Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Teardrops... Blood... Paint

*drip*

The first tear fell from her left eye. Her sea green eyes, which gleamed like emeralds back then, is now bloodshot, swollen and sad. The luster is gone. Those emerald eyes that were once full of elation now look dull, dark, – dead. The once happy little girl turned into a walking, wrecking ball of negativity. All her innocence and optimism, all at once, are gone.

*drip*

The second tear fell on her pale cheek. She cannot comprehend what had happened to end her fairytale story like this. She cannot fathom how she was in heaven at one time then in hell the next. She asks herself what she did to end it this way. She looks at herself in the dusty mirror beside her closet and studies herself. She’s pretty enough. She’s smart enough. She’s nice. She doesn’t brag. She doesn’t rant. She doesn’t whine. She’s not clingy.  She doesn’t need some high maintenance unlike those girls out there. She has enough qualities to be loved. She deserves to be loved. Still, he left.  
*drip*

The third teardrop fell down on the floor with such great impact. The world falls into silence as the third drop falls hits the ground. She remembers every little detail she knows of him. She remembers every moment that she has with him. She remembers how happy she was when they were together looking for adventures in that boring little town they were in. She remembers how his long eyelashes looked like as they brushed against under his eyes when he closed his eyes as they were about to kiss. She remembers how those wide, innocent, brown eyes light up when he smiled. She remembers everything.

*drip*

The fourth teardrop comes unnoticed as it is overlapped by another, then another, then another. The flashbacks continue. Every memory she remembers breaks her heart into fragments. She remembers the fight that happened nights before. She remembers the yelling and how he said “I’m done.” She remembers how he looked like when he turned his back on her and walked out the door with a loud bang. She remembers everything – good and bad.

*drip*

Her pillow is soaked with her tears. She feels so lonely. She misses the warmth she felt when he hugged her tight on cold winter evenings. She misses the road trips they had on hot summer days.  She misses the late night talks they had on things that made no sense.  She misses the ‘good morning’ cuddles they had. 

*drip*

She gets up and stares at the blank wall of peeling paint. She sees some tiny cracks on them. “Does my heart have cracks like those?” she asks.  “Can cracks be repaired?” she asks again. Then she gets her own answers. “No. cracks can’t be put back together. You can’t fix what’s been broken.” What they had is already broken and she knows that there is nothing left to save. She is hopeless. She gets off from her bed and goes into her dresser.

*drip*

The first drop of blood trickles on the floor. It’s the first time that she cuts herself. “It’s better to feel pain on the outside than feel it consume you from the inside.” She says. She cut herself hoping that it will cover up the pain she feels inside.  After a few minutes, she stops and says, “This is stupid.” She wipes off the trickling blood off her wrist with her index finger. She stares at her bloodied finger then to the wall.

She goes to the wall and looks at the cracks. Out of consciousness, she swipes her bloodied finger in between the cracks. The once blank wall now holds a streak of red. She observes how the blood dried up between the cracks. It concealed the cracks. Then an idea gets into her mind. She goes down to the basement and looks for some cans of paint, a bunch of old paintbrushes, and some pile of newspapers.

*drip*

The paint drips on the can as she swiped the brush on its lid. She starts to paint her walls with different colours. She mixes the paints to make new shades and tints. She swipes the paintbrush from left to right. Every swipe makes her feel a little less sad and lonely. And from there, she learned to paint. She also learned that some things cannot be completely erased, but there are ways to hide them.

Cracks can be there forever. You cannot fix them unless you break everything and let them crumble into pieces to give way to a new one. However, if you think of it, you don’t get a new house just because the old one has cracks. Instead, you repaint the old house to cover up the obvious cracks and scratches to make them beautiful again. Life works that way. Forget the ugly past and cover it up with a vivid present. Move forward.


