Suddenly, an image from the past appeared in my head. It's an image of my younger self and my brother. It is the time that he is still living with Mama and we still can see him every day. I feel like it's only yesterday.
As per Mom's request to my brother, my brother took a leave to visit home and to also help me with my operation. As I've said in my recent article, he became our runner while also taking care of me. Everything becomes easier because he is with us, and for that, I am so grateful for him. My brother stayed with us for a week, and then on February 10, Saturday, he accompanied me again for my follow-up check-up. We have other plans after the checkup, and I will share them here.
We started traveling via van, and because we were early, we were able to arrive in Calapan after just one and a half hours of travel. We are so comfortable in the van because it's cold and a little bigger than the other van. And because the travel time is really short, we didn't get bored as we were both listening to music.
Our first stop is Ma. Estrella General Hospital, but the van can't really go to where that place is located, so we have to ride a tricycle. I think we waited for like 2 minutes before an empty tricycle made a stop in front of us. The fare is 20 PHP per head, and of course I already prepared that amount in coins so we can just give it to the driver.
And we're finally here, and that's my brother—errrrr, sister, rather, lol. She has prettier hair than me, lol, and straighter too than mine, lol. But anyway, we had to wait for the doctor to arrive here, so he's in the waiting area. Seriously, though, waiting is really a hassle, but we had no choice but to really wait.
But when the doctor arrived, he immediately started. He proceeded with taking the things he put on my nose after the operation. It is actually fast, a little bit painful, and uncomfortable. I got tears in my eyes after removing it, but I survived. He also cleaned it using a spray, and it's really unpleasant for me. But either way, the doctor prescribes more medicine and spray, and it's really ouchy to my wallet, lol. But for me to recover fast, then G!.
Our next stop is a drugstore, where I can get all the medicines I need. We do that first because I know I will have a hard time finding those in our town, so it's better to just look for them in this big city. Fortunately, I was able to find them all, but of course it is not easy because my brother has to look for one particular medicine. But in the end, we completed it all.
Tadaaaan! Welcome to Xentro Mall in Calapan! We finally arrive at our main destination. I missed this! It's been years since I last visited here. We can't freely travel here because the fare is really high. And now, ehe. Although the reason why we're here is kind of, you know, I am still happy to be here again.
The outside is decorated, it's Chinese Mew Year, and that is why they decorated it like that. They look amazing and clean. I see that there are some changes here too. There are shops too that are open now, especially on each side, which were not there before. You can also see some people passing by with the purpose of having fun to chill, maybe, or just to relax with friends, family, and even their partner.
And then there is this newly opened Dunkin'. To be honest, I want to try this shop's donuts. They are so famous that I'm curious if their donut is really that good. What's your opinion of this shop, my fellow Filipinos? Ehe. It's sad that I'm low on cash at that time and that I have to prioritize. Rather than this, I just take out a meal at Jollibee for our dinner, it's a much better choice, right?
I feel so jealous of those people who live in Calapan because they can easily visit this place if they want to chill or something. The only problem I see in visiting this place is that you will really have the urge to spend, especially since there are delicious foods and awesome products left and right that I'm not sure if anyone can resist. At the same time, I'm still thankful that I don't live here. Does that even make sense, lol?
Anyway, we just have to make a stop at one of the ATM machines in front of the mall because our money is about to run out. It was depleted fast thanks to the medicine I had to buy, lol. A special mention goes to "Hive," where I get the money I can spend on it thanks to this amazing platform. And a special mention too to one of my amazing friends here on Hive, @demotry. Oi, I really, really appreciate you, kamsalamathanks ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ.
So, anyway, I can't help but snap more photos of this decorated spot. I mean, it looks really cool, you know. And they are very pleasing to my eyes. This is where I am most appreciative of those decorations. Aside from the fact that I can use it as a subject in photography in my article, it also makes me feel excited. Seeing it made me immediately think about what angle I should take it from, lol. Is it just me? Lol. Although it is not perfect, in my eyes, it is.
And here's another decoration they put up for the people who want to take a picture. They purposely put a chair in there that they can use if they want to. And look at how excited my brother is in here, lol. He already asked me to take a picture of him, as he wants to post it on his birthday. Like seriously. While he got excited over it, me, on the other hand, was excited about how I could take that decorated place, or which angle is good, or whether I should go with landscape or portrait, or maybe just whatever. But this is all I can take because I got busy taking his photo using his phone, lol.
So, yeah, this is our kind of bonding time. It is short, and we have other purposes for going to Calapan that's why it happened, it was just by chance, or more like it just happened. Either way, I enjoy it, and I just hope someday we can have a pure bonding moment together with Mama or the whole family and without any circumstances or whatever. Feels like a week just flew by like jet, he is now in Batangas, back at his work ( ꈍᴗꈍ).
