Childhood Friend

I grew up with a boy for a bestfriend. I don’t re-call meeting him for the first time – I was far too young. He’s two years older, stubborn, smart, and mischievous. He was my hero. We didn’t go to the same school but our houses were right beside each other. I always thought he knew everything. He taught me almost all the games I know from the simple Hide-and-seek to Patintero, Tumbang-preso and Bahay-bahayan including where are the good places to hide when playing hide-and-seek, what to do so a dog won’t bite you (this requires you to bite your tongue while passing a dog but you have to keep your mouth shut or else it won’t work), what makes a good instrument for christmas caroling (extensive research and product testing an absolute must), where babies come from (yep, we saw 2 dogs one day and he said they were making babies – I was shocked, I was only 7 or 8 at the time! And I thought babies were put in mommies’ tummies while they sleep at night…tsk tsk…), how to fake afternoon naps so I can go out and play afterwards (I never mastered the art of faking naps… I always fell asleep after a few minutes), how to scare your baby brother effectively (I always got caught and got in trouble for it), how to make your wounds heal faster (go to church and put holy water in it), among so many other things. We hung out so much that the other neighbors thought he might be gay (I was able to convince him to play Barbie with me on some days – hey, he always played Ken anyways and now that I think about it, I don’t even know where he got the Ken doll because it sure wasn’t mine!).

It took me 2 years to learn how to ride a bike. I don’t know why it took me so long but during the time when I didn’t know how to ride one yet, he would always let me ride on his bike. If we were riding his bike, I could sit behind him since he had one of those really long seats that could hold 2 small children but if we were riding my big bike, I had to stand behind him on those things that stick out the sides of your bike wheels. One day, he was biking and I was standing behind him and my right foot slipped and I scraped my knee on the pavement. By the time he stopped, blood was dripping all over my leg. I would never forget the look on his face. Utter panick. He brought me home and my nanny cleaned my wounds and he felt really bad about it. If you are wondering why I am even writing about this particular incident, this explains the tiny scar I still have on my right knee. I love that scar because it reminds me of my childhood and the special friend who cared for me.

He was my first crush and he knew it because the moment I realized I liked him, I told him. I remember it like it was just yesterday. Funny the things you remember as you grow older. I think I was somewhere between the age of 5 and 7. We were playing with some friends and we were hiding in my garden and I tapped him on the shoulder and I pretty much blurted out that I liked him. I don’t even know why I did it but I never regretted it. He just looked at me, smiled and that was it. It really is so much simpler when you’re younger. No fear, no uneasiness and you can so easily forgive yourself for the things you do. Did he feel the same way? I don’t know and I’ll probably never know. He never said anything. We were bestfriends and eventhough he knew I liked him it didn’t change anything between us.

Sadly, we grew apart as we grew older. I don’t really know how it started. It’s as if one day I woke up and we were strangers. We would smile, say hi and exchange a few words whenever we saw each other but that was it. It broke my heart because I felt I lost my most treasured friend. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks about me when he thinks of his childhood. I’m sure the friend I knew back then is still in him somewhere. One thing is for sure, I am grateful for the friendship we shared.

Sometimes I wonder if I am subconsciously measuring every guy I meet against him… LOL!