My best friend from my younger years who now lives in London messaged me one day informing me she wanted me to be one of her bridesmaids in her wedding. The wedding would be in our hometown so that would mean that I would have to go back to the Philippines. I was kinda hesitant but it's been years since I last saw her and I thought it would be awesome to see her on her wedding day.
I only have a few savings left, because of all the travel I did the months before, but I just trusted fate and went on with booking my airline ticket back home.
I haven't been home since November 2019 - and believe it or not, during that time I also went home to attend a colleague's wedding. I stayed at a hotel in Cebu with my friend, only for 4 days, and didn't even see my parents at that time. My brother and I even briefly saw each other in a mall because I asked him to give me my books at home.
May 2023 - I went home to attend another wedding. This time it's my best friend's wedding. I was part of her entourage and it was really hard to say no to her. She's been very kind and all the positive things you can think of - that's her.
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Looking back, I don't know how I became so close to her during my elementary years. I was staying in Cebu for a year already when I became classmates with her. 1 year in Cebu and I was still having troubles with the dialect. I grew up in another region, and it's not Bisaya over there. Despite the language barrier, I became close with her. We exchanged letters, even when we're together at school. She even gave me a cute little stuffed toy. She was the sweetest friend.
She influenced me a lot. I got hooked at short stories and drawings because she's good at it. I couldn't forget she wrote a short story in her notebook, and it was a horror story, and at that time, I thought highly of her. That horror story didn't seem like a work of a Grade 4 girl! I wanted to follow her ways so I also created stories and drew like her style. I wasn't up to her level though, she's really good.
We haven't communicated after we graduated from elementary because of the distance and I didn't know her telephone number too. We got reconnected when Facebook came to fruition. We met again 7 or 8 years ago. I thought it would be awkward to see my childhood best friend but our conversation was great - and we shared stories of our lives. She's still the sweetest friend that I once knew.
And til now, she still is.
We may not see each other often but I really treasure our friendship and so, I decided I shouldn't miss her special day.
I was too exhausted and there were so many things running in my head, but I made it to her wedding. Our call time was 7AM, and yes, despite the lack of sleep, I made it from 7AM to 11PM on her wedding day.
There weren't elementary classmates and familiar faces in her guests and I really thought I would be alone but I got close with her college friends who were also part of the entourage.
Seeing her happy also made me happy. It's one of those times that you just genuinely wish for the happiness of another. When she walked down the aisle, I got teary eyed (of course I avoided bawling LOL) because she just looks so beautiful and I'm lucky to witness as she enters another chapter of her life. Her dream wedding - all she prepared and hoped for, it was such a perfect day and wedding!
I'm one of the luckiest to be her friend. London and Tokyo may be so far away but I hope to visit her someday and hope to see her here too. Wouldn't it be too awesome to meet outside the Philippines, for the first time? Even the thought of it excites me!
This is one of the highlights of my 2023, and I'll never forget it. 😊
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.