Monday, September 16, 2013

Show, Not Tell

Writing – ever since, it has been a means of expressing one’s sentiments when one do not have the guts to tell them through talking.  It has been a way to let out all the buzzing ideas inside our minds. When one seems to have so full of ideas and their brain can’t keep all of them inside, those ideas spill out from their minds and they splatter on paper. However, sometimes, we can’t seem to explain into words what we really feel inside. That’s my biggest dilemma right now.

I want to write about countless things. I NEED to write because I am told to do so. I won’t pass this freaking subject if I don’t get to write. So I want my pen to dance rhythmically on the paper as if it is its dance floor. I want my pen to write the sweetest symphony of suppressed sentiments.  In every flick of my wrist, I want words to flow like a little spring. It would even be better if it would flood out my fingers like a tsunami.  I want the ink to make a mess on the paper. I want it to run out because of writing such breathtaking paragraphs. I want to write to free my heart from the past’s darkness and misery. I want to write to let it all out.

The trouble is that I can’t. I am not wired to write. That is not how I was made. If I get a hold of the pen, it goes out of control. The paper becomes a bit too slippery as if it is covered in wax. It seems like my ocean of words dries out into a scorching desert. The words inside my head do not fit the puzzle. I want to write a hurricane, but not even a drizzle falls down.

I am not meant to play with words but with colors. The pen is just my colleague. The paintbrush is my best friend. I am meant to impress eyes through picturesque views made by my own hand, not by writing such life changing, awe-inspiring prose and poetry. I am not meant to impress through words. I’m not good at words. I can’t even explain a thing clearly through words. I am meant to let people see through a different perspective. I am meant to show, not tell.

My Freaky Fascination with Feathers and Where it All Started

                  For the first time in my life, I see a mesmerizing creature in front me. He is so elegant he swept me off my feet. He walks in front of me with such poise. He wears a coiling velvety crown on his head. But what captivates me more is the thing he is wearing – a thick coat of iridescent blue to vivid green feathers. And just as I stare at his shimmering coat, a fan of dazzling brown feathers with eye-like patterns on every end opens up behind him. I stare at him wide-eyed and filled with such awe.

                I become obsessed with this creature that he is all I think about every single day. I even imagine myself wearing the coat that he has.  I sketch some dresses made up of feathers and all. I’m so drawn into it.  Sketches of outfits made of feathers fill my good old journal. I even plan to have a black feathered dress for prom. I thought my fascination with feathers will stay as scribbles on my journal, but I was wrong.

One of my obssessions
                 One ordinary school day, I am walking alone in the middle of the school quadrangle when something catches my attention – a tiny brown feather with white tips fall in front of me. I try to catch it but the wind caused by the motion of my hand sends it to the other direction. Annoyed by its incidental flight, I wait for it to land on the ground and decide to pick it up. I stared at it with such admiration and wondered, “How can something become unnoticed despite its intricacy?” I take a closer look at it and notice its teeny-tiny details. I carefully run my index finger through the feather’s fine tips. I really am amazed on how the little follicles were arranged symmetrically in the stem of the feather and how the gaps between them are equal. It’s one of the world’s little miracles, I guess.

That was the first feather I collected. I decide to keep the feather in my little coin purse. Unfortunately, I lost it. It fell when I was getting my money from the purse. Pity.  But my little meet ups with falling feathers from the sky did not stop there. Time after time, I still go through the same scenario. I go somewhere then a little feather falls right in front of me. So far, I’ve collected seven feathers that accidentally just fell right in front of me. Others, I see them on the streets and I pick them up. Some of the feathers I collected were lost, though. They were so tiny and lightweight that they lose very easily.

                Fine, silky and soft to touch, fragile… fascinating – these are the words that come into my mind when I run my fingers through a pretty little feather.  Just because of a peacock and falling feathers, I developed my freaky fascination of collecting feathers. Sometimes, little things become the reason why you appreciate big things. You only need a keen eye to do it. 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Invisible...


