i.

We were together at the park that day. We sit beside each other on a bench with a slight dampness that was like a ghost of the rain the day prior. Your eyes gleam at the scene unfolding before you - the bellowing, cheerful shrieks of children running after one another, the incessant ringing of manong’s bell as he wheeled his sorbetes cart. On the side, a man busked to a melody I can no longer recall. Back then, everything seemed too mundane, but you had always found beauty in everything that was simple. I was only looking at you, while you watched the world in front of you; I remember smiling fondly. 

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ii.

I still remember the day I first met you. I was sitting quietly in the sandbox, building sandcastles alone while the rest of my classmates fought for a spot on the swings. Then I remember watching the trajectory of a soccer ball as it ultimately crashed and landed onto my work. I don’t think I felt any sense of anger or sadness at what happened, but I do remember yours. You came running towards me, eyes glistening with tears, repeating “I’m sorry” more times than I was capable of counting back then. You didn’t wait for me to answer, only jumped into the box, took a seat across me, and then you started building the castle again. I hadn’t understood what was happening back then. We were six, young and possessed with the innocence of childhood; but it looked a lot like the beginning of something. 

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iii.

It came as little hints from everything. In the way you would think hard to come up of the funniest jokes with the sole goal of making me laugh. It came as little bars of chocolate I would keep sake in my bag, in case you might want or need one at any given time. It took form in our shared smiles while danced or sung to our favorite songs. It was in the way we’d make plans for both the near and the distant future, like a silent promise that we would go through life as it is - together. 

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It came as a foreign throbbing in my chest at your rather familiar company. It made its presence known through the ringing in my ears during the most quiet days, while we did what we normally would. Realizing I’d fallen in love with you did not at all come abruptly like a slap in the face. It came as tiny fragments that pieced themselves together through time. Like a low wave moving towards the shore - slowly, gradually, and then carefully all at once. 

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iv.

That night, we tangled ourselves in woven blankets, a lamp lit to glow in the dark. The photo album was spread out on the floor. We gaze at each photograph while you hold onto the edges of each page, ready to flip them to the next. The town was silent, save for the crickets that have woken for the night. The rest of the world around us was fast asleep, meanwhile we reminisce about the times that now only exist in sepia toned sheets. In my head I pondered over how quickly things were changing, how rapidly life flew about. I wondered if we still had the luxury to pause to capture moments we could add to this album later on. 

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v.

Family, friends, even strangers watch us in awe. We danced the night away to music that echoed throughout the room. I remember that brief moment, when everything faded into the background and we found ourselves in our own world. Most of all, I remember your smile - big, bright, and a greeting to a new life.

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vi.

On a gloomy morning when the sharp chill of the atmosphere would greet me awake, I am pulled back into warmth by your embrace. During a storm when the skies are a menace and the thunder is vehement, I hide myself in your arms. The celebrations for the best days of my life are always opened when you greet me with a hug. At my worst, when everything around me begins to falter, you hold me tight. No matter where life leads me, I always found myself coming back to you - like walking into a house and knowing that I am home. 

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vii.

I have lived long enough to witness the world transform into what it is now. The music people listen to, the clothes they wear, the phrases they say - it is all different now. Thinking back to our times, I am encompassed with an overwhelming sense of saudade. It is bittersweet, knowing we could never go back to that. 

 

Life goes by faster than I realize. 

 

However, in the quiet moments, when the world allows us to breathe for a while, I bask in the presence of you. Though wrinkles now appear around your eyes when you smile, it still gleams, as if there is still so much more to see. Though your back is now slouched and you walk around with a cane, you still love to go on adventures, no matter how small they may be. Though your mind is now easily worn, and it carries the weight of the forgetfulness that comes with age, your occasional witty quips still catch me laughing. 

 

I think, perhaps, some things never change.