Walking has its own magic—bringing you to dimensions you’d never thought could have existed. Literally and figuratively. This seemingly mundane activity has brought me to thousand different places, though I’ve been trailing the same route every single day.
No, this ain’t no astral projection, nor was I particularly summoned by Dr. Strange. There’s just something about moving these two feet that brings one step forward to places often far left unnoticed by commuting passengers.
Today, it brought me somewhere between nostalgia and regret.
As part of my preparation for an upcoming Mt. Baloy-daku major climb, I have been doing my usual rounds of brisk walks going home. Trailing the same roads every day allowed me to become more aware of the nooks and crannies of the city.
Every day brought in it different adventures—just like what happened that day. I was busy humming to I Belong to the Zoo’s “Balang Araw” when I noticed some peculiar oranges covering the red brick of the sidewalks of Osmeña Boulevard.
If my memory served me right, those colors weren’t there the other day. And as I tried to find the culprit of such a beautiful mess by looking up—there they were: the narra trees in their silent splendor.
While the rest of the population was complaining about the scorching summer heat, some species are actually rejoicing at such times of the year. And to document such an eventful occurrence, I decided to climb up the skywalk nearby and take aerial shots of those trees.
On top, I learned that I was not the only one who took the time to marvel at the narra trees. There he was standing still—in awe of the blooms quietly showing off their beauty to those who take time to pause.
Such a bewitching view reminded me of how important it is to also take a pause in this fast-paced life. To stop for a moment. From all the twists and turns. In the same way, I wished I could pause some transient moment…
boring movies we watched together…
our eyes meeting for the first time…
Because aren’t we likened to these flowers? Fleeting. Here today and gone tomorrow as the song says it. We only have limited moments to live so we have to grab every opportunity made present to us. Because sometimes… later becomes never.
The following day, those blooms were gone.
Dakilanglaagan 