Flirty One

"Moi, I just turned 31. Grabe ano? Parang kailan lang I turned 30. And now I'm a year older and hopefully wiser," while eating a plate of vegetarian curry in Casablanca, Dumaguete.

I met up with my friend for some lunch and drinks while waiting for my flight back to Manila.

"So anong mga realizations mo?" He asked while savoring his Frutti di Mare.

I spooned some of the curry sauce placed it over the rice and ate.

Anu-ano nga bang mga realizations ko?

"First, I realized that at our age, kailangan nang mag-set ng expectations especially sa relationship!"

We both laughed.

"Totoo naman, when we were younger it was all about ego to ego - kung hindi nagkasundo then break na. Kaloko."

"Second, and I am not sure the reason why but younger guys these days tend to go for guys like us..."

"Napansin ko din." Moi chimed.

"Di ba? It's so weird. Like guys from their early 20's would message me."

"I know! I get the same here too. Pero ako kasi I like guys my age or even 2 to 3 years older," He added. "So, kamusta naman ang pag-iisa mo sa Siquijor? Happy?"

"You know Moi, it's really all about adjustment." I played with my food a little. "I felt the adrenaline rush when I was going back because I have a lot of activities planned pero the moment I hit the sack, I felt lonely for some reason."

I took another forkful of the curry.

"Then I realized, ganoon talaga kasi I am not used to being alone. Even when I'm at home, I still live with everyone. So I guess what I felt was what I also felt when I was in Cebu for the first few days."

Moi just looked at me.

"Pero masaya. I couldn't have spent a better birthday being alone and doing the things I like."

"So going back, ano pa ang realizations mo?" Moi again asked.

"Third, that no matter how painful the past, a lesson can only be learned. I don't know if you knew this back but I actually have depression. And you know, the bad breakup really amplified everything."

"Ay! Alam ko yan. I remembered Karl messaging me and telling me to text you, but I was still shy back then because we're not close."

"Oh! Well thank you for telling me that. Natutuwa ako kahit papaano."

"Pero at least, masaya ako. May nakilala ako recently and, well, he makes everything, my everything...alright.

I smiled to Moi and finished our meal before hitting the drinks.

Life Is Not Measured By the Number of Breaths We Take, But By the Moments That Take Our Breath Away