It Will End In A Kiss

A New Kind of Christmas

(ROBIN)

I saw my Uncle giving me a sideglance warning look from the corners of his eyes when I yawned widely in the middle of the priest's sermon on top of the dais.

We are attending misa de gallo or simbang gabi, a Filipino Christmas tradition dating back to the Spanish occupation of the country. Misa de gallo is about attending mass in 9 straight night before Christmas day comes. It starts at Dec 16th and will end at Dec 24th. The myth about it said that if you ever finished attending those 9 nightly masses, you can ask for a wish and it will come true.

Blu explained it all to me. This is actually the first time I have ever attended misa de gallo in my entire stay here in the Philippines. Come to think of it, I vaguely know about it but I think I rarely stay in the Philippines during Christmas to actually try to do it. We usually travel during the holiday break or visit Ojiisan in Japan when I feel alright. Of course, there were holidays too when I feel sick and had to stay in a hospital.

But since Blu is close by and breathing is easy for me, I feel great. I'm actually looking forward to this holiday season. I still don't know what gift to give Blu though.

Speaking of Blu, I turned my head to look at him. Gilbert is sitting between the two of us. Uncle on Blu's other side. Mama Gloria, Auntie Lydia are sitting side by side on my right side. Tito Arthur didn't come with us because he couldn't stay awake long enough during these night mass.

"Its the height of disrespect to get sleepy while the priest is preaching. Although I don't know how they think we can stay awake when their sermons are more effective than any sleeping pills?"

Tito Arthur is one cool dude. Not because he has sick tattooes on his body. Its more of his mindset in life. His dream is to live near the beach and teach all his kids to surf one day. Once they know how to surf, he thinks his job is all done as a parent. Feeding and clothing his future kids are secondary concerns for him.

Auntie Lydia is like Gilbert. No nonsense and very efficient. She takes good care of Mama Gloria while working at a branch of Akage Bank in the nearby city of Leyte. Gilbert's whole family lives in a town near a mountain and surrounded by rice fields. Rice fields for miles. Rice fields all over, everywhere your eyes can see and reach. The air here is so clean and fresh, I think I managed to get a third lung to fill it with mountain air.

The town where Mama Gloria grew up has only one church where everyone flock to to pray. It has a rustic ambience fitted with small technologies like electric fan and ceiling lights. But the adobe walls and centuries old wooden pews looks as old as town itself that was built back in 17th century.

Ah, provincial life. It has its charms and benefits. During our first days here, Mama Gloria's neighbors and town friends gawked at us; the city dwellers. They were amazed at how Gilbert has changed. They were even amazed to learn that Gilbert married a man and has adopted a son. But the excitement waned after two days. They welcomed us, got curious about us, learned who we are in Gilbert's life, and then they moved on with their lives.

"If you think people cares so much about other people's lives...you don't have a field to plow and till. There's no time to talk about the gay son of your neighbor when you don't know if you will have enough rice to harvest this year to survive to next year."

Those words came from Mama Gloria. I learned that she is a respected lady in this town. She dotes on me and Blu. And she obviously love Gilbert and Auntie Lydia. She is also fine with her children's partners.

"I have no complaints in life. Especially now that I have you and Blu as my grandsons..." Mama Gloria chuckled happily while caressing my cheeks. She also loves shoving treats made from rice on our mouths. Feeding and fattening us up this holiday is her current mission in life.