at this restaurant. During Saturdays, we also made it a point to have a delicious dinner at this place as we look at the reddish-orange setting sun across the horizon and hear the hit of the waves against a big rock along the sea's shoreline just a few meters away from where we were seated. This local and old bamboo-made, palm-roofed restaurant can only cater a maximum of 40 diners in their 10 regular-sized four-seater tables. Its local ambiance and local taste really suited our preferences and it made us feel at peace and with nature and it seemed that it helped us get more and more deeply inlove with each other..

During the last months of my wife's life, we were struggling to stay happy. The fact that her days were counted due to her having a brain tumor did not stop us from enjoying life. It was sad everytime we realize that soon I would be left out alone in this world but that was the best we could do: be together and be happy together while we still could. In fact, she made me promise her that I would continue to enjoy life after she's gone and even repeated a thousand times that I should look for someone to replace her place as my love as soon as I could so that I would not feel so much pain of losing her.

At this restaurant, during the few days of her life, we spent many moments reminiscing the good old days. We talked and talked about the beautiful past, how we met at this place, how we dined here for so many times, how we shared our dreams while we were still dating and how we continued and have our love survive until the end. It could be badly sad at times but it is a public place with lovely surroundings that the deep sadness that always brush my heart can be controlled easily. I know for sure this would not be the case if we were inside our home and alone. This place has witnessed my happy days, how I discovered my love and nurtured it. It also a witness to my sorrowful days, how I hold on to happiness despite it slipping uncontrollably our of my grip... it is a witness to my lost love... my lost life. It is a witness to my struggling survival and my longing for my lost beloved Heda.

Now, my wife has passed away and it's more than three years already and yet, I am still stuck to this place. Who can blame me? I remember, when people asked me where I would have my lunch, I would reply with a happy voice and wide smile: "At the restaurant, with my Love." That reply was valid at least four years ago.

True Lovers' Conversation

“Do you love me?” He asked.

“Sure, I do love you, and forever.” She answers.

“If I die, will you love another?”

“Surely I will!”

“Why do you answer so?”

“Because I don’t want you to die. Think about my answer if you do. Ti amo!”

A Warm Encounter Under the Cold Rain

She hurried to go out of the grocery store. It's her usual midweek grocery purchases. She's in her bicycle like the rest of the people in Netherlands. She was in a hurry. She just saw the clouds closing in and getting heavier right above her zone. 

Netherlands is a place where four seasons can happen many times in a day. In a matter of minutes, the weather can be summer-like, winter-like, spring-like or autumn-like.  Even the weather forecasts, no matter how scientific they can be, most of the time cannot precisely predict what's going to be the weather for a certain day. Difficult. That's it.

She fixed her heavy purchases behind her bike. She put some in a free box picked from free boxes the grocery store offered. The rest, she placed in aplastic bag that she has for groceries and some others inside the empty space in her shoulder bag.


She was so sure that rain would fall in a matter of minutes and her house is still 5 minutes away.  "Darn! I must really hurry!" She murmured to herself. She went cycling so fast as her heavy groceries and small foldable bicycle could allow until she gets to the crossing. Like a bad fate, the light turned yellow-orange and she could not cross. She cursed under her breath but she could not do nothing but to wait. Worse came to worst as the rain pured heavily. She was soaked in a few seconds of heavy and thick drops of rain.

It seemed like forever until the traffic light turned green. She didn't know why but she was there for more than a few minutes. Usually the light changes in amatter of 60 seconds but this time, it took a lot of time. Another biker arrived. He's soaked in the rain too. "Ah Dutch weather", he tried to open a conversation with her. She only smiled at him. She was trying to look attentively at the lights expecting them to turn green.

"You've been here for long? I mean, in this crossing? Seems that the light doesn't work properly?"  He asked her.

"Indeed. Seems that it's broken". 

"Oh not again."

---To be continued...---

Blue Moon

The nights's approaching. It's  nine o'clock and 15 minutes but they stayed still in the park. Spending the whole afternoon and early portion of the evening lying in the park's grass is a perfect moment. Who can imagine? Happiness need not necessairily be expensive. He noticed that all those movie moments, disco moments, special dinner moments, he cannot compare those feelings to what he's feeling right now.

Almost all the park goers have gone home for dinner. They're still there, lying in their backs on the grass, talking nonsense, talking about their dreams as they hold each other's hand.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her.

"No. Can we stay a few more minutes? I love the feeling that we are together with only the sound of nature around. Why? Are you hungry?" She asked him back with concerned tone.

"No. I was just thinking of you. We're here for quite some time."

"Indeed but the feeling to be in this way is amazing, y'know. Who knows what the future holds? We may go back in this park someday with our children..." She left the sentence hanging.

"Children??? You mean? You mean? I mean, why the concept of children came to your mind?"

"Oh come on!" She teased him as she pulled his face and deeply kissed him.

"I thought for quite some time about what you said and what you tell me almost everytime... that you really love me. We've been together for so many years and I want to say I appreciate everything. No one else cares for me as you do. I mean, what else should I look for? All is laid down good for me. It's you!"

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" He tried to relax himself and return the teasing though deep down inside he's feeling so nervous, excited and full of anticipation.

"No. I just want to tell you something important before we head for dinner. I love you, too".

"Oh God! At last I heard those words I've been dying to hear for years."

He pulled her close and they kissed for a long time. The moment they realize it's really getting late, they saw the moom so full and big and it looks like it's tainted with blue. It's a lovers' moom. They are meant for each other. His happiness tonight is so much that he could hardly breath. 

"Oh at last! Thanks God." He was whispering and grateful for this special night.

"Let's go and have dinner, Sweetheart." She pulled his hands and as soon as they're near each other, they walked with his hand wrapping her shoulders while hers is around his waist.