decoding the boys ✔️

24 - blessed || edited, uncut ver

Oslob is such a sleepy town.

Sa totoo lang, wala talaga akong alam sa lugar na 'to-at least nothing more than the blogs I'd read about this.

But one thing was for sure about this little town: tahimik dito at sobrang nakaka-relax. A perfect place for a good unwinding.

Sakto pa malapit lang sa tinuluyan namin ang mismong whale shark site. A good ten minute walk lang so we were able to go there really early-and by early I meant six o clock early. Mahirap na kasing masabayan ng tourists. Hassle.

Several locals accommodated us. This was what I liked about the place too. The people were generally nice and genuinely hospitable. Pagkatapos naming magbayad, tinuro na sa 'min ang do's and don't's ng lugar. So we need to maintain a 4 meter distance pala. Hm. That's okay with me.

We boarded the boat with grins on our faces.

In seconds, nakita ko na ang defining feature ng mga sharks. Yep, those triangle fins. The whale sharks were swimming toward us.

Nagbuhos ng food si manong para lumapit ang mga whale sharks. On cue, their mouths opened to suck the food in. Like vacuum cleaners.

I stared at these sea creatures in awe.

Later on, binigyan na kami ng signal na pwede nang bumaba sa tubig. Nagpaunahan ang boys. One by one, they plunged into the water, laughing. I made sure na malayo ang mga sharks nang bumaba ako.

As if sensing my fear, nagbuhos ulit ng food si manong. Naglapitan ang mga whale sharks sa direction ko.

I shrieked and clung on the boat like it was my lifeline.

Four meters away daw. Hala. Bakit parang ang lapit na nila? I could even feel some of them right behind me, although most were swimming below.

The laughter of my bros tore throughout the place. They were swimming in the waters already.

"Javee, tara!" Kuya Andrei called.

"Sayang yung experience kung yayakap ka lang d'yan!" Kuya Travis added.

Hindi ko sila sinagot. Tumawa lang ako because I really looked so lame right now. Sa'n napunta ang tapang mo, Javee? Extreme pa more?

"'Wag mo masyado igalaw ang paa mo. Baka isipin nilang pagkain yung bubbles."

Nalintikan na. Lalo lang akong tinakot ni manong.

Soon enough, I adapted sa situation. Nag-subside na yung kaba ko kaya nakalangoy na rin ako kasama sina Kuya. It was hella fun. Lalo na kapag nagbibiruan ang mga kolokoy.

Suddenly, I felt one of them swim near me. I swam my way back to the boat for safety, laughing like crazy. Ang mga mapang-asar pang sina manong, patuloy na nagbibigay ng pagkain kaya lalong dumarami ang mga lumalapit sa 'min.

My smile was wide everytime I'd look down to check on the gentle giants. They were breathtaking to look at. Sobra. Nakakaaliw na maranasan 'to. Imagine enjoying the sea with the most enormous marine creature in the world. It felt fucking awesome.

Kuya Chris and Kuya Paul swam toward me.

"Tara," they said.

"Baka ma-suck in ako," sabi ko sabay tawa ulit.

"Pwede ba 'yon?" sabi ni Kuya Paul.

Kuya Chris smiled. "Dito ka sa 'kin."

He pulled me close to him. Nakakapit lang ako sa kanya all throughout the experience. Pero syempre that didn't stop me from enjoying every second.

Ang sarap kaya sa feeling na lumangoy kasama sila. To explore God's gift at its best. Habang nandito ako, watching them, I couldn't help but think about how much I was missing out until now. Ang dami palang blessings sa mundo, we were just too caught up with everything else to pay these little miracles their much-deserved attention. Masyado na tayong mareklamo, mahiling. Hindi na natin napapansin na napakaswerte pala natin. And these babies made me realize that.