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Naniniwala ba kayo sa kasabihang “bestfriends are best enemies?” Hindi ako naniniwala sa kasabihang ito … nasa nagdadala yan, di ba?

Si Condessa Guerrero ang bestfriend ko. Long-legged siya kaya siyempre siya ay matangkad. Hindi siya kagandahan pero ang mahalaga ay maganda ang kalooban niya kumpara sa kanyang panlabas na anyo. (Sana hindi siya masasaktan pag nabasa niya ito.) Pwede sana siyang pang model kasi matangkad sa karaniwang Pinay (5′6). Kaya lang korte kwatro-kantos ang katawan niya, plus iyong 5 kilos na bilbil niya at may tig-ilang barya rin sa legs niya. Sa unang tingin mo pa lang sa kanya o first time na nakasalamuha ay agad kang mangingimi na batiin siya at sasabihin mo ring super suplada siya kasi ang expression ng mukha siya ay napaka-istrikto talaga. Pero sa totoo lang kikay pala siya. Daig pa niya si Ai-Ai delas Alas kung magpatawa dahil komikera at medyo magkahawig pa yata sila dahil pareho silang kamag-anak ng yumaong si Babalu. Nagtataka nga kaming mga friends niya kung bakit wala man lang talent scout na nakatuklas sa pagiging kikay at komedyante siya. Sayang nga, eh, dahil malapit na siyang mag-golden anniversary sa ibabaw ng lupang hinirang pero imbes na mapabilang sana siya sa mga iniidolong komedyante at kontrabida sa TV man o sa pelikula ay kung saan-saang lupalop na ng mundo siya napadpad para magpaalila. Tatlong barako ang mga anak ni bestfriend pero kung umasta ay parang dalaga kahit kuwarenta y siete na siya.

Si bestfriend ay tapos ng kursong Edukasyon at may walong taong nagturo ng elementarya sa Pilipinas subalit mas pinili niyang magtrabaho sa ibang bansa sa akalang madaling makaipon sa abroad dahil mas mataas ang sahod; akala niya ay gaganda at puputi siya pag nag abroad; at buong akala niya ay ito ang  napakadaling daan para makapunta sa Canada. Ayun nga at dala-dala niya pati ang nakalaminate niyang high school diploma. At pati ang gutay-gutay at inaamag na niyang birth certificate na pinahalungkat niya sa kapatid niyang duling — na siya na lang naiwan sa family house nila dahil sa kasamaang-palad ay nag-iisa pa rin sa buhay kahit 59 ½ years old na siya dahil walang lalaking naduling sa angkin niyang ganda — ay dala-dala rin niya saan mang bansa siya mapadpad para magpaalila.

Isang araw ng Linggo ay sinadya niyang pumuntang mag-isa sa Kowloon Park dala ang ilang pocketbooks na kunwari ay babasahin niya habang naka-upo sa isang bench doon. Pero ang talagang pakay niya ay mamingwit ng lalaki – puti man o itim, para lang alamin kung may karisma pa siya. Walang anu-ano ay may tumabi sa kanyang black man — matangkad, guwapo, superkinky ang maiksing buhok, maganda ang katawan kaya lang makapal daw ang labi. (Sabagay medyo makapal din ang labi ng bestfriend ko kaya bagay sila.) Nagkakilala, nagkwentuhan at naging magkaibigan. Then niyaya raw siya ni blackie sa kanyang pad the next Sunday para ipakilala sa mga relatives and friends nito na, of course, ay mga black din.

Dumating ang araw ng Linggo at noong alam kong nandoon na siya ay tinawagan ko siya. Hayun at tuwang-tuwa ang bruha dahil sa lahat ng mga naroon ay siya raw ang pinaka-maputi. Ngipin lang daw ng mga blacks ang mas maputi kaysa sa kanya. Pero ang masaklap imbes na siya ang pakainin, dahil siya ang buwisita, ay siya naman daw ang niyayang maglibre sa kanila dahil nga sa mas maputi siya kaysa sa kanila. Imbes na maimbiyerna ay pinagbigyan daw niya sila kaya ang mga blackies ay natuwa sa kanya. Pero nangako siya na iyon na ang una at huling punta niya doon baka maubos lang ang pera niya sa kalilibre sa kanila.

