24/12/2024
✨ 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗯𝗶 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗹𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗶𝘆𝗼 ✨
🕯️ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 9: “Fulfilling a Wish Like a Promise”
“Matuto tayong tanggapin ang mga pagbabago, sapagkat iyan ay blessing ng ating Panginoon. Kahit minsa’y tayo ay nasasaktan, ‘wag nating kalimutan na siya ay may plano para sa ating lahat. Kaya kung ngayon ay nakararamdam ka ng lungkot, tandaan mong ika’y hindi nag-iisa. Darating din ang panahon, mauunawaan mo na ang pinaka-the-best present na natanggap mo ay ikaw mismo na nasa present moment na ito.”
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— — —
Christmas was alive in the dead of night. One could now feel the growing excitement of every person walking by the street as they greeted one another, “Maligayang Pasko!” The 24th of December was but a few minutes away. Just one more night, and the present of God would be delivered once again. Yet, Gelo was having a completely different night altogether. Instead of excitement, he felt pressure.
“Huling gabi na, ni isang wish wala pa ako,” he complained, frantically ranting to Piyo over and over again. “Like, bakit pa ba tayo magsisimba kung wala naman tayong wish?”
Piyo simply gave his human a blank stare. If only he could talk, he’d tell him to calm his nerves down.
After an hour of complaining, Gelo finally realized that they had to sleep soon, for the hour of mass was fast approaching. They needed some rest—and rest, they soon got.
In Gelo’s sleep, he dreamed of something—a dream that was so weird that it could scarcely be called a dream. The boy saw nothing, just plain nothingness, yet he could hear something—something incredibly familiar…
It was his own voice:
“𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵,
𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵.
𝘚𝘰, 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵,
𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴.
‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦?’”
The voice continued with the poem, but Gelo could no longer hear the next lines. What could be the reason for this… message? He locked onto the voice, trying to enhance his hearing.
"𝘈𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘰?"
These were the words that woke Gelo up. Perhaps it was the stress from thinking too hard about his wish throughout the past week. One last mass before he could make one; still, not a single thing came to his mind.
"Woy, Piyo!" shouted Gelo, as he tried to pull himself up and awake. It was 3:30 in the morning—the last day of Simbang Gabi. "Tara na! Huling araw na rin naman, 'wag ka na tamarin,” he said laughing.
Piyo groaned lazily as he stood up, glanced at the window, and appreciated the stay of the moonlight.
Outside, the pair watched the stars swim in the darkness of night, as they walked by the street. The glimmer of these celestial bodies descended and posed as streetlights, which were called Parol.
As they pushed through the busy streets, Gelo’s mind wandered—the words from his dream calling him to write a poem. “Ano nga ba purpose ko? If I could think about that, maybe I can know kung ano iwi-wish ko,” he told Piyo, as they braved the chilling breeze of the wind together.
"Ang lamig! Medyo nakakagutom din," Gelo whined. Each whisper of the chilling wind carried the aroma of their favorites: bibingka and p**o bumbong. "Dami ko tuloy naalala."
Piyo barked in reply, indicating that he must be hungry too.
“Maya na lang tayo kumain. Huling misa na rin naman.”
Gelo now carried Piyo, as he pondered over his dilemma once again. As someone who had always had his way with words, writing had always been the key to Gelo’s enlightenment. It was the bridge that led his uncertainties towards the path of clarity. So, with a heart that yearned exactly for clarity, he pulled out his phone, opened the Notes app, and wrote:
“𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘮,
𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦.
𝘚𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴,
𝘸𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺.”
“Maganda siguro ‘to, start muna ako sa simple. Just write what I’m aware of first,” Gelo broke the silence, and Piyo gave a hearty bark of approval.
“Alam mo Piyo, pinaka-thankful talaga ako na ‘andyan ka. Tingnan mo! Puro ako reklamo sa lahat ng bagay, pero never mo ako iniwan?” Gelo cherished his pup, giving him a few loving rubs on the head—just before hearing the church bell ring.
The pair felt each clang of the bell resonate within their souls, pushing them to run as fast as they could; yet Gelo was all the more ecstatic for it. He thought to himself, a new adventure!—an adventure that could give him an answer to his dilemma.
He could not stop the flow of poetic lines running through his mind, “Mamaya ko na lang isulat!”
“𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯,
𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴
𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘴.
𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦,
𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭—
𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦
𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭,
𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵,
𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦.”
“Huling araw na’t makakapag-wish na tayo ulit,” Gelo laughed. “Excited ka na ba, Piyo? Malamang sa malamang ang sagot diyan!”
