Tuesday, April 29, 2008

a first for everything

another day is to end and while the orange skies are in battle with the forthcoming night, the temperate breeze of summer was defeated by the surge of emotions of two lovers. they wanted the world to stop, and let them have the moment of their lives as they rest upon each others' arms and watch while the day fades away. they tried to enjoy the moment while it lasts but at the back of their minds, they know, that tomorrow, the sunset will be forever.

and with great love, they uttered the words that would dictate what they would become for forever. a promise. a promise of love for the rest of their lives.

even beyond death.

my mother came home yesterday with good news that my grandmother, whom we refer to as "lola mami", is regaining her strength and eating again after seeing her children over the weekend. my mom brought home mouth-watering delicacies and specialties from bicol and all of us were too engrossed to try all. while eating, she related all the events while she was there.

"...kahit ako nalilimutan na ni lola mami mo. pero alam mo, may isang tao siyang hindi makalimutan--si Eddie Garcia."

and like mimicking cristy fermin, my mom recounted the story of Eddie Garcia, the infamous and award-winning actor, who starred a leading role with over hundreds of movies, and my lola.

eddie garcia came from a wealthy family whose ancestors are all Spanish. in lieu of their unextravagant but very comfortable life, never did they realize that someday, they will lose all their wealth due to betrayal of a relative. this predicament made him more determined to venture in entertainment business. at that time, he was still pacita's (my lola's name) boyfriend and would always call her "pacing" as a term of endearment. pacita was one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the barrio and her father was the highly respected mayor of the town.

because eddie garcia was close to pacita's family, the lady's father aided his family with their necessities as they struggle to live a better life. but eddie garcia knew he cannot depend on pacita's father all his life; so he decided to go to okinawa and find his fortune there.

everyone knew that this compromise will be very difficult to the two lovers. and although no one said anything about it, pacita's heart was obviously shattered now that she has to face the love of her life, leaving her. because of this, a promise was made between the two. eddie garcia promised that when he comes back, they are bound to get married.

and that was how pacita got engaged for the first time.

but destiny was very tricky. to reasons i don't know, pacita married another guy and not her first love. she gave birth to two children and unfortunately, her husband died. she remarried and bore another two children but then got separated from her husband. she then had an affair and bore another two children but because the guy's family disproved of her, her youngest child with that man was denied by her father. and for the last time, she had another relationship and bore a child but it was not at all successful.

she had lots of relationships, with children as the fruit of love, but all of them just failed.

and all of them were not with her first love.

"...si ponching, naalala mo? si dikong naalala mo? si eduardo crisini? eh sino naalala mo, si eddie garcia? tapos, ayun umo-oo siya.."

my mom has a theory why my grandmother never got over eddie garcia. she thinks that my grandmother, in her lifetime, has lived with guilt that she never fulfilled her promise to her first love and now that she feels weak to sustain her life, she aches the need that for the last time, she would see her first love and get over the guilt that she has been tending all her life.

and maybe, finally be at peace.

it is funny how the things we thought to be figments only of our imagination be made into reality in some people's lives. destiny really has a way of playing with us. but the consequence of it all is still dependent on our decision, on our choice to believe or to refuse and kill the hope for any possibility. and maybe our own fairytales are ways of telling us, that things really do or do not happen for a reason. and though things may not happen for now, who knows, it may happen in the future.

life is so unsure but the least we could do is to entertain possibilities.:)

who knows? one day our life can be definite after all.

posted by anthonette || 6:11 AM