MY BESTFRIEND

It has been five hours since my wallet was stolen with cash and atm cards inside. I was disoriented when I went to the police, called banks to block my cards, and called family and friends to share my worries. I was feeling mixed emotions until I went home. I felt sad, mad, stupid, and alone. But now as I stared at my ceiling reflecting what happened as the incident kept repeating itself in my mind like a movie, a realization filled me. Something in the incident had made me realized I am so lucky. Lucky for having a friend like Obelle.

Obelle has been my friend the first time I saw her ten years ago. I was doing a summer job back then, and she was a job order in the same Department. I was looking in one room for the boss that will orient me for that summer job when I saw her sitting on a chair with winnower on her lap full of ripe tomatoes. She was removing the seeds for drying. I thought she was a daughter of my should-be boss. It turned out she was a job order there (not a permanent employee but on call basis) and that we will be working together the whole summer.

That summer was unforgettable for I acquired a friendship that is lasting up to this moment. I was poor as a rat back then. A working student. Summer was over and we parted. The time came that I have nothing to eat and remember her words that I could come to her house whenever I need something, and so I went. Unfortunately she was not around when I came. Her mother must have sensed that I was hungry and let me ate….I was not so sure now of the exact sequenced of event but I can still feel being cared for. Her home was welcoming as she was to me.

I graduated and fortunate to be hired in the same Department I spent that summer with. There I saw her already pregnant. Our friendship has been revived as it was like before. It felt natural to be around her.

When it was my turn to gave birth to my only daughter, she and her husband went to the hospital and assisted me. One would get confused who would give birth between the two of us since she was also probably 6 months pregnant to her second baby. She was pregnant too and she was there. God, it mattered to me a lot.

I can’t recall all the good things she had done when I was nursing my baby. During financial crisis we survived it together. There was a time when the two of us had both no money to buy milk and we agreed to borrow money from a loan shark, a Chinese businesswoman which makes money in credit interest. We had no choice. But to get to her, we had to ride a bus. A big issue since when we say we don’t have money…we really don’t have even for just a fare….and so we gathered our last resources and took the risk of going there without being certain if Tiya Betty-the loan shark will lend us any.

Luckily, after some begging and agreeing to have our salary as collateral she gave us money-just enough for the milk and diaper. Each of us was thinking and budgeting on our ride home. I was on the window side, she was beside me. The bus was on its full speed when suddenly something hit my face…..it was a big hard soil the size of my fist that crushed and turned into pieces right at my cheek….the impact was so strong I felt dizzy… as people looked at me and Obelle so worried on my side I tried to compose myself and pretend it doesn’t hurt. The drivers’ assistant told us that the soil came from a truck full of garden soil, running fast on the other half-side of the road.

Obelle went down first. Then a few minutes later I reached my house and stopped the bus. The moment I got down I cried so hard I cannot breath. Self-pity is one thing I cannot handle well.


So we passed through myriads of troubles and had been both promoted….gradually we became financially stable…a big leap from what we were before. We would laugh about it when we were dining in a fine restaurant, shopping and watching movies together.

I always enjoyed her company. She was always warm and caring, the type whose actions were better than words.

Until the hardest test has fallen on my marriage, my husband cheated and my world was broken apart. I don’t know how I survived the craziest and loneliest time had she not offered her constant support and love. Such a gift of friendship I don’t know if I deserved.

I surpassed the odds….I classified myself as a happy single mom. I am back on my feet again. She would always remind me though of my being absent minded…. “Be alert” …she said “your mind always wanders”……

I must agree….I am a dreamer….I may be in one place but my mind in another….thinking, dreaming, creating stories…..

And so as I recalled the scene when I was in the precinct this afternoon so disoriented, I turned and saw her coming with her whole family riding in a single motor. Her husband driving, the two kids in between and her….it was like an angel went down from heaven to save me….it felt good…and I wouldn’t mind losing my wallet again just to experience the feeling of being loved….unconditionally….not just by my parents, siblings and daughter but of a friend….whom I am not related by blood, but who loved me as much…

I will always be grateful for her unending kindness, as I was writing this I received a text from her that I should not be “absent minded”…..a loving nagging from a real friend….

Truly some situation would knock us down, caught us in surprise and might tear us apart, but in my case, God always help me see the positive side of it. When life sucks it never fails to somehow put me in proper perspective. A clearer view of life. I could have been crying now for the lost money…..but no…I am smiling, I am happy and content….knowing I had gained more than I lost……

I wrote this because I might forget; somehow I feel my memory will not last long but I would want to instill this to my daughter and to whoever might happen to read this…it is so good sharing a life with friends….learn to treasure and honor someone who deserve it and let them know…..you appreciate.