Note to new readers: This post is part of my 30 Days of Writing Practice. I am allowing blocks of 10, 20 or 30 minutes of my day solely to putting my swirling thoughts on paper. No going back to edit which will only serve to stop the stream of consciousness. My writing buddy Kat and I (Wruddy for short), we call it writing from the heart. Please read my introduction for the full story.
A few of you requested for a love story. How can I say no to friends who actually follow 30 Days and get me. These friends I treasure because they appreciate the writer side of me. A very vulnerable part actually as I have a constant fear of being judged. This lump of fear I swallow every time I post! I will be brave and say that taking the extra step (yes it is extra effort so therefore a big deal) to communicate with me elevates you to gold status in my book of friendship. Ibig sabihin, nagiging mas mahalaga kayo sa akin.
Ariel and I call each other Wookie. Back in college (that’s equivalent to university or uni in Oz) we had our Richard Bach phase, the great author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Our other favourite book is Illusions, a must read. Richard Bach also wrote a book called The Bridge Across Forever which is about his love affair with his wife, Leslie Parrish.
After an auto-hypnotic epiphany–“I AM! YOU ARE! AND LOVE: IS ALL: THAT MATTERS!”–Richard and Leslie become lovers. They call each other “wookie.” – From a Kirkus Review
Ariel and I share a passion for music, books and writing. We wrote to each other daily back in college, exchanging notebooks while seeing each other everyday. See here. What we write in those journals we don’t necessarily talk about. We were communicating in two different levels. Oh it was heady intimate writing. Maybe if fancy strikes me, I might share an excerpt or two. You would like that, wouldn’t you? But not today, dear readers, not just yet.
I submitted this article to Woman’s Home Companion back in the day (perhaps it was 1990). Woman’s published it. I will retype this word for word for your amusement. Hope you love it.
Once upon a time, there was a girl called Kim and a guy named Ron. She found herself truly in love, for the very first time in her life. Fortunately for her, Ron was in love with her too. And to make life richer, the two of them got together and began a new phase in both their lives.
Everything went smoothly in their relationship. In instances when other couples would split up, Ron and Kim remained resolute in their love dance. Their life together was pure happiness – easy, secure, warm and almost divine. They had everything going well – he had a good job, she was doing okay in school. No problem, really, but that’s just it.
The very constancy of their relationship bothered Kim and awakened an urge within her to do something out of the ordinary. Something out of turn. Why? you might ask? Why, indeed, when this is the kind of love life everyone is longing for – sweet and undemanding. Was it a case of falling out of love or just boredom born out of monotony? Perhaps she needed to do something to put spice into their otherwise bland affair. Her idea of spice is seeing another guy. The ultimate thrill. Nothing out of limits, though. Just a little wickedness. All very discreet of course.
Kim tried her little experiment on a guy named Jake whom she met aboard a ship bound for Manila coming from Cebu. After exchanging a few phone calls, she finally went out with Jake for that little thrill and also to get him out of her system since Jake seemed to have gone under her skin after their initial encounter.
As it turned out, Kim succeeded in getting Jake out of her system right after their first date. No more mysteries with this guy. On her way back to Ron’s arms, Kim suddenly realized that she did not want to be in his arms after all. Ron seemed to have also lost the magic that made their relationship dazzling. Without much ado, Kim returned Ron’s ring. Ron, although devastated, was not able to articulate his protest. The suddenness of the event made him speechless.
Days passed. Kim was feeling oddly detached frm her surroundings. It was as if she was out of sorts, not quite into anything at all; life went out of her almost completely. Blase as it may sound, she never realized the worth of his presence, his touch, his love until he was gone.
Then fate intervened. Ron called up a roommate of Kim’s for an update on his beloved. He was never able to talk to the roommate but the move was enough to frighten Kim out of her bubble. Her other roommates’ wicked teasings and cruel insinuations about Ron’s call to Ann, the roommate, drove Kim into a fit of jealous rage. She called up Ron and demanded an explanation. Ron, seeing through her boiling emotions, did not meet her rage. Instead, he suggested a meeting. And meet they did. All the love in her shone through her eyes upon seeing Ron who was forever patient and loving. He took her back into her arms. His ring went back into her finger. End of story… and no more blue valentine.
Looking back, I have come to the conclusion that Kim went through a stage most lovers would call burn-out. In Filipino, it is termed as pagka-sawa but most people get over it in time; as Kim eventually did. Without doubt, Kim gained the spice she wanted, yet what a price she nearly had to pay. If it were not for Ron’s maturity and understanding, Kim would be celebrating valentine alone.
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