Ito ang kwento ng bestfriend kong kikay. Marami pa sanang karugtong kaya lang di ko naman sure kung mapipiling mai-publish… sayang lang ink ko.

*Published in TF Newsmag (August 2008 issue)

Author:  Noralin Madriaga, TWG

I met him on a hot summer day in April 2005 in Baguio City. He is such a good man, talented, good-looking, smart and oh, let me tell you this, I love his sense of humor…a lot! For me, nothing is more tiresome than a humorless person.  I always burst out laughing every time we talk, goodness! He’s always got something nice to say. He’s always up for a laugh-not least at himself- he can surely ruminate amusingly about any subject you care to bring up.  He is a clown in times of milk and honey and everyone’s counsel in times of distress.  I came to admire him as a person.  I admire his kindness, dedication to his job, fortitude and strength.

Eventually, we became good friends.  “Hi, She, kumusta? You are so pretty!”, he used to say.  I would say, “Ows? Are you talking to me? D’you say that to all the girls?”  He will smile and say..”Errr…errr…what…nooo naman, sa’yo lang, promise!” “Hmp! Bola!” I’d snort back and walk away.  He never forgets to call every time he gets a chance. “Hello She, na miss ko boses mo ah, are you okay?” he would ask. “Ha ha! Talaga lang? I’m doing great, thank you,” goes my usual answer.  He always initiate a topic at ‘di namin namamalayan isang oras na kaming nagbobolahan.  We talked about our younger days, about our work, experiences, current events, movies, well, everything. Name them, napag-usapan na namin! At this point we have developed our friendship in a deeper sense. There is trust and respect for each other. He is the only person with whom I can share my dreams - what I’m going through - about my feelings, fears and frustrations.  Talking to him lifts up my spirit.  During that time, I was still on the process of picking up my shattered self and fixing my broken heart caused by someone na walang ginawa kundi manakit. For a year, absolutely nothing, no one, no words or expression could repair what was broken in my heart or could bring back what I believed was taken from me. But there he was.  He made me smile again.  He’s always there whenever I need someone to talk and turn to.  He always listens without judging what he heard.  He encouraged and comforted me and helped me see life in a renewed perspective. And then it’s time for me to go back to Hong Kong.  There were those times when he tried to express his feelings.  He would send me text messages like “what I admire most in a woman are beauty, brain and principles, you’ve got them all”. Or some forwarded sweet messages but I just laugh at them and took them as a joke.  Sometimes he will invite me to attend special events etc. well, I just ignored everything and then I started avoiding him.  We are good friends and I don’t want our friendship to be ruined because I feel that we are better friends than lovers?  I dunno! feel ko lang…  I’ve tried to avoid him for months and months and months and he kept on calling and sending me text messages - “bakit ‘di ka na nagpaparamdam, She? Galit ka ba? I miss you!”. After sometime, I cut my number off, went back to the Philippines for a vacation without informing him.  I stayed in Manila most of the time so as to avoid seeing him for we are from the same town.  But what a  small world, of all places, of all people, could you believe that we’ve crossed ways?  “She!” he called out.  I turned around and saw him.  He never changed a bit.  He’s still that charming and smart guy I met about 2 years ago.  The one who makes me laugh, encourages me, comforts me and loves me as no one else could.  We hug each other at kinuha niya ang number ko.  Then he called me the following day.  We saw each other and he invited me to his place for dinner.  There was no further discussion about my long silence, what matters most he said was that, right at that moment I was with him.  He gently held my hands and kissed me so passionately and I’ve found myself wholeheartedly kissing him back, surrendering my heart and soul.

“I thought, I will never feel this way again, you bring so much happiness into my life and so much love into my heart, I’m so afraid to love you, I really am. Okay lang ba na kalimutan mo na lang ako?” I told him.  But he shot back: Hey, of you think na makakawala ka pa, you are wrong, kay tagal kitang hinintay, umasang makita ka at nangarap na makasama at ngayon sasabihin mo na kalimutan kita?  No way!  Then right there and then, we started planning for our future…yeah, that fast!