I’m in the farthest corner of the room right now. I’m watching the sea of people crash into each other just like the waves that crash onto the shore. And just like the waves, they make noises that are very hard for me to decipher. All I hear is gossip and nonsense gibberish and they seem to enjoy it. Everyone has their own clique. They have their own circle of friends. Everybody belongs to something…except for me. I don’t fit into anything. I just CAN’T fit in.

Do you ever feel like nobody wants to be friends with you? Do you feel like you’re a walking bubble of negative energy that repels everyone who comes near you? I hope not. But if yes, well then welcome to my world! Welcome to feeling alone in a room full of people! (Smiling sarcastically)

If you’d ask me, yes, I have friends. I even spend the whole day with them. But even how happy they can be, it seems that I still don’t belong. It’s like there’s a wall in between me and them. I listen to all the chitchats they’re having and laugh at their senseless jokes. But I think that’s the only thing I do. I can’t talk. And I want to talk about so many things to them. It’s just that nobody cares. Nobody ever dares to listen. If I talk, everyone’s talking and laughing too. If we go somewhere, they always leave me behind as if I’m not around; it's as if I’m not with them. It’s like I’m the one chasing people around like a desperate little puppy looking for a home when she lost her mom. And I hate that feeling! I hate the feeling of chasing around!

It seems that no one can see me. Nobody listens to me. Not even one person makes a move to ask if I feel okay. They only ask me what’s wrong if they see that I’m on the verge of crying. Why, people?! Am I invisible? ‘Cause it’s like I am to you. But if I’m invisible, why the heck can I still see my reflection in the mirror? Or am I the only one who can see my own reflection too?

I’m not craving or begging for everyone’s attention on me. It’s just that I hate not being listened to, I hate being ignored when in fact I notice every person who comes near me and I listen to every rant they blabber about. But when it’s my time to talk, nobody has the time to hear me out. EVERYONE’S SELF-ABSORBED. I’m even self-absorbed for complaining about everyone not talking to me.

Now I’m sitting in the farthest corner of the room, watching people laugh and talk as if they’re making fun of me, laughing at me… mocking me. I guess I’m meant to be alone…to be lonely. I don’t think I can trust anyone in this wretched place full of fake, deceptive humans. Right from the start, I was the one being played on by everyone. I open up myself to someone and I let them see my weaknesses because I trust them that much. Then in a split second, they disappoint me. They make me regret trusting them. I guess I’ll just be by myself and take a solo flight in this freakishly terrifying life. Being alone is less depressing than having friends who make you feel so low. It’s even more relieving than to be around with those people who call you a friend but leave you around like trash. Being a wallflower is way better than to be someone who acts all fake just to get everyone’s attention. I might as well stay invisible. Maybe being invisible has its own perks. So, goodbye for now. I'll just stay right here in this corner and continue being unseen.



Sunday, July 7, 2013

17th...

See? Happiness.
May 10, 2013 – it is a sunny Friday morning. I wake up groggily and found my phone ringing wildly beside me. I read the messages and they all say, “Happy Birthday!” Oh great, it's my birthday. Who the heck would forget their birthdays by the way?

 I'm extremely drained from all the travelling just because of the UP pre-enrolment. So I asked myself, "Will I make plans with my friends or maybe I could just sleep all day...on my birthday?" Then my parents come into my room and smothered me with hugs, kisses and a bunch of greetings. Too bad they don't have a present for me, though. Nah, I'm just kidding. HAHA.

But I did get sad...just a little. I never found any of my friends’ names on my inbox. I think they forgot. So I call them up and told them what day it is. Do you know what's worse? They never even bothered to greet me. Hey, it's my birthday! Could you just give me a bit of considerations here?! My friends really are awesome, huh? Despite the pranks they're having on me and even though I'm tired, I ask them if we could go to Kampo Juan – a famous place in Bukidnon where you can try to ride a bicycle on wire, zipline, and pass through a hanging bridge above the towering mountains. I've never been there yet. I told them it's my birthday wish.

