On A Rainy Friday, I Wrote About My Friends

On a very cold, wet, rainy Friday, I spent the afternoon in one coffee shop with my bestfriend. She studied and I, well, wrote. Thinking about what to write is not a very daunting task for me. As far as I’m concerned the few things that I write about well are relationships, heartaches and the eternal longing to be with someone. And yet on this particular rainy afternoon, I find it difficult to write about what I’m feeling. Perhaps because as of right now, I don’t feel anything and I begin to wonder if I’m losing it. Have I become too jaded about the entire concept of love that it evades me even in writing?

I don’t think so.

A few days back, my friends and I got together for our usual coffee-chit-chat-bonding moment. We met at Starbucks Rockwell and began the tedious, very detailed updating of our lives. My variety of friends would surprise you. And while I do have a lot of them, I also have my fair share of not-so-good friends slash enemies – or to be politically correct, I treat them now as mere acquaintances. We do our usual Hi’s and Hello’s but nothing deeper than that. I’ve learned to distance myself from people who usually have the tendency to hurt my back with their knives. Specifically, some people from the office.

We got into thinking about the lives we each live. Some of us have been friends for over 10 years and others just a few years short of that. So you could just imagine how close some, if not all of us have been through the years. In a nutshell, we know each others’ D-I-R-T. We’ve experienced the lows and highs of our friendship but we remained, fortunately, steadfast as friends.

But what’s truly amazing about it is that regardless of our mistakes, we never judged each other. Sure we clash from time to time but we never really allow it to stand in the way of friendship. There’s D, who of all the people I’ve known may quite possibly experienced the true craziness of being in love. She allowed herself to be in too deep waters with a man she could never have and even produced proof of that. TWICE. And while her mistake was treated as a blessing, we do worry about her and the path she’s currently taking. We all know that the hardship is just starting and we are pretty much ready to stand by her side all the way. Probably even bang her head against a brick wall from time to time to wake her up.

Then there’s “M” and “A,” whose relationship has lasted more than I initially thought possible. Their personalities are so different from each other that often I wonder how they do it. But when I really stop to think about it, it’s all about the love. However you may define it. I guess you could call them lucky to have found each other with all the complications surrounding their relationship. Then, another couple, “R” and “A,” that like the other couple have very different personalities that somehow seem to complement each other. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if they finally end up together with a dozen kids to which we are all godparents to.

There’s “A” and “B,” who have been together near forever. And while no relationship is perfect, theirs seem to portray an ideal one. Rarely that I even hear them fighting or that one has a problem with another. They’re that good a perception management.

My close friend “V” who is probably the toughest woman I’ve ever known. We often joke that she has evolved --- becoming a man, or at least thinking like one. She has the biggest ego of anyone I know and yet could love like no one ever could. She’s a tough nut to crack but when you do finally get to what’s inside; you’d be surprised to find a golden heart inside. She could hide her feelings to everyone but a few when needed and could bark at a stupid and irritating stranger in a second. I could only pray that she finally finds someone to make her happy and treat her like the ‘princess’ she is.

Then there’s my bestfriend --- as the word implies, best and friend. Not much to say but she already knows how important she is in my life as much as I would like to think that I’m equally important to hers. Our bond couldn’t be stronger.

And then there are all my other friends who as I met in many, many different occasions and some not even seen in years, remained to be very dear friends to me.

And then there’s me. Well, you all know what I’m like. But I’d also like to believe that I’m as much important to all my friends as they are to me, I'm also as important to them. So really, who needs more, when I already found enough for this lifetime and perhaps even the next? For the longest time, I’ve always been bothered by the fact that I cannot please everyone. But I realized it’s enough for me to please these few. I know I’ll keep them for as long as I could --- at least until I find the one person worth keeping above all the rest.


Love letters and idealisms by Noel Abelardo