Lost in Wonder and Dreams

I went downstairs and headed to the dining area.

"Good evening! Glenn. Let's eat." My co-renter Megan greeted me.

She's happily eating on the long Narra wood table with one leg raised, placing her foot on the stool where she's seated. While her right hand is rested on her lifted right knee, eating barehanded.

"Hi. Good evening. Thanks. I'll just have coffee." I greeted back with a smile while discreetly sniffing and checking out her food.

It's the affordable and clean fried chicken again of that friendly vendor in the street corner outside this compound.

I don't eat dinner, not because I am on a diet but because I just don't like eating before going to work. So I just drink coffee since I am also on a tight budget. 😁

The old lady who owns this walled-in residence is a generous and considerate person. Aside from the cheap rental price, our utility bills we're also taken care of. I was surprised when I first got here, she told me electricity, gas, and water is included in the rental price.

You seldom find this kind of landlady nowadays.

After mixing my coffee, I said goodbye to Megan. I went back to my room on the second floor. I grabbed a Marlboro Blue pack and lighter then went upstairs for night viewing.

Drinking coffee while sitting on the rooftop and looking up to see the stars in the sky is my favorite part of the day (night)

The sky is so beautiful. I see stars in the dark wide night sky. I see the constellations that commonly appear such as Ursa Major, (Big Dipper) Ursa Minor, (Small Dipper), and Taurus. There are no clouds covering the stars since the rainy season is over.

After sometime.

The world has gone so quiet.

I can feel the cool wind.

I can breathe in the fresh air.

I clearly see the stars.

I suddenly appreciated my coffee that has a bittersweet taste.

I unexpectedly don't want to smoke any more.

I just want to enjoy this moment.

Can you feel what I am feeling right now?

Rooftop. Night sky. Stars. Coffee. Cool Wind.

What a wonderful view.

What a wonderful feeling.

Can't find words to express it.

I was lost in wonder.

Maybe, I am just feeling so peaceful that it makes me so happy knowing I am alive?

Being here feels so relaxing. I look up and down and I see cars on the road, the artificial lights coming from some houses and buildings. The world is so pleasant.

Renting here was the best choice.

I've never felt so satisfied like this for years. It's been so long. Yeah. I once felt this feeling before.

Now that I am feeling so nice, I suddenly remember a dream where I was so happy and carefree. I saw the younger version of me. And I saw him. When you unexpectedly remember your young naive love, you can't help go hoity-toity.

How was he now? He stopped contacting me. Last time he said he's planning to work abroad. So maybe that's making him busy.

At first, we're not friends. We are neighbors that are not well acquainted with each other. We knew one another by face and name only. I've got my own group of friends while he's a loner.

We once lived in a small but not so chaotic Rowhouse neighborhood that consists of less than 100 households where everyone knows everybody.

Our Subdivision's Home Owners Association was not that strict. So as high schoolers, I and my group of friends would meet up every night at our Tambayan and would go wild every drinking session. Some older folks would complain about the noises we made

and even announced a curfew order which we never follow.

Well, who doesn't turn rebellious in their younger years?

I admit I was a delinquent way back High School. I cut classes. Went over the bakod. I learned how to drink and smoke.

I even got myself an ex-boyfriend. (Chuckle)

So on that fateful day in September, we attended the same birthday party. I was surprised, the celebrant knew him. He smiled at me so I nod at him as an acknowledgment. I felt nothing, okay. I don't believe in love at first sight. No attraction, whatsoever.

Of course, I enjoyed the party. I ate the Lumpiang Shanghai. I drank SMB and Generoso. I sang Celine Dione's 'That's the way it is' song.

I mingled with other visitors with ease as I knew who's who. That's when I saw him sitting alone at the far end corner, just observing us with a smile.

What a loner.

Whatever. I didn't mind him, though. He's not a friend so why would I care, right? So Deadma.

Then night comes and I think I have been so drunk since I approached and talked to him as he was leaving the venue.

Can't believe I approached him first.

"Learn how to discipline yourself."

That's the very first words he said to me.

That scene was my first close encounter with him so I was so shocked. That is not the right words you should say to a cute young girl the first time you talk to her. 😅

Back then, I was like, what did I do to him?

My phone vibrated. A text message stopped me from reminiscing.

9:25 PM

Amber: Babe, I know that drinking coffee while smoking is your thing out there, but please don't let mosquitos bite you. Okay? A Dengue outbreak is occurring in many areas. That's on the News.

This compound is a boarding place that's only available to girls.

Our Landlady prohibits appliances so I don't own a television in my room. I can watch television in the living room downstairs which is for everyone to use.

However, I am not into watching News or television, so I let Amber be my newscaster.

9:27

Glenn: Got it. Babe. Thanks.

How reassuring it is to have a friend like her. Sometimes I feel like I am her daughter whose out for college. I would often ask myself, Am I becoming too dependent on someone again? Nope. She just loves taking care of me.

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