Phew. I'm glad they said yes. In my mind I said, "Dora, come on, vamonos! Let's go an adventure!" As I'm going to one of my friends' house, I called her and said I'm on my way. She thinks I'm bluffing or something. So I ring the doorbell. She sees me and shrieks like a kid who got her toy stolen. She hasn't even taken a bath yet. Then my other friends arrive. They have those 'sarcastic-slash-disappointed-slash-mad' faces written all over them. Then one of them tells me, "You messed up with our plans!!! Shunga!" I just laughed at them.They were supposed to be the ones who should surprise me. Instead, they were the ones who were left wide-eyed. HAHAHAHAHA. If you only saw their faces...

Add caption
I ask them, "Are we all ready for the trip?" I think I'm too stupid to ask them that question. Of course they are! So, we invade the adventure park, started taking pictures, and shared some laughter and chitchats. Though it is tempting to try the ziplines and pass through the frightening hanging bridge, we haven't because we don't have the greens to pay 'em. But that did not stop us from enjoying the place. We started running around the greenery like little kids. Then the rain starts to fall hard so we looked for some shelter.

Then the rain stopped. Okay, I think it's time to go home now. The fun's over...or maybe not yet. We rummaged through our friend's kitchen cabinets and found some bag of chips and ramen. Let the pigging out begin! And that's how the day ends...or not.

They were writing their birthday messages for me
During the night, my phone starts buzzing. Ugh. "Who's stupid enough to call me at this time of night?!" I complain. Then I see his unsaved number  flashing on my phone screen. Oh, great. It's my ever-annoying old flame. I pick up the phone and placed it on my ear. I hear his breathing over the static. He says, "Happy birthday, Rik...." I feel my heart throb faster than the chug-chug-chug of a steam-powered train. He starts singing some love songs we used to listen to so I started laughing.  Hearing him sing makes me feel the cold rush of nostalgia run through my veins. The phone call lasted for an hour and I fall asleep.

So that was how I celebrated my seventeenth birthday. Nothing grand really happened. There were no flashy presents and emotional messages. But for me, every second of that day was special. They were  the memories that were worthy to keep. The laughter was real and natural, the moments were simple yet priceless, and the happiness – genuine.

Everything that happened on my birthday made me realize one thing – to treasure every second you spend with your loved ones. Every moment you spend with them is a moment you would never replace with other things. You never know what may happen next. And those timeless, priceless moments, they will never happen again, ever. Make every second count. Because sometimes in life, those little things pass off in a blink of an eye. You may just realize that they were the big things that you shouldn’t have missed.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Big Spender

We all have those bad habits that we really need to break yet we can't no matter how hard we try. We always do those guilty pleasures then feels remorse right after. Do you have one in mind? Yes? Well, I have one too -- spending too much. I don't know how to budget my money.

My family's not rich, by the way. But when I start to get a grip on some amount of money, I'm itching to buy something; anything that I see as nice, cute or fascinating. Just like this afternoon, I went to the supermarket, only having the intention to buy a bottle of conditioner. So I thought "Nah, it wouldn't reach 150 pesos." But heck, I have 500 pesos in my pocket. I thought of what other things that I could buy and started rummaging through the store. I only thought of spending 300 pesos. I was shocked when I paid my groceries. In just a click and a clack of the cash register, BOOM! My 500 pesos turned into a canister of potato chips, a pack of chocolate wafer sticks, a bottle of juice, a pack of wet wipes, a water bottle, the supposed to be the only thing I bought -- the conditioner, and a box of cute, colored band-aids. I know you'd wonder why I bought band-aids. And I really have nooooo idea what I could tell you. I just bought it 'cause they're cute. See? And you know what, I regretted buying the water bottle. Ugh. 

What I'm doing is really such a bad habit. I need to break it as soon a possible before I could spend money on animal-shaped rubber bands I just found at the bookstore earlier this afternoon. I'm far away from my parents and they're working hard to send me some allowance. Then I'm here, spending the money recklessly on some cute little band-aids.  Does anyone have some tips on how I could control myself?