(Among the many things that happened during my early teen years, this is probably the most memorable. It makes me chuckle whenever I think of it.) Reminiscing the Yesterdays The Courtship of a “Dashing Romeo” By Angel Casillan “When I was young it was all fun and play, And many of my friends were just like me, How we long for a life that seizes the day, For the joys of living easy as could be.” My story happened when I was a fifteen-year-old easy going young man. Girls were just in the periphery of my mind and nothing excited me more than watching movies at the cinemas of the nearby city of Dagupan. I was in a vocational high school where school homework was minimal or none at all, so after school I would waste my free time goofing around the town plaza or at the town center (paradaan). When the church bell rings the Angelus, which is about 6:00 PM, it was my time clock to head for home. With the Catholic Church intertwined with the townspeople’s lives, I found myself regularly going to church, especially the novena on Wednesdays for the Mother of Perpetual Help, probably because girls liked to attend the novena. It was in one of these Wednesday novenas when I first noticed a young woman with her friend walking towards the altar. At first I thought I saw a new girl in town, but soon I realized that I’ve known her since I was ten. She had grown to be a young lady, pretty at fourteen that I wanted her to be my friend. Ever since that day, I thought about her, so I said to myself “ this is odd, why do I suddenly like girls?” Like most bored teenagers, I was restless so I would pass by her house for a chance to see her. It was funny because I found pleasure at the pain of longing to see her, which was something odd I think. When I could catch a glimpse of her inside her house, it was enough to give me joy. I wanted to visit her, but I was apprehensive that her mother might think that I was too young to be a Romeo. Nevertheless, one Saturday evening I gained enough courage so I decided to give her a visit but my attempt fizzled when I saw their family car at the carport. Cars at that time were not common in my hometown but her parents owned a good-looking Ford automobile. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. XY were well-schooled and her father was in a high government position in Manila, but on the other hand my family was modestly middle class and young as I was, I looked up at her parents as above my social level, which intimidated me. The following Saturday, I noticed the empty carport so I hurried home to pluck some Sampaguita flowers that were blooming in our front yard. Thinking that her parents were away, I combed my hair before I knocked at their door. With the porch light brightly illuminating my face, the door opened and OOP’s, I was in for a big surprise. There she was, her mother smiling while greeting me, probably amused at the sight of a young man holding some flowers. I blushed! My body temperature shot up and my fair complexion could not mask my very red face. I could feel the beads of perspiration rolling down my forehead, but it was nice of her to relieve my embarrassment by inviting me to come inside. “ Hijo, Kumusta ka, tuloy ka” She knew me because my mother was her grade school classmate, besides being the godmother of my older sister. With a smile on her face, she knew the purpose of my visit, so she announced my presence to her daughter. She conveniently left the living room, still with her big smile, which made me very uncomfortable. I thought that maybe I was too young to visit her daughter but she was polite because my mother was her friend. Her daughter came out, also wearing a smile so I felt like I was being teased. I was sweating all over my body as I handed her the flowers. All I could say timidly was “kumusta, hello” but I could not look at her straight to the eye. I did not know what else to say nor did I know what to do but just smile. Maybe, I was trying to be cute but obviously, I was nervous and insecure. Fifteen minutes was all I could bear, the heat all over my body made me uneasy and awkward so I decided to bid her and her mother goodnight. What a nice relief to be out of the house, it was very stressful! I knew I acted like a stupid idiot, and yet I was happy for having visited for the first time in my life a girl. It dawned on me that I was still too young to be a dashing Romeo, but that night I had crossed the line that separates a boy from a man. My embarrassing experience lingered for a while so I did not visit her for sometime. Months later on the Valentine’s day dance at her school, I asked and she gave me her red valentine heart pin, which I kept among my souvenirs. I visited her again once before I left for college in Manila and we lost track of each other until our paths crossed again when I was about to leave the Philippines to immigrate to America. It was at the town fiesta dance in San Carlos when I saw her, lovely as ever. I was glad to see her and as we danced I complemented her on how pretty she was, but she smiled and whispered “bolero”. I didn’t pick up what she meant, and as I walked her to her seat, I asked how she was. She replied that she was getting married the following month. What a surprise but I congratulated her. She introduced me to her fiancé and that was the last time I saw her because I left the Philippines soon after. Some twenty-seven years after I left high school, my parents celebrated their golden wedding anniversary and there I met Mrs. XY again. This time she amused me that she remembered me very well, and she said that fate did not intend that her daughter and I would be together, to which I smiled and said indeed fate did not. She became my good friend and I corresponded with her until she passed away about eight years ago. I found out that her daughter had moved to America where she raised her family. Indeed it all happened many yesterdays ago! youtube/watch?v=KGrwXFPb2NU
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 10:43:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015