nakakatuwa na may thread na ganito dito. makes me look back. my first and greatest love was actually with a Filipino-Chinese guy. I was in college. I didn't expect for us to get along because initially we didn't really have a lot of things in common. he was awkward in a nerdy way but I found him interesting. we spent a lot of our breaks together kahit hindi kami magka-course. eventually, we spent all our time together. when things became official, he asked for support from his brother and sister who were both in school with us. his brother gave his approval and support, his sister didn't, arguing that the rules in their family were absolute and she couldn't support going against his parents. in fairness to him, he tried very hard to get his family on board. he told his parents about me but while they were decent enough to hear him out, the ending never changed: the family could never accept a non-Chinese girl. on hindsight, it might have been that way because we were young, still in school and they thought, it couldn't have been THAT serious. one time, he tried to bring me to their house. his mom didn't let me in. I was so embarrassed to be standing outside their gate while he was inside. ang dami kong luha na iniyak. my parents were always kind to him but after that episode, medyo hindi na sila naging happy. I think na-hurt talaga yung mommy ko about that. before graduation, nag-usap kami. kung paano na magiging plano namin because his family wanted to send him to china to study for a year.lumaban pa kami ng konti but it was when his dad told him point blank that if things progressed further with me, he could lose his family and be disowned, I decided at that point to break up with him. I couldn't bear the thought of him dating other girls (pinapa-cai siao na sya that time) and frankly at that time, I just was so tired of the drama, of not being accepted, of being rejected, of fighting a battle we didn't seem to win. it was heartbreaking talaga for me. I felt like I gave him the best time of my life. he felt like I just deserted him. anyway, he left for china. I started working here. a year after, he sent me an email saying he misses me but that he understands the decision I made. it was nice closure for me. hindi na ako nag-reply.
years later, I saw him again, by accident in my office when he was getting his car fixed. he asked me to dinner to catch up. the whole time, we were both cautious and no one asked if we were in relationships seeing other people. I had a boyfriend then (he became my husband). later on, I found out that he hasn't had a girlfriend since we broke up. I think about that sometimes and wonder if perhaps I should have fought more. don't get me wrong, I am happy where I am in life now. i just think sometimes, what if? i sincerely hope he finds a nice girl for himself. mahirap din maging mag-isa sa buhay. i want him to be happy.