AS A GIFT for my 7th birthday, my parents brought me to the Mall so we can spend our time there together. It was perfect, actually. Even if we didn't get to eat on any fancy restaurant we found in the Mall, it's still considered as a perfect day for me. I understand that Jollibee is all that they can afford, and I'm really fine with that as long as I get to spend my birthday with them. I'm never a fan of fancy restaurants naman noon, nakasanayan ko lang talaga na Jollibee lang ang kaya nila bilhin. Hindi pa iyon naiintindihan ng dating ako, basta masaya na may Jollibee, solve na.
The day is going great, not until we came across a shop. A Candy Shop. For some people, they would ignore it. But for an eye of a kid, it felt like a treasure I found out of nowhere.
“Anak? Tara na, bakit ka ba tumigil—” Natigilan si Mama nang ma-realize kung saan ako nakatingin. She sighed then looked at me. “Gusto mo tumingin?” I nodded eagerly at her. “Basta pasyal lang, ha? Sige, birthday mo naman ngayon.” Tumango uli ako but kind of dismissing Mom's statement na pasyal lang daw.
Pero totoo naman na kung pasyal, pasyal lang. Hindi naman ako pala-turo na, "Ma, pabili nu'n." o di kaya, "Ma, Pa, I like that! Can I have that?" Kaso nung nakita ko 'yung specific candy na iyon, na halos pinagkakaguluhan din mostly ng mga kaklase ko, parang gusto ko ipabili. I've always been craving to know what it tastes like. Para kasing masarap, according sa naririnig ko sa iba. I'm really curious, kaya hindi ko siguro napigil na ituro ang candy na nakita ko sa Mama ko.
Talaga pa lang may pagkakataon na hindi mo inaasahang magbabago yung goal mo about a certain thing. Maybe as a kid, hindi ako magaling sa mga pangako lalo na nakita ng batang ako ang matamis na candy na naroon. Kaya siguro hindi ako nakapagpigil. At kaya rin pala siguro ganoon ang tantrum ko nang umiling sa akin ang mga magulang ko.
“'Nak naman... napag-usapan na natin 'to hindi ba? Bawal...” Kaso hindi ako matigil sa tantrum. They tried resolving the issue by asking the shop owner what's the price of the candy and it made me calm a little.
“Miss, may mabibili pang by piece lang nito?”
Umiling ito. “Sorry, Ma'am, pack na po siya talaga binibili which costs 200 pesos. Rest assured naman po na sulit ang number of candies sa isang pack kaya sakto lang po sa presyo.”
“'Nak, sorry. Masyadong mahal...”
That's when I started crying and began being upset about the situation. Birthday ko naman, ah? Bakit hindi na lang ako pagbigyan?
I wasn't the type of kid na nagdadabog o di kaya maingay 'pag hindi napagbibigyan. Iyakin talaga ako, pero hindi katulad ng maingay na dinig pa ng iba. That time, tumakbo na lang ako kay Mama at niyakap siya habang umiiyak. I'm so upset. So hurt that they can't let me be happy on my birthday.
“'Nak, listen...” pinagpantay ni Mama ang height namin. “Don't worry about it, okay? You can have as many as you want once you grew up. But for now, we can't afford it. So, I'm sorry.”
I don't know, but for some reason Mom's statement made me more upset. Why not now? Why can't I have it? Paano kung ayaw ko na sa candy kung hindi siya mabibili ngayon? Nakakainis, nakakatampo. Pero sinaloob ko na lang yun that time. Basta na-fu-frustrate ako sa fact na sa future ko pa iyon mabibili.
But now that I finally grew up, with a job and enough money to buy the candy I want as a kid and now face to face with the candy I've been craving for since then, I can't help but wonder: is it still the same candy I used to taste when I was a kid? Noaw that I'm looking intently at it, would the candy still be as sweet as it was before?
A/N: new title of What's Beneath Underwater!!! Will be updating once I get into it. Inaasikaso ko pa ang conflicts ng TMI🥲🥲🥲 thanks!!!!💗
BINABASA MO ANG
Sweets
RomanceLet's think of a scenario from before when you're still a kid. Imagine you're at the mall with your parents. As a kid, you saw a really expensive candy that you really like, but because your Mom and Dad couldn't afford it at that time, they immediat...
