When I was in grade school, my close friends and I would give each other greeting cards for special occasions like birthdays, valentines and graduation. I miss those sweet days.
I seriously prefer two or three genuine messages in greeting cards, whether handmade or commercial, or handwritten letters over hundreds of status post greetings through Facebook.
Younger generations may not understand but 90's and 80's kids definitely can relate to what I feel right now. That's why I still give out greeting cards or scrapbooks for people who are dear to me during their special days. It's just my way of expressing my genuine thoughts and love for them.
I have been saving and collecting the cards that my friends have given me over the years. This small brown envelope, that used to house my grade school rating card, is where I've been storing them.
No matter how old and torn it appears, this envelope has helped me preserve my memories with my childhood friends.
At the back of the envelope, I scrawled the label "Elementary Memories" just so it would be easier for me to find it amid all the chaos I have in my room.
So how many cards do I have? I haven't counted them yet. I just took pictures. The number doesn't matter anyway. These cards express the emotions of their makers, my close friends way back grade school. Some are still close to me; others... I have no idea where on earth they are now.
They just feel so sacred. I mean, the cards are so personalized, with their (givers') own penmanship, their own design - each reflective of their maker's or giver's personality, each having their own story to tell.
Not just some random HBD. Imagine how lazy people has become these days. How do I know if they really mean my birthday to be happy? The H could be something else.
Who knows? Perhaps HBD means "Horrible" birthday?
Anyway I'm going to post the photos of the cards here one by one. The first release is here: The
"Pagmamahalan" Pocket Book written by... you'll find out later. :)
Pagmamahalan is a Filipino term for
romance. So we can assume that it's the title of this pocket book (as the author has named it). This is written by a
twelve-year-old grade school student.
He called it a
Pocket Book. If you're wondering what this
romance story is all about, I can summarize it for you. But first let me tell you how this came into existence.
I
used to have a crush on a certain
boy when I was in grade school. You know, like any other kid. It's normal alright? I still slap my forehead whenever I remember those days. Sooo
corny and... ugh. I can't even find the right term. I guess... horrifying or gross?
So this all started when Dominic (the author of this pocket book) got his hands on a short story I wrote about my crush that I never got the chance to finish. I changed the names with other names to conceal the
awkward reality behind it.
And I don't know what inspired Dominic to write
his own,
completely different version. I guess he wanted to annoy me but now that I think about it,
it's kinda cute. His gift to me was (and is) so cute and well thought of. He made this pocket book himself. Despite how annoying he was during those days, he was a really
sweet friend. :)
WARNING: Reader discretion is advised. This is definitely
not the kind of story that you must read to your
kids. Reason? Uh... the morale isn't that good...
This is the
first page of the book. Allow me to
translate it in English (trying to translate it as close to the original story as possible):
Cindy was introduced to Michael by his best friend Jay. The first time that Michael saw Cindy, he already felt something different. He felt like he always wanted to see her and talk to her. He was usually shy towards girls but his shyness seemed to have disappeared when he met Cindy.
"Can I walk home with you?"
"I'm sorry. A driver picks me up from school because daddy is so strict. That's why I don't want to be late when coming home."
"Really? Then let's hang out right here. Can we have snacks together?"
"Sure. Let's go to the canteen," Michael wanted to know lots of things about Cindy, like if she already has a boyfriend, where she lives and her phone number.
Cindy was attracted to Michael. Aside from being intelligent, being handsome and having a nice physique, he was also a gentleman. That was why Cindy had lots of rival.
They started meeting each other more frequently. Cindy also learned how to lie to the driver. She would tell him to go home without her because she has to practice for a dance.
This is the
second page. The translation goes:
The two had mutually understood each other. "Promise me that I'm the only one you'll ever love," Cindy told Michael.
"I won't promise. I swear I will love you so much."
And their lips met.
Cindy's lies to her daddy and mommy had become more frequent and her parents started to become suspicious.
"Maybe you already have a boyfriend. You often come home late."
"I have no boyfriend, Dad. We're just busy practicing for the dance."
"I'll take your word for it."
"Yes, dad."
They started having limited time together.
"What are we going to do now, Love?" Michael asked sadly.
"Just endure it a little more, Michael."
One day, Cindy saw her Dad leaving.
"Dad, where are you going?"
"I'm going to New York, dear. I need to. They need me there. You behave well."
"Yes dad."
They sent her dad off to the airport.
This is the
third page. I'm sorry for my
poor translation skill:
"Yes! Michael and I finally have our chance!"
The very next day, Cindy happily told Michael about her Dad leaving for New York.
"Yes! We can finally watch a movie!"
"I don't know," said Cindy.
"What?!" his surprised reply.
"Jeez you can't even take a joke, can you? Why would I even tell you about this good news if I'm not going to join you?"
"Really?! Jeez you really love me. Come here."
"Hey stop it! People are staring!"
"Can you stop screaming already? I'm going deaf!"
Cindy lied once again to her driver and told him that she'd come home late because they have to practice.
Michael waited for Cindy at the gate.
"Finally you're here."
"I'm sorry but I had to wait for the driver to leave."
This is the second to the last page. I mean, the
fourth page. I'm sorry if the translation
isn't that accurate. :)
"Okay. Let's go,"said Michael.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going to heaven."
"I don't like that kind of joke!"
"Of course to the movie theater and we're gonna eat somewhere."
And hand in hand, they walked their way to the theater.
One day, as Cindy was entering the school gate, she immediately saw Michael talking to another girl. Cindy felt jealous because Michael was talking to Vicky and she knew that the girl likes Michael very much.
"Why are you so grumpy today?" asked Mhay.
"Because I saw Michael talking to Vicky! You know that she likes Michael."
"You really get jealous easily."
Cindy didn't show up. Michael waited for her and almost gave up waiting.
Because of boredom, he went over to her classroom. And so Mhay told Michael that Cindy was angry at him.
Here goes the
last page of the pocket book. And
my translation goes:
"I'm going to their house."
"No you can't. Just give her time."
The next day, Michael went to school early to fix things up with Cindy. He knelt in front of her and said, "Please forgive me, love."
"Hey! You stand up it's so embarrassing! You're forgiven already."
"Really?!"
"Yes. Why? You complaining?"
"No Ma'am."
And after their studies, they ended up together. They married each other in a grandiose wedding. And they had a child, Daniel.
So here goes to author. He had quite an imagination didn't he. Sweet.
To be honest, the first time that I read the story, like a decade ago, I was mortified! I mean, lying to my parents for a boy and kissing someone on the lips were like mortal sins to me. Innocent little me that time. :)
So for the summary:
Cindy met Michael through Jay, the latter's best friend. They liked each other ever since. They kept their relationship secret from Cindy's strict parents. That's why Cindy had to lie to her driver every afternoon so that she could hang out with Michael.
Then, Cindy's dad had to leave for New York. She was happy because she was finally free to hang out with Michael. They watched a movie and had dinner.
One day, Cindy saw Michael talking to Vicky. Vicky was also one of Michael's admirers. She got jealous and told her friend Mhay about it. Michael wondered why Cindy didn't turn up so he went to her classroom. Mhay told him what happened.
The next day, Michael apologized and Cindy accepted his apology.
After their studies, they got married and had a child. His name was Daniel.
There you go. I still have a few more cards with me. I'm going to post them here some other time. Sorry to disappoint you but there won't be another pocket book story the next time around. This is the only one :)
