The news was that it was celebrated that day, and I came unprepared.
I had this group of friends ever since I was in my freshman year. I would say, first year in college is all about finding the right group of friends but ended up not finding it at all. We continued the same search in our succeeding years only to find out there was no time left. Well, that was supposed to be our scenario as friends, but we were lucky enough to stick together.
This tiny circle was actually a large one. We were eleven friends who made lasting memories of our beloved years. However, all things can be broken, amidst the idea that they can also be mended. Some left to pursue their studies in another school, some were forced to choose work over education, and some intentionally left. Among the eleven kindred souls who used to have their lunch together in a secret karenderya, only five of us stayed.
The daily routine of sticking together, whether in class or at lunch, completely disappeared. Seldom did we see each other, and the moment I received the news was another opportunity for me to spend time with them as memorably as I could.
After receiving the message, we immediately headed to the park we planned to meet at and gave each other an hour for preparation and travel. We only had two hours before the simple celebration started, so we sprinted and furiously traveled to the spot where we would ride to my friend’s place.
We arrived at her house, and it was a little bit awkward because the house was quieter than I expected. They are so conservative, not being loud during a solemn celebration. Our friend greeted us at the doorway, and we immediately headed to the kitchen where we got our food. They prepared many viands such as pancit palabok, pork humba, fried chicken, spaghetti, squid roll, and most importantly and extravagantly, the iconic Cebuano lechon—the greatest food prepared for any kind of celebration. They also had macaroni salad and soft drinks.
A little while later, we found ourselves sitting at a table with our blessed food. We were five, complete, and alive. Who would have thought that on a random day and with a random message, these kindred souls who had long missed each other would reunite? It felt bittersweet the moment I realized we were complete but had already changed into forms we once dreamt of—or in short, we grew. It was like we kept on growing and changing, but every time we met, we also kept on knowing each other even if we were far from each other’s recognition.
We talked about what happened in our lives before that day and how our college went. Two of us had already left college while the three of us, amidst being in the same school, couldn’t see each other often. The conversation was funny and serious at the same time, and the shift of topics made me miss them even more. There was silence between our tongues, and there I found every piece of them I knew, along with the newest in them. I kept on listening to their talk while I also shared mine, and life again was reasonable to look back on in a glimpse.
We were served different kinds of liquor, and the microphone was turned on as a sign of a traditional birthday celebration. We used to do this at our friendship’s birthdays where we would open bottles of liquor and do karaoke and sing a birthday song. Listening to them was like an evil punishment to me that made me want my ears removed. But they are my friends, and I have loved them regardless of their voices.
This is my friend’s dog, who casually listened to our talks just like one of us. He was patient and well-mannered, not disturbing us while talking. But I can say he was secretly judging us.
, had a gig later that night. We planned to go to the venue with her and continue our drinking session and have an actual party.
Our friend, the birthday celebrant, couldn’t come with us because guests were coming to their house, and she also had a baby to tend to. She cannot do parties anymore because she is already a mother. We told her parents that we would now leave the house because we still had plans for later.
We only spent two hours with our friend on her birthday, but we wouldn’t really have gone out if there hadn’t been any gig. We just apologized for giving such a short time and left the house.
We were accompanied by her husband, and he drove us to the bus stop since we had to ride a bus to reach the venue where my friend would perform her gig.
We waited for the gig to happen, but it took long enough that we went to Pantaland to get a fresh breather from the loud noise of the beach. We met lots of people staying there for the same reason and had conversations. We also ate pastil, a famous delicacy in Cebu made of rice and stripped chickem wrapped in a banana leaf.
After an hour, we went back again to the beach and found the gig had already started. We sat there for a while watching our friend, and minutes later, the drinking session began again. The rest? It was history. But I would say we all got drunk, partied with strangers we can’t remember, and even led a Zumba during the party instead of dancing like crazy. It brought me back to the years when our friends were complete, sitting in a bar doing silly things and entertaining ourselves during karaoke.
That night was a reunion of friendship and a recollection of past memories. Indeed, a poignant and bittersweet moment, but happy enough to know we could still get a chance to meet each other somewhere in the calendar.
This is me going home drunk and happily wild.
That is all for this blog, dearest readers. I hope you enjoyed reading a content I was excited to share with you. Thank you for giving time to read, and see you in my soonest narratives!