Fly With Me

Chapter 10 - Romantic Intensity and Profundity

Last night, pagkatapos i-review ni Rhian ang work schedules ng mga projects ng Manhattan office nila, kumuha muna siya ng draft beer sa fridge para magpaantok. Naupo muna siya sa garden chair na nasa lanai. Gusto sana niyang mag text kay Glaiza pero wala naman siyang mobile number nito. Ang 201 File kasi nito ay nasa HR Department na at hangga't maaari ay ayaw niyang gamitin ang posisyon para sa bagay na gusto niyang makuha sa ibang department ng kumpanya. Ayaw din niyang itanong sa secretary ng daddy niya dahil hanggat maaari ay ayaw niyang magbigay ng kahit maliit na clue kahit kanino tungkol sa namamagitan sa kanila ng kanilang private pilot.

Nilapitan siya ng kanyang mommy, "How's your day Rhi? Halos wala ka pang pahinga buhat ng dumating ka from New York".

"I'm ok mom. I had a rest in Amanpulo while it was raining".

"Are you sure, you're ok?" tanong ulit nito.

"Yes mom.... " sagot niya. Tumayo siya palapit sa ina at humalik sa pisngi nito. "Sorry mom, this is supposed to be my vacation. Hindi pa tayo nagkakasama ng matagal, trabaho na agad ang inuuna ko".

"Di bale. After your project in Amanpulo, sasama ako sa iyo pabalik ng Manhattan".

"Really mom?", bakas ang tuwa ni Rhian sa sinabi ng ina.

"Yes my baby".

Maya-maya ay nagtanong siya sa butihing ina, "Mom, is it true that what happened between you ang dad was love at first sight?".

Kumunot ang noo nito na tila nagtataka sa tanong ng anak. Pero sumagot din naman ito.

"Yeah, it's true. My band was singing in Manila Peninsula when your father saw me. From then on, he didn't stop pursuing me".

"And?"

"I loved him at first sight. And the very first time in my life I ever felt passionately was the moment I saw him. It was a feeling so loving, so tender, so wild, so overwhelming and breath-taking, and all-involving, a feeling I did not know before." Mrs. Howell justified.

Mrs. Howell is a graduate of BS in Psychology from University of the Philippines. She came from a prominent family in Bicol. For her daughter, she is a love guru.

"Can you tell more about love at first sight mom?"

"Well hija, love at first sight is not easy to explain. Some people even deny that it is possible claiming it is merely sexual attraction. Indeed, how can we fall profoundly in love after one quick glance? How can such a glance make us believe that we want to spend the rest of our life in the arms of a stranger we have just seen for the first time? But hey, it's possible. In love at first sight everything becomes instant".

"But is the love easy to subside if it is instant?"

"It depends, anak. When you are into love at first sight, you have to successfully surpass two stages - romantic intensity and romantic profundity".

"What's the difference between the two?"

Romantic intensity expresses a snapshot picture of a romantic experience at a given moment. In romantic profundity the temporal dimension of love is added. Romantic profundity involves shared activities, which fulfill essential needs that are constitutive of the couple's long-term flourishing. Accordingly, romantic profundity is described along two axes: intensity and the temporal dimension. Thus, a short episode of sexual desire may be more intense than a longer experience of romantic love, even though the former is less profound. The profundity of a romantic experience is different to the intensity with which it is felt".

"Thank you mom".

"I'm sure you are not referring to Jerson, are you? May nakita ka na bang kapalit niya?"