By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

I was late, the rains interrupted me, but I made it. I made it to the 80th birthday celebration of a friend, Edicio de la Torre (Ed), the inseparable part of Girlie Villariba. In this event is an offering, a conversation of love, spoken and unspoken.

Underscoring this event, is the launching of the book, Handog, Ed’s thanksgiving gift to his family, friends and kindred spirits on his birthday, by his “remembering self” which according to him, guided his journey, the self that tells the stories, “the editor of the life story we tell ourselves” , “what you choose to remember, how you choose to remember, with whom you choose to remember.”

We tell our stories in a dialogue, sometimes vis-à-vis or against the stories made by others, defining our own identity. These stories, that of ourselves, our parents and loved ones evolve, in the remembering, a continuing conversation, long after we have departed from this life.

The last chapter on “Marriage is a Lifelong Conversation”, a metaphor chosen by Ed and Girlie for their marriage, captures the unity, the essence of their most enjoyable experiences, and the reassurance of certainty.

“walking toward an uncertain future is less daunting when you are certain about the one you are walking with”

This is true not only in marriages, but in all relationships that survive.

 

Conversation

in the rain, I listen
I listen to you, in silence
in the distance, I hear you
the rhythm of your breathing
the sound of your body
the pulse of my universe

a very long pause
a walk through a track
very rarely taken, very rarely spoken
deep into the forest of knowing
a quiet, tight, reassuring
embrace

I love you, I love you this way
in a very, very long engagement
of unspoken words
unknown words
of feelings beyond words
unknown, even to me
living, flowing, profusely
whispering, caressing
all of me

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