Lingering Scent

It was 3 o'clock in the morning. I was jolted from a deep slumber only to realize that my heart was beating too fast. I initially panicked but after a few seconds of trying to calm myself down, I recalled having a dream just before waking up. In the dream, I was taking a stroll with someone along a moonlit and deserted street. The stranger's scent, to my amazement, kept lingering on my pillows even as I was awake. This made my heart palpitate even faster.

The fresh, minty smell mildly resembled a favorite perfume* and instantly reminded me of someone whom I last walked with under an August night sky.  That actual stroll was months ago, but the one in dream brought me a kind of odoriferous ecstasy. The scent gave a kind of frosty air in the room and a breezy feeling even under the sheets. It enveloped me in a haunting embrace.

Half-awake, and still flushed with racing heartbeats, I silently wondered how a fragment of one's dream could so easily slip into the neighboring reality. Yet the scent was all the proof there was. As I slowly breathed you in, the lingering perfume brought in a calming feeling. The scent started lulling me back into dreamland where, hopefully, it would lead me to another stroll with you.

*Davidoff's Game, CK's Eternity or Bulgari's Soir

Rooted on My Mind

After my Tawi-Tawi trip, I was able to enjoy a week-long stay in Manila. Afterwards, it was off to Marawi City. At first, we planned on staying longer as we expected a lot of work. However, due to the forthcoming Ramadan, we decided on a one-week stay only. 

Adjusting to the Maranao culture, compared to Tausug, seemed to be more challenging for me. However, with the help of our coordinator, we had won the trust of the key leaders by the end of our stay and got to understand the context. After the immersion, we made plans to go back for a series of trainings.

We stayed in this beautiful, tribal-inspired Ayala Resort near the Mindanao State University which overlooks the great Lanao Lake. The cold weather in Marawi was made even frostier by the presence of big, ancient tress that towered over the resort's cottages. I was given an amazing T'boli cottage during my whole stay. A few feet away from the veranda was a century-old Balete tree. At night, I would invite my companions for coffee on the porch while watching the fireflies turn my Balete into one giant Christmas tree.

(No, this story does not end with just a magical description of Belete trees and fireflies. Not yet.)

After one week in Marawi City, my colleague and I found ourselves heading back to Cagayan De Oro (CDO) City, from where we would be taking our flights to Manila the following day.

(Now, this is where the story gets more exciting.)

Prior to leaving Marawi, Gerry and I had been exchanging texts. I learned that he was in Davao at that time and also had plans to drop by at CDO for a business meeting. So, we agreed to meet that night upon our individual arrival in CDO. After dinner, we went club-hopping and conversed like good old friends.

Upon calling it a night, I offered to drop him off at his hotel. While inside the cab, I found myself wondering at the irony of things. Our paths (as ex-partners) had converged once again, this time in a strange city (and a lonely night, at that). At times, the apparent convenience of things seemed too tempting, but I was also appalled and suspicious of its nature.

Gerry mentioned something about coffee as we were approaching his place. If I head back to my hotel, I said to myself, I might as well be ready to face a sleepless night. Right now, fate was offering some kind of a playful irony. Indeed, it sometimes grants wishes and can even personify a towering Balete tree straight from the backyard of one's mind.

The suspicious side of me, however, said otherwise. Despite Gerry's permanence in myself, it  always wanted to end any story in reality.