A Journey to Forever

 “Good relationships don’t just happen; they take time, patience and two people who truly want to work to be together.”

I‘ve been in and out of relationships and had a few heartbreaks. I was never even looking for love until I knew Toxs. We are in the same circle of friends; however I didn’t know him personally. In fact, I haven’t even met him. I got acquainted of him when one of our friends sent his number and we began exchanging group messages.  Our journey to this thing called forever all started with his aching knee.

Yes! You read it right – aching knee. If I remembered it correctly, it was June 16, 2008 when he sent a group message saying that he hurt his knee when he was playing basketball. I used to ignore his group messages except this one. I was in my Sociology class at that time and was so sleepy; I texted him remedies that could alleviate his pain. I also felt obliged to do it since I was a nursing student. It’s a good way to share what I’ve learned.

That few exchanges continued as the day passed by. We got to know each other and found out we are into the same stuff: rock, alternative and reggae music, indie films, out-of-towns, scary movies, cats and dogs, amusement parks, PSP games and the list go on… We also like watching “Witch Yoo Hee”, the South Korean Drama Series shown on GMA 7. I felt something inside me however I know it’s too soon to entertain the thing called “love”. Besides, I didn’t even know if he was feeling the same thing. He used to sing me the theme song of Witch Yoo Hee, Imago’s “Migraine”; it goes like this. ‘Oo nga pala, hindi nga pala tayo. Hanggang dito na lang ako. Umaasa na mapasayo’. I found out that the feeling was mutual.

What we had was not the conventional type of a relationship. It might even get your eyebrows raising.  It was July 3, 2008 when we decided to take our friendship to the next level. We haven’t seen each other in person yet. So to validate our relationship, we met at SM Mall of Asia. The first meeting was nerve-cracking. This could make or break our relationship.  At first, it was a bit awkward; it’s like testing the water. Until, he uttered some picked up lines and I cracked up some jokes. It calmed my nerves and we got comfortable. We ate, watched a movie and watched the sunset.

Time flew so fast that it was time to bid goodbye. He walked me to the bus stop home. While we were walking, he was asking me when the next date will be. I said I’ll check my sked first and I’ll just text him. I was not attracted to him and I know he felt the same way. His look was too rugged for me. His hair was all over the place. His shirt was a bit too loose. And he doesn’t look like his age. I'm not saying he didn't look good, in fact, I thought he's kinda cute. I might sound picky! But mind you, my past boyfriends were all good-looking. (It’s me, it’s me already!) However, above all the ambivalence, I felt something inside me that wanted to continue with the relationship. I felt secured.

The first date led to another, then another, and another… We were inseparable. Our friends even noticed that we were really getting serious in our relationship and might even settle down.  They were right. Two years later, we had our first bundle of joy – an adorable baby boy who we named Zephyr. And now we are going to the fifth year of our relationship; there’s another member of the family – our giggly baby girl, Zakiah. We couldn’t ask for anything more. Our family is complete. We just had to validate our love for each other before God; but that would not be after 2 years!

Though our relationship remained stronger through the years; I can’t say it was perfect.  we had our ups and downs, our differences and own opinions.  Our love is greater than all the petty fights and hang-ups we had.

And that was our journey to forever…