They forced their way through the crowd. Surely, there were fewer people here than in the past few years. The nostalgia was heard once again, “𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴…” and Gelo fell into a deep prayer—a prayer that made him all too aware of something that was missing. It was not something tangible, like his phone, or even Piyo—the void continued to seep through the depths of his heart. This was the last night, yet he felt an overwhelming lack of resolution.
“Nakaka-miss din pala, ‘no?” Gelo muttered, as a wave of nostalgia embraced him like a comforting hug from an old dear friend.
Piyo, with his great love for his buddy, comforted him by snuggling on his lap. The boy smiled in turn and patted his head.
“Kung sila ‘yung tatanungin ko, ano kaya advice nila? Tawagan ko kaya si Luke?”
Gelo pulled out his phone to message his dear friend, but he was greeted by his previously opened Notes app. With his notepad cursor flickering in front of him, he fell into a moment of silence. He decided to continue writing his heart down instead of sending Luke a message.
“Mababasa kaya ni Lord ‘to?” Gelo was curious. “Ano kaya present ni God?”
He spaced out, as he stared at the altar. The Holy Table that had witnessed their Simbang Gabi adventures from start to finish served as a representation of remembrance, not just of the saints, but also of memories from the past.
“Naalala ko tuloy mga tanong nila dati,” Gelo muttered to Piyo as the mass ceremony went on. “‘Ano ang wish mo?’ It was the very question we used to hear after finishing the nine nights of Misa de Gallo—back when they were just teaching us how to add and subtract numbers… They forgot to tell us what can happen in our lives also. May mawawala na mga tao o bagay, pero may daragdag din na mga bagong experiences sa buhay.”
Piyo laid his head on the ground and gave Gelo his paw, as if asking to be comforted by those bittersweet words.
Gelo pondered on that statement of his, before a realization struck him. Instead of bothering Piyo again, he decided to fill his notepad with his feelings:
"𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘵-𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘰, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘩𝘢𝘺 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢’𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘺."
These words made him realize something.
“Kahit papaano natin baguhin o isipin ang nakaraan, wala na tayong mababago. Kahit sundan pa natin ‘yung gusto ng mga ibang tao, hindi rin tayo matutuwa, kasi iba ‘yung tunay na wish natin.”
As Gelo explained, he saw Piyo lying on the ground, just staring at him blankly, as if he was asking to be carried, like a child to be comforted.
"Alam ko na ano magandang wish,” Gelo assured Piyo. “Bumalik sa nakaraan—parang time travel!"
Go back to the past… He realized that his heart’s wish could be connected to his dream last night—his own voice speaking about the past and a wish to be cast.
Over the last eight days, Gelo had written about his daily Simbang Gabi adventures, meeting a motley cast of characters who had their own unique Christmas stories to share. He reminisced about them all and found a singular truth: 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦.
On the first night of Simbang Gabi, he never really expected to go through the adventures he did. Every person he met, every story they shared, provided him and Piyo valuable lessons.
“Alam ko naman na hindi ko na talaga maibabalik ‘yung past, but let’s give it a try, ‘no, Piyo?”
The pup happily growled, as if he could understand what Gelo was feeling.
“One last wish. Ibalik ‘yung past.”
Among now delivered his sermon, “Matuto tayong tanggapin ang mga pagbabago, sapagkat iyan ay blessing ng ating Panginoon. Kahit minsa’y tayo ay nasasaktan, ‘wag nating kalimutan na siya ay may plano para sa ating lahat. Kaya kung ngayon ay nakararamdam ka ng lungkot, tandaan mong ika’y hindi nag-iisa. Darating din ang panahon, mauunawaan mo na ang pinaka-the-best present na natanggap mo ay ikaw mismo na nasa present moment na ito.”
These words stunned Gelo, “Ang ganda… pwede ko rin ‘yan isulat.”
Gelo pondered further on the truth of Among’s words.
He began, “Ang dami mo rin palang matututunan just by talking to people and understanding their situation. From Luke, I learned how important it is to have hope; from Reese, never to lose my faith…” Gelo continued as he patted Piyo’s head, “Kay Ma’am Diane naman, to appreciate the memories we once lived. From the lovebirds, Lola Linda and Lolo Jose, to appreciate what you have instead of focusing on what you lack. Tapos, kay Eva naman, to move forward in life, honoring the past without being inhibited by it. And lastly, mula kay Bapa Rom, to never forget the true purpose of this Christmas season.”
Thus, Gelo began writing on his notepad again, but Piyo distracted him. The pup placed his paw on his phone screen, as if telling him to put it off and focus on the mass. Gelo realized his bad practice too late. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son…” He felt so guilty, yet his excitement reigned supreme.
