Virtually Started

Prologue

"Sweetie, it's just an internet love kaya there's need to cry about it." I softly said to Dia, my niece. Since she entered the maturity of her life, I became her therapist. Comforted her while dealing her problem with her family, friendships and maybe...love?

Kinausap ko si Dia tungkol sa lovelife nya, hays this generation kahit mga bata pa gustong-gusto na magka-jowa. But I also can't complain about it, maybe they just wanted to feel loved.

I just thinking what to advice for her sa kanyang love life, I don't even know kung anong ibibigay kong payo. When it's about love, bobo ako dyan. I admitted to myself na naging tanga ako just because of love. Internet love is not love, laro lang yan. It's just a game where you both say that you love one another even though you don't really mean it.

"Online ka-m.u. bayan, Dia? Wag kang humingi ng payo sa tita mo, naging tanga pa naman yan pagdating sa internet love." Yvis, pinsan ko. Since our freshman year of high school, we have both grown up separately from our parents, independently. Our aunt taught us how to be strong independent women.

So now, we have no longer rely on our parents and sariling money nalang yung gamit namin kapag gumastos ng unimportant stuff like now, buying our own coffee sa Starbucks, but for me, I considered the coffee as an important stuff in my life.

But nagulat ako sa sinabi ni Yvis, I heard it correctly naman, right?

Tanga daw ako sa Internet Love noon?

I guess she's right, I can't doubt that though.

She laughs loudly, and she also whispered something to Dia about the experience of mine about internet love. Naririnig ko din naman yun. Tumawa na lang ako with them.

"Oh, by the way, it's already 10 in the morning na, uwi na tayo para makapag-impake na ako." may flight pa ata akong pa-Manila bukas para sa oath namin. "Dia, baby, good bye na kay tita, Tita Yvis lang muna yung maghahatid sayo kase I have to buy my things pa for tomorrow ha?" dagdag ko.

"Yes tita, pero kami po yung maghahatid sayo bukas, okay? Good bye po."

~

"Good bye tita Shin, I'm going to miss you po." with tears dropped in her eyes. This innocent baby of mine, I can badly feel that she will become depress again because of the absence of mine.

Gonna miss you too, love

My family has given me a lot of good luck, safety and good bye message and even though Iloilo is still in the Philippines, the fact that they can say goodbye makes it seem like I'm moving to the US. Ang lapit lang kaya ng Manila from Iloilo City.

"Let's go gha? It's been a couple of years since you haven't visits Manila. I know you are excited to meet your cousin out there again." My papa told me.

Gha, short term for Palangga, an Ilonggo word means love.

Oh, to be called "gha".

"It's nice to seeing you again, Manila." I said with a lots of happiness and joy inside my hearts.