Fisherboy 5 of 11

2Rivers March 9-15

Fisherboy: Imaginarily Directed By Ishmael Bernal

A Story by Jonathan Aquino (5 of 11)

The waves splashed playfully at the shore. Jay saw the ocean spread before him all the way to the horizon. It was his first time to witness such grandeur, to feel that indefinable, overwhelming sense of peace. Time stopped, and the outside world has been swept away by the breeze.

"Kuya Jay?"

His reverie broken, Jay came out of trance. He turned around.

A young boy who looked like Zaijan Jaranilla in May Bukas Pa was standing behind, smiling shyly. "I'm Bugoy," he said. "Tiya Miling asked me to keep you company!"

"Thanks!" smiled Jay. He turned again to the ocean. "It's really beautiful here, Bugoy," he said softly."

"That's what everybody says," said Bugoy proudly, walking up beside Jay on the right. "They call it paradise."

"It is," agreed Jay. He looked at the little boy. "Do you live with Aling Miling?"

"I live in the next house," replied Angelo, gesturing to the trees beyond the shore. "You can walk there in five minutes."

"How old are you?"

"I'll be thirteen next month!" declared Bugoy. "And I'll be graduating from elementary on my birthday!"

"Really? Congratulations!" said Jay, sharing the young boy's excitement. "Advanced Happy Birthday too!"

"Thank you, Kuya Jay!" Bugoy smiled bashfully. "My father said we'll roast a small pig if we get enough money! I hope you and Tiyong Prudy will come!"

"Of course! I'll tell him!" said Jay, patting Bugoy's shoulder. "I want to come back here!"

The two boys stood on the shore, watching the seagulls cavorting over the endless, deep blue ocean. 

That night, after dinner, Jay's feet took him to the shore again. He sat on the coarse sand, never having seen the stars so brilliant. 

"I knew you'd be here!" chuckled Pruding as he walked up and sat beside the boy on the left. He put his arm around Jay.

"I really love it here, Tsong!" said Jay, laying his head on Prudy's shoulder.

"I can see that!" laughed Prudy. "But, you know, the people who grew up here, they tend to take it for granted. That's why they love visitors. It reminds them how lucky they are to be here instead of the city."

"Have you ever thought about living here, Tsong?"

"I thought about it," said Prudy, rocking them both softly. "But I've gotten used to living in Manila. My friends there, well, there's just a few of them still alive!"

"Tsong, don't speak that way!"

"Besides, I have a Senior Citizen card!" chuckled Prudy. "I get a twenty percent discount! But I won't be able to use it here!"

Jay looked up at him. "Or maybe there's another reason?" he smiled mischievously.

Prudy laughed out loud. "Now what do you mean by that?" mock-strangling Jay and mussing the boy's hair. They were laughing, almost sprawling in the sand. "And besides," Prudy continued, "I'd miss our house. I don't want to rent it, no way! And it's good to have a place to stay in Manila." He looked behind them. "Oh, look, Temyong is making a bonfire!"

"Oh, wow!" Jay said, impressed. He's never seen a real-life bonfire before. They got up, brushing the sand from their shorts.

"Jay, if I had stayed here," Prudy said seriously, "I would have never met you."

Jay put his hands on Prudy's shoulders. "Tsong," he said, looking straight at the old man's eyes, "you're the best thing that happened in my life!" 

To Be Continued Next Saturday Night On The 2Rivers Saturday Evening Posts

(Photos courtesy of vulgarianblog.com, aliwanavenue.com)

From The Journal of Jonathan Aquino aka Huggybear

February 26, 2013 
10:20 p.m., Tuesday
Lahug City, Cebu

This is my first night in my new apartment between the magnificent Mormon church and Waterfront. There are some things that I just realized I've been subconsciously searching for that I found here in Cebu. I'm happy here in the same way that I was happy when I was in Alabang. I've always had an affinity with the sea, and my recent discovery that I love swimming added a new dimension in my life. Then another discovery made the trip worth it: a hillside park with a grand view of the city below and the mountains beyond it. It's not Tops, which is one of my target destinations along with Moalboal and Mactan. When I eventually leave, I want to go deeper south like Palawan, then up north like Tuguegarao. I have a good friend who always go there for business trips. I hope we can have coffee there

I have a new goal: Complete financial independence. I'm an artist, a traveler. I know I don't fit in the corporate world; anyway I don't want to be an employee for long. I also know that I'm not business-minded like Donald Trump although I want to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. What I'm looking for is a way to finally pursue my passions in life without having to work in call centers in different cities. I'm searching for a way to finally break free from that cycle. I'm even now gradually severing my ties with what conventional society expects me to be. There's a way to once and for all break the chains of having to worry about my daily needs and future goals. I will find it. Oh, definitely I will. Just watch. I'm in a strange state: between a sense of urgency because I feel that time is running out and serenely enjoying the moment

This is my diary so I'll have to take note of stuff, like yesterday I watched The Adventures of Tintin on HBO 

Everytime I go online, I watch the new Aquaman and Lincoln trailers on YouTube 

I have always admired Abraham Lincoln. My tribute to him, The Art of Leadership, appeared in Philippine Panorama in 2009. That was based on the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin 

On another published article, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Celebrities, on 2008, I wrote that Steven Spielberg was set to direct the book's movie version. I thought Liam Neeson would play Abe: he was perfect in Scindler's List. But I'm glad it was Daniel Day Lewis, who, as I wrote in a recent Facebook post, is one of my inspirations in acting:

My Left Foot

In the Name of the Father 

The Crucible

The Last of the Mohicans 

Gangs of New York

There Will Be Blood

Yup, I also want to experience being in the theater and movies but not as a career in pursuit of stardom. I just want to experience it. I want to experience a lot of things

Huggybear photo taken Feb 2013 in Talisay, Cebu