After watching The Proposal last night, while I was walking down the shopping mall with another friend, we saw Bernard, a top interior designer and a very good friend of ours. Mas kilala ko sya sa pagkakaron ng Jaguar na sasakyan na until now hindi ko pa nasasakyan, pero ok na din kasi minsan na nya akong nabusinahan while I was crossing the road to my previous office, SingTel. Sya ang parang tatay namin sa isa sa mga circle of friends ko kasi sya ang pinaka matanda sa lahat, a very good adviser indeed, laging magaling magsalita. I would probably conclude na sya ang pinaka well off sa lahat ng nakilala ko sa Singapore, not to mention na mahilig syang mag-collect ng mamahaling relo. If I am not wrong, wala syang relo na bababa sa $3,000 sgd. Almost all the time na magkikita kami, I cannot help myself not to glance at his watches kasi talagang napaka gaganda lagi ng relo nya. Minsan nga, parang pinipigilan ko na lang sarili ko na magtanong ng brand na suot nya, he is just an eye-catcher human na hindi nagsusuot ng jeans cheaper than $300 dollars. And mind me, hindi pa ako nakakabili ng ganito kamahal na jeans, if I remember it correctly, $180 dollars pa lang ang pinaka mahal na jeans na nabili ko (although the most treasured jeans I got was one Levi's blue jeans from my mom worth P2,000 pesos when I was still in University and another black Jag jeans from my sister which I have not seen both for many years now). Bernard also is a collector of expensive stuff, name it, he has it.
And last night, I saw him from far, the usual Bernard "boy-next door". Pero habang papalapit ako sa kanya, wala syang ngiti at parang madaming iniisip. The first thing he said was "my nails are so dirty". True enough, madumi nga ang kuko nya. Then it was followed by a shocking news na nasunog ang bahay nya ............
Parang nanghina ako sa sinabi nya and I got lost for awhile na hindi ko alam kung paano ako magre-react sa news nya. It was funny kasi ang unang tanong ko sa kanya, "where are all your watches?" Then I was relieved knowing that all his watches are safe in a vault. He started showing me photos taken from his phone of the wreckage of his house, sobrang sunog especially his room na parang abo na lang ang nakikita ko. Sad to say, nasunog halos lahat ng damit nya except yung mga nakasampay at nasa laundry area. He was wearing his nephew's jeans and shirt last night and just came from a house viewing cos he eventually need to look for a new house to rent. In short, sunog lahat ng damit nya, ng collections nya, gadgets etc etc and etc. Ganon na lang yon? Hindi lang isa, dalawa or tatlong taon na inipon, mawawala lang sa ilang minuto? It was a little creepy, kasi habang nasusunog ang bahay ni Bernard, the cremation of the body of Matthew's dad was also in place.
Hindi ko naiwasang maka-relate kay Bernard kasi nasunugan na din kami ng bahay when I was just 5-6 years old na ang nag-iisang agony ko lang ay yung lungkot na nasunog lahat ng laruan ko. This tragic incident happened after we lost my dear little sister. Nalunod ang younger sister ko, then shortly after our family recovered from the lost and pain, nasunugan naman kami ng bahay. It was a blessing na nakitulog kami sa Lolo ko that night, else, wala sanang blog na richardays ngayon. Natatandaan ko pa na nanghihingi kami ng damit sa mga pinsan ko kasi the only clothing left for us was the pair of clothing we were wearing, we eventually need something to replace the next day. Nung panahon na yon, walang pera ang parents ko, and the only possessions we have are the clothes from our cabinet na sya namang unang nasunog. Our house back then was literally a bahay-kubo na iisa lang ang room, na yari sa kawayan at kailangan mong bumaba sa bahay kapag nahulog ang coins mo para kunin sa ilalim ng bahay.
Narealize ko kung gaano katatag ang parents ko, kung paano sila nagsipag para bumangon sa total disaster na pinagdaanan nila and completely heal the wounds left by an unfortunate events.
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