One of my high school friends was going to graduate – finally, we always say as a joke – and it was their town fiesta yesterday, so we went. I wore a white, frilly peasant blouse that was perfect for the heat that early afternoon but turned out to be a bit of a mistake when rain poured at around six p.m. What the hell’s wrong with the weather? What’s with these heavy downpours in the middle of April? Anyway, my friends kept asking who just got christened so maybe it was a mistake to wear that blouse from the very beginning. At seven, walking home, slightly shivering, I saw a girl, probably 10 or so, in a green sleeveless shirt and gray shorts walking toward me, staring at me and smiling. Uh-oh. “Hi, ate,” she said. Shit, I thought. Do I know you? Are you a godchild? Do I have to give you money? Do you need me to walk you home? Crap. She was carrying bags of chips in a plastic bag, she must have come from the grocery store and was on her way home. Like me.
“Ang ganda mo,” she said, and off she went.
I couldn’t remember if I smiled back.
Eliza Victoria 