The Pillow 8: Old Photographs

 By accident, he opened an envelope which contained a collection of photographs—rare occasions when she consented to being in front of the lens with him. There were inconsistencies in their relationship. He could not understand why she refused to be affectionate when other people were around despite the fact that they openly declared they were dating.


She looked divine, clad only in a sarong and bathed in midday sunlight filtering through the louvers. She had arranged to spend the night with him and he welcomed her like a queen. He was watching her from across the room, camera in hand, debating whether he should take snaps. He could see a glimpse of her back and her legs where the sarong didn't cover the real estate. He decides to put the camera down, walks towards her and takes the sarong off...


It was dark when he had finished with her. They decided to grab some dinner and catch a movie after. She went home to change and they met up at the mall. Little did he know she was about to pull another surprise.


She showed up beaming. She was aglow and prettier than he had ever seen her! He felt like a rag standing next to her but she put her arms around him, pulled him close and kissed him passionately in full view of other mall rats. Other guys were staring at them and probably thinking; “...the lucky punk!” He was proud of himself that night. He felt like it was his reward for all the years of pain he had endured.


He saw no point in disposing of the photographs. Life after all, is a collection of memories. He knew that even without physical proof, there will be days, places, songs and people who will remind him of her. In a way he felt good that it was finally over.


He takes out a cigarette, pulls up a burning photo print from the small bonfire and lights up.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Pop-out Lighter

I am truly amazed at how people these days totally disregard life. It's difficult to miss the fact that 9 out of 10 people in a room will be glued to their smartphone screens, "doom-scrolling" for hours on end.  Being part of a generation when life was tactile and experiential, I cannot help but fear the digital future ahead. I remember when I was a whole lot younger, every moment was meant to be experienced. I would stare out the car window while my Papa drove us around the city or take a trip to Baguio. I would sit on the balcony of our home in Happy Glen and watch people, learning to read body language and making assessments of characters.  I was always hungry for knowledge and forever curious about what makes the world tick.  Back in the day, this was not difficult. Most everything was manual-powered or as I like to say, "tao-matic". Rotary dials, mailboxes, painted posters, the knife sharpening guy who carried around a bicycle-like contraption that spun a g...
Read more

The Panasonic Lumix LX3: a 2023 Review

Image
  While window shopping for a new camera, I stumbled upon a particular model that got bashed by so many influencers that it made me think of a similarly-featured camera that I already own. Berated and compared to modern smartphones, the camera in question made quite a lot of sense to me being a technophobe myself. This made me turn to my 15-year old, Panasonic Lumix LX3 which I acquired "used" but in excellent condition.  My LX3 came with a charger but no batteries plus the USB connector cable that allowed me to download photos directly to a computer. The previous owner had also lost the box the lens cap and all the other goodies that came with it from the store. Functionally, I found ZERO issues. The camera functioned perfectly after getting new battery packs and a fresh 32GB SDHC card. The camera-to-computer interface also works as it was intended. It's been more than 3 years since I acquired this little gem and its value to me increases with each day that I get to shoo...
Read more

The Pillow

  Dépêche Mode  was playing somewhere in the background. He had no idea where the music came from. Dawn had broken. Sunlight filtered through the curtains. He could never get used to air-conditioning. He always had the chills in the early morning hours. It was not sleep he was waking up from. He had fallen out of consciousness. He was in a strange place under strange circumstances but the lady who slept beside him was someone he longed to be with. It was strange not feeling the effects of a hangover though he was unsure whether he was in an alternate reality. He stroked her hair and moved in close to smell her. Most of the senses are present in a dream but never the smell. There was the unmistakable odor of cigarette smoke and booze but the fragrance of shampoo never left her. Somehow, women smell sweeter in the morning regardless whether they took a shower or not. Despite the concrete proof, he was still incredulous. He tried to recall the night before. There was a celebratio...
Read more