“Ito na ba last misa natin?” asked Gelo with a hint of sadness. “Mayro’n pa next year!”
This was now their habit. In every Misa de Gallo, you will surely find this duo. They always love being around each other, and through all those years that have passed—they found a reason to be stronger, not just for the people they love, but for their life’s purpose.
“Not to be too philosophical, Piyo, pero I think I get it now. The purpose of presents, wishes, and life,” and Gelo disappeared once again into his Notes app, but this time with an unrelenting mask of seriousness. Piyo could only stare at him, wagging his tail.
“𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯.
“I don't think wishing is important now. That’s not the purpose of Christmas or Simbang Gabi, at least not for us. Magkakaiba kasi ang Pasko para sa atin. For some, it’s the time for making wishes—to relive the past or to bless the future. For others, it’s about looking forward to presents,” Gelo paused, pondering about what he was about to say next.
“Pero, what if, instead of looking forward to the presents we’ll receive in the future, we realize that presents are already given to us now. 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩!” Gelo finally understood, and Piyo responded with his bark of approval.
“Tara na? Late night snack!” he continued.
The pair walked towards the street, filled with nostalgia. They embraced the cold breeze and welcomed it to warm their hearts. Eventually, Gelo sat down to eat some bibingka, throwing a piece to Piyo every now and then.
“Bukas na siya ipapanganak, ‘no?” Gelo broke the silence. He smirked, “Thankful pa rin ako sa kanya.”
Piyo responded with an “arf!”
“What do you think? Did we find our true purpose? Kahit alam nating mahirap bumalik sa past, we still managed to accept the fact that living in the present is a must.”
Piyo simply stared at him, smiling with his tongue out, but Gelo seemed to understand what he was trying to say.
“I know, I know. Even if we didn’t, it’s something that we can look forward to. In a life full of uncertainty, there’s an endless possibility,” Gelo paused at the pleasant sound of his words. “Ang angas no’n! Rhyme ‘yun! Pwede ko siya isulat sa future!”
Both of them laughed in their own way.
***
As Piyo slept beside him, he drifted his pen along the paper. Gelo continued to write the end of his Simbang Gabi story. He looked back at the various people he met over the last eight days.
“Who knew so much could happen in just over a week, right, Piyo? All those people, their stories, I learned a lot from them; and for that, I am very thankful,” he sighed, making Piyo flinch. “Sorry, tapusin ko lang ‘to. Nililipat ko lang mga sinulat ko kanina, tapos matutulog na rin ako.”
Gelo connected the pen to his mind, and he let it all out—the memories from the past, reminiscing from his unexpected meeting with his old friend, Luke, to the meaningful conversation he had with the old poet Bapa Rom. Without them, he wouldn’t be able to write this poem.
~~~
“𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦.”
𝘈 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥,
𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦.
𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳,
𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.
𝘈 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥,
𝘛𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥.
𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥,
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘥.
𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵—
𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵,
𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘵.
𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥.
𝘖𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦,
𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
𝘚𝘰, 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦.
𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘮 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦,
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘐 𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘵𝘦.
‘𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵.’
𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵.
𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱,
𝘚𝘰, 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮, 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱.
𝘈 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬,
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬.
𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥.
𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦,
‘𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦.
𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴,
𝘐𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.
𝘚𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘐 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴,
𝘗𝘪𝘺𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘭𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴.”
~~~
Gelo's poem had ended. It was already twelve o’clock at night, and he realized that it was already Christmas. He carefully woke Piyo up.
“Merry Christmas! Look, natapos ko na tula ko.”
Gelo read his piece to Piyo, as the pup stared at him, smiling with his tongue out. He would wag his tail every now and then, showing his support as Gelo’s proudest buddy!
“What do you think?” Gelo asked.
Instead of a reply, the Great Dane simply jumped at him, licking his face and barking simultaneously. Somewhere in the middle of this wet assault, Gelo had another realization. His greatest best friend ever, Piyo, was already a gift given by God. At this moment, he thought that the gifts we always received were not something that we asked for, but they were something that we needed. For Gelo, Piyo was the guiding compass that helped him meet those people, muster up the courage to talk to them, and learn valuable lessons in life. Being together for them was a gift that they never wished for, but it was something that they will both carry on in their lives.
This pair could always look back at the past to reminisce about those meaningful experiences, or they could look forward to their next Christmas adventures in the coming year. But for now, they were not focused on anything that has already happened or something that could happen. On Christmas Day, they chose to enjoy and appreciate every moment of the present.
(Chapter by Darryl Suba; Cartoon by Aaron Dwight Lachica; Graphics by Sean Nabong/ The Pioneer)
