I want to talk about the first wedding i ever attended. It's a lie, actually - this isn't the first one. But it feels more like the first, simply because I want it to have this distinction.
It was for my friend, Pok (or Pola, take your pick). Just last December 2013, she was showing us her ring, inviting us for her wedding sometime in 2014. Understandably, we were shocked and nervous at the same time. We barely even met the guy, but you see, to me, Pok was just one of the people who.. kind of had it together, yknow? She was kind of a bitch sometimes, but her most significant quality was her togetherness. Puzzles didn't faze her simply because she was above it - she could look at som many things and see the puzzle that was forming. So even though we barely even met the guy, i guess there was a degree of confidence. "Si Pola na yun eh."
The next thing I know, i'm at a friend's house nearest to the venue, struggling with my suspenders and bow tie. Bren comes out dressed the same way, eyes me and laughs. I think it's because we look nothing like the way we usually do, but maybe it's because of the day we always knew would come but didn't expect to come as soon as it did.
The way to the wedding was horrendous. Traffic was at an almost standstill, and the afternoon sun was unforgivable. When we finally arrived, we walked quiet, nervous steps to get to the pavillion. I think we only caught half of the ceremony, maybe even less, but the parents ushered us to a seat near the front.
All things considered, I think one of the coolest parts of it was after. We haven't been meeting each other as much as we'd all like to - i think if it weren't for the board review classes every other saturday, we might have seen each other less - so we hung around after the wedding. I think we were the last guests to leave, all smiles and pictures and quietly snickering about the huge wedding gift we picked out for her (a huge wooden bench, supposedly perfect for an old couple to sit on and watch the days go by), wondering how she'll react when she finds out about it.
I think I never did fully know how she reacted. Life has a strange way of making paths in front of us, and i guess some paths diverge at some point. But if you look at it that way though, it seems kind of.. negative? People are not paths. Friends are not supposed to be needles, and friendship is not supposed to be a haystack. (aside: isn't it funny? the corollary to the needle in a haystack metaphor is that you always run the risk of hurting yourself when you search for it). People are not paths, and people have ways of finding each other... so i guess i'm also equally guilty for not keeping better in touch, of a lot of people. Touche, self. Touche.
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