A post from long ago. Published because.. well, it's all in the past now.

This must be one of the loneliest birthdays on earth.

I remember my birthday last year. It was the happiest birthday of my entire life. The woman I treasured the most gave me a silver bracelet and another gift; a gift that I would probably never forget. We dubbed it as "aging" (pagtanda), and she asked me, "I wonder how old would you be on your next birthday?"

After that day, she gave me that gift whenever she had the chance. If I counted them, perhaps I'm approximately more than a hundred years old now. Maybe even two-hundred-ish. She also promised she would sing for me, one day, when she had the guts. I have constantly dreamed of hearing her secretly-kept singing voice. I always have.

Yeah, that's how the story went. Then there was this, there was that, and then, the end. Turns out, I'd stop aging long before my next birthday.

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me.