Ting dong…Flight Number SL 508 for Manila will be delayed for 3 more hours . Please wait and keep posted for further announcements. Whew,it’s not my day…I can’t believe this, after an eight hour wait, here comes another three..hmm. Gotta take a nap. That flight from Istanbul is terrible. I need a few winks..
“Same news, same situation but different people,, my my,, Philippines” came the booming voice from a guy reading the news daily sitting a few seats from me. I took a glance at him as I stretched my feet to a more comfortable position and lazily, I closed my eyes.
“Sorry, did I bother you?” he blurted out.
Sensing that he’s addressing me , I opened my eyes and courteously answered back without glancing ”Not a all,No problem”..
“You look familiar”,,came the voice. So I sit up straight and opened my eyes slightly as I stared back to the stranger who is now sitting next to me. “I don’t think so..I mean, you don’t look familiar to me.” I answered back but this time my mind is already awake and alert.
A prankster?..somebody who just wanted to start a conversation? Whatever. I’m not in the mood to inter act with strangers. Too tired and sleepy.
“You’re from Lanang Golf, right?”….
I nearly fell from my seat as he hit me with that innocent sounding question. My oh my, this guy must be up for something. I carefully look at him again. I just can’t see any semblance of recognition on this fair skinned ,curly haired guy except with his some semblance of European accent while speaking. He looks ordinary and can be mistaken as your friendly next door neighbor.
“Excuse me”, I answered back but this time my voice has some tone of urgency and excitement to further continue the conversation.
“Bangkaw Boys Group exactly, right? “,he chuckled back. This time ,he can’t hide that mischievous smile in his face…
Am still in state of in between awe and shock..Is this guy for real?,,hehehe. Now ,you got my attention..I’m Chito , from Davao,I opened up as I we shook our hands.
“Actually, you can’t possibly know me because I am still a beginner when your group were a regular fixtures in Lanang . I always travel abroad and played every other month or when time permits, but I am always aware of happenings in Lanang through my girlfriend.”
And that girl is?..I smiled as I sheepishly ask and look him in his eyes. He gave me again that childish stare and we laughed. This time, mine drowned his laughter as we chuckled loudly just like friends of old.. I like this guy, he has some sense of humor.
“Actually, .. just between me and you ,, he said as he leaned forward to me and whispered, Pare, she’s not a single .” My eyes got wider now as I blurted out the laugh of my life,,,WHAAAAAAT???hahahaha
All the eyes nearby are now on us…What’s making these two guys laughing with their heart out at 2:30 in the morning in the middle of Narita ( Tokyo) International airport. Hahaha.
“But she’s a regular at the fairways since her husband, a Korean is also a golfer”….came the bomb. This time tears are streaming from our eyes as we laugh our heart out without reservations.
We don’t care..hahaha..
My gosh…I can’t imagine myself having this good laugh with a guy I barely knew ; that was about 15 minutes ago.. My eyes opened wider, my laugh went wilder when he leaned forward and whisper the name to me..sshhhh. Wow, is all I can say..Really? . I knew her….
It was raining heavily, there’s a brownout ,a typhoon is coming and while most of the golfers are scampering out of the clubhouse to go home, I waited in my car parked nearby a thick bush isolated in the parking area. Then I saw a silhouette of somebody trying to open the door of the only car parked a few meters away but it seemed jammed. Out of curiosity , I went with my umbrella and tried to help. The lady is already soaked because of the heavy rain. I offered my car as temporary shelter and tried to be the best gentleman as I can while looking away as she started changing her soaked shirt with my dried extra shirt available. Accidentally she fell down on my lap when her hands got entangled while changing. I feel embarrassed but she smiled at me….and that all started our secret relationship..
You know, what? The good thing about..( his voice was cut out by the paging system..) Ting dong…..Flight Number NW 263 for Detroit is now ready for boarding.
“Oh m ! that’s my plane. Nice talking with you Chito, send my regards to our fellow Lanang golfers,hehehe. Gotta go. Oh I forget to mention, we did got married eventually and got 2 kids but we have divorced since then ,,about ten years ago, Ciao..”
He clasped his small bag and sprinted to the gate . Wait. What’s your name again?. I tried to follow but he was lost in the sea of passengers clogging the hallway. Whew!
