Before leaving for work, Let (my husband) asked me what date
it is today. And like in the past years since 2001 (the year we got married), I
fell into the trap. I paused to think and told him the date, not realizing why he asked in
the first place. “Friday was August 9 so that makes today August 12,” I
unwittingly replied. He nodded his head and winked. It hit me as before, it’s
August 12! It was the most important date for us until 2001.
It was on the night of August 12 in 1996 at the soccer field
in UP Los Banos that we confirmed our feelings for each other. Our lives have since been intertwined. We went steady for five years before we settled to
start a family. Most of the time we were apart as he was working in Cagayan
Valley. And so August 12 was a big day for us during those five years, as he
would (if he could) drive 14 hours to Laguna just to celebrate our
anniversary on the date itself. And if he could not, he would, without fail,
arrange with a friend to buy and deliver me flowers.
Our common friends would happily attest to how crazy I was
over Let. Now, I kind of wonder why. Really, it was like I was living out the
song "Got to Believe in Magic." Let was not a looker. He looked generally okay,
fair-skinned. Oh, but he was slim then! There was something about him – an aura
that was ironically humble (playing the underdog) yet hinting of bravado and
confidence. And I was an easy prey to his distinct kind of charm.
It has been 17 long years now. We bicker, argue, exchange
hurting words sometimes. But our love is deeply rooted to how we began. No one
forced us to be together. No one, but fate, I guess. It all came so naturally
for us. There was not even a courtship to speak about. We met, we fell in love,
and we remain.
How could I have forgotten? August is truly special! :-)