We spend the remaining days together before my flight back to HK and he was heading somewhere too. We have so much fun, we laugh at the same thing.  We spend the night out, strolling, listening to a live band, we both love music, art, nature and adventures; yeah, we have lots of things in common.

As we lay in bed one night, I told him what I like most in a man. “First of all, dapat may sense of humor, well-experienced, well-traveled, talented, bolero, sinungaling and you know what - you’ve got them all.”  He laughed so hard it tickled me to death.

Then parting time came.  He sent me to the airport and said goodbye.  We both knew it’s going to be difficult, we just need to trust and love each other. We  agreed that communication is a must.  He called me everyday and we sent each other messages thru letters, emails, and SMS but the most wonderful thing about our relationship are those sweet memories that we both share while  we’re apart.  Our hearts are in such a whirl of happy moments and the thought that every day bring us a little closer assures us that this separation won’t last forever.  Sometimes two people find that no matter how close they are and how much they love each other, life’s road will take them in different directions… at least for a while.

To you sweetheart, thank you for loving me as I am. I love the way you caress my soul, the way we dream about us. This is it - no turning back! I love the sweetest thing you do and how you are so kind, patient and understanding. Thanks for cheering me up, you always make my day. I miss the way we laugh together with our silly jokes and stories. I appreciate the way you make me feel and the way you make me whole. I like the way you say “I love you” that reaches my heart down to my soul.

Author: Shirley Tamayo,  TWG

*Published in TF Newsmag (August 2008 issue)

Kunyang, maid, alila, katulong — magkakaibang bigkas pero iisang kahulugan. Kunyang sa Chinese kung tawagin. Tuwing uuwi tayo sa Pilipinas at may magtanong, “Anong work mo sa HK?”   Simpleng sagot mo, “Eh ano pa, di kunyang.“  Medyo okey sa pandinig lalo na’t ang mapagsasabihan mo ay walang karanasan na naging kunyang dito sa Hong Kong.  May dating kumbaga.  Yan po ang katotohanan, ‘di ba?  Pero ano at sino nga ba ang kunyang sa Hongkong?

Ahhh… kami po yung mga Pilipinang nakakalat d’yan sa Central pag araw ng Linggo.   Nakaupo sa tabi ng kalye, sa parke, may latag na d’yaryo, may munting tahanan na yari sa karton.  Munting tahanan namin, alam mo?  Walang bubong, walang pintuan at walang kusina pero masaya kami.  Sama-sama ang magkakaibigan, parang iisang pamilya.  Parang fiesta sa dami ng pagkaing nakalatag sa aming hapag na semento o kaya’y kartong pinatuwad.  Swerte kapag birthday mo, kasi kahit wala kang pangblow-out, engrande ang handa mo.  Patak-patak kasi ang miyembro.  Paiiyakin ka habang pinahihipan ang cake na regalo nila.  ‘Pag may okasyon, Mother’s Day? S’werte mo, Nanay, kasi kahit malayo si Tatay may rose ka galing sa kaibigan at may kiss pa.  Iyakan, tawanan, asaran.  Tahanan nami’y punung-puno ng sikreto ng aming mga hinaing sa hirap na dinaranas namin dito.  Lahat ng problema sa aming amo, dito namin isinisiwalat. Problema sa pamilya sa Pilipinas, dito rin nalulutas.

Ala-sais pa lang, hapunan namin ay ilalatag na dahil bawat isa sa amin ay may curfew.  ‘Di doon pup’wedeng lumagpas. Lagot ka kay amo.  Kaya ayaw man namin matapos ang masaya naming huntahan, kailangan naming gumayak.  Munti naming tahana’y muling aming gigibain upang sa susunod na Linggo kami’y muling may matirhan.  Dahil uuwi muna kami sa aming tunay na tahanan.  Doon po kami tinatawag na tunay na kunyang.

Author:  Maricel Manzanal,  TWG

*Published in TF Newsmag (August 2008 issue)