love. love. love.
this afternoon, as i was on my way to the drug store to buy medicine for my cold, headache and fever, and a betadine for my knife-cut. i chanced upon a very interesting tricycle driver.
he was of middle age, between late 30's to early 40's i think. he had a very easy smile, and he was not arrogant nor snobbish. i was fixing my bandage, when he struck a conversation with me, telling me how wonderful his trips were that day, since all of them didn't require him to travel to far places in bel-air. he was telling me how nice his day was, and i was kind of taken aback at his positivity.
this is one unique driver, i said to myself. halfway through our conversation, with me explaining to him how i got my cut, he butted in and asked my how my boyfriend was doing. i laughed, and said i don't have one anymore.
"Sa ganda mong 'yan, aba, hindi pwedeng wala kang boyfriend!"
that statement made me smile and appreciate him more. i was feeling really down yesterday, and unknown to the driver, he somehow managed to uplift my spirit. we continued to talk about my choice to not be in a relationship as of the moment, when he suddenly talked about his love life...
"Ang unang asawa ko ang minahal ko ng sobra. Sa kanya ako dead na dead."
Whoa. i asked him how many wives he's had, when he smiled his very toothy grin and told me he had three. Aba! Ibang klase rin 'tong mokong na 'toh! Hahaha. but, of the three, he loved (and still loves) the first. i guess first love really never dies, huh?
he told me about his kids, and how they all were first kids.. haha. we had a very light-hearted conversation about the stupidities of our love lives, when he dropped another bomb into the conversation.
"Sa sobrang pagmamahal ko sa kanya, nabilanggo ako."
uh-oh. hearing a confession this big out of the blue is something that's big enough to make you think about the extent of your love for someone. i asked him why, and he said that he killed his wife's paramour. DING-DING-DING.
"Hindi ko ma.gets kung bakit niya ako niloko. tinanong ko nga sa sarili ko, hindi pa ba sapat ang pagmamahal ko sa kanya? sa sobrang selos ko, napatay ko 'yung lalaki niya."
when i heard those words, i couldn't believe my ears. here i was, baring souls with a man who spent 8 years of his life in prison for killing a man! he was an ex-convict! and i suddenly felt myself stiffen... should i continue our talk? or should i shut up and just focus on getting to the store alive?
he must have noticed the sudden change of air, because he told me things that appeased my uneasy self. :)
"wag kang mag-alala, mabait na ako. nagbagong buhay na ako, para sa anak namin." and he said these words gently, with a smile, and i couldn't help but believe him. then we continued to talk about his life right after he got freed from jail, and how seeing her with a new guy broke his heart, but he chose not to dwell on it for their kid's sake.
"hindi ako galit sa kanya. mahal ko pa rin siya hanggang ngayon, at nagpapasalamat na lang akong nagkaroon kami ng anak. sa anak namin ko na lang ibinubuhos ang lahat ng pagmamahal."
when we finally reached the drug store near jupiter, i thanked him for such a wonderful conversation and told him that he was such an interesting man. he smiled shyly and accepted the fare i handed to him. with one last pahabol, he said to me:
"pareho kaming nag-take ng drugs noon. doon kami nagka-inlaban."
and he sped off with a jovial grin.
now, that must be the sweetest thing. <3.
he was of middle age, between late 30's to early 40's i think. he had a very easy smile, and he was not arrogant nor snobbish. i was fixing my bandage, when he struck a conversation with me, telling me how wonderful his trips were that day, since all of them didn't require him to travel to far places in bel-air. he was telling me how nice his day was, and i was kind of taken aback at his positivity.
this is one unique driver, i said to myself. halfway through our conversation, with me explaining to him how i got my cut, he butted in and asked my how my boyfriend was doing. i laughed, and said i don't have one anymore.
"Sa ganda mong 'yan, aba, hindi pwedeng wala kang boyfriend!"
that statement made me smile and appreciate him more. i was feeling really down yesterday, and unknown to the driver, he somehow managed to uplift my spirit. we continued to talk about my choice to not be in a relationship as of the moment, when he suddenly talked about his love life...
"Ang unang asawa ko ang minahal ko ng sobra. Sa kanya ako dead na dead."
Whoa. i asked him how many wives he's had, when he smiled his very toothy grin and told me he had three. Aba! Ibang klase rin 'tong mokong na 'toh! Hahaha. but, of the three, he loved (and still loves) the first. i guess first love really never dies, huh?
he told me about his kids, and how they all were first kids.. haha. we had a very light-hearted conversation about the stupidities of our love lives, when he dropped another bomb into the conversation.
"Sa sobrang pagmamahal ko sa kanya, nabilanggo ako."
uh-oh. hearing a confession this big out of the blue is something that's big enough to make you think about the extent of your love for someone. i asked him why, and he said that he killed his wife's paramour. DING-DING-DING.
"Hindi ko ma.gets kung bakit niya ako niloko. tinanong ko nga sa sarili ko, hindi pa ba sapat ang pagmamahal ko sa kanya? sa sobrang selos ko, napatay ko 'yung lalaki niya."
when i heard those words, i couldn't believe my ears. here i was, baring souls with a man who spent 8 years of his life in prison for killing a man! he was an ex-convict! and i suddenly felt myself stiffen... should i continue our talk? or should i shut up and just focus on getting to the store alive?
he must have noticed the sudden change of air, because he told me things that appeased my uneasy self. :)
"wag kang mag-alala, mabait na ako. nagbagong buhay na ako, para sa anak namin." and he said these words gently, with a smile, and i couldn't help but believe him. then we continued to talk about his life right after he got freed from jail, and how seeing her with a new guy broke his heart, but he chose not to dwell on it for their kid's sake.
"hindi ako galit sa kanya. mahal ko pa rin siya hanggang ngayon, at nagpapasalamat na lang akong nagkaroon kami ng anak. sa anak namin ko na lang ibinubuhos ang lahat ng pagmamahal."
when we finally reached the drug store near jupiter, i thanked him for such a wonderful conversation and told him that he was such an interesting man. he smiled shyly and accepted the fare i handed to him. with one last pahabol, he said to me:
"pareho kaming nag-take ng drugs noon. doon kami nagka-inlaban."
and he sped off with a jovial grin.
now, that must be the sweetest thing. <3.