On Our 5th Year

I still remember the first time I saw Rj.

It was after Dulaang UP’s Passion of the Christ – he was sweaty, his face showing traces of make-up he obviously tried to remove quickly, and his hand, tightly pressed on his left cheek as he hid pimples that I hypothesized were the onset of that make-up.

I guess it wasn’t so cinematic. He felt awkward, he later on said he felt like he wasn’t at his best that day, and you can imagine QC on that rainy day in July – frantic, muddy, and yes, gloomy. But he charmed me instantly, because as our first date, I immediately invited him to come over my place in Katipunan.

Before you pass judgment, no, we didn’t do it (well, not yet). Instead, we spent the night playing Monopoly, Scrabble, and TaleCraft, a card game I found in National Book Store which required players to create and narrate stories based on the cards their dealt with.

And boy, the cards we were dealt with were so varied, yet we made the best out of it.

I think we ordered in, or I went out to buy food – that part I can’t remember, but what I remember was that instant attraction.

Was it love at first sight? No, I don’t and will never believe in that.  Was it lust? Hey inviting him over as a first date was a bit slutty, yes. But we didn’t do it. The night was innocent and pure, reminiscent of first loves. So what was it that created that sudden spark?

Maybe its just chemistry – we just bond, nothing is forced and I’ve never been more me until I was with him.

Approximately five years after, we both cannot honestly believe we’re still together. “Who would have thought?” Rj would always say every year when it’s our anniversary.

And as I watch you now, creating social ads that are clearly not part of your job, I look at you with the same fervent eyes I had when I saw you for the first time five years ago.

Happy 5^th Anniversary Hub. Here’s to the next few years, I daresay decades, of our lives, together.

Photo taken in 2009