For Aira

I write this piece not because I was inspired to do so, but because I was compelled by an unmoving circumstance.  If you know the feeling that you need, and I mean desperately need, to do the number 1 when you are inside a very cold bus stuck in traffic, or worse -- and God forbid – the number 2? That’s how I am feeling.  As they say, you got to go when you got to go.  A mere bump on the road, or a slight nudge from your snoozing seatmate can erase any happy thought that you might have conjured to try to lure you away from that sinking feeling that something needs to be done: ASAP!  And when the dam breaks for 1 or 2, or worse and God forbid, both – hoooh, I leave it to your imagination to complete the picture.

I can’t afford not to do this.

So while I’m in the middle of preparing my grad school report, which should have been finished a few yesterdays ago, and in between yelling at student belayers using my wall climbing facility for their PE class to “PULL THE ROPE!”  I’m composing something that should hopefully suffice a demand from a fretful someone.

It’s a friend’s birthday, and her earnest request in place of a surprise party (she knows everyone is too busy to pull off something that would amount to a surprise) is that a blog be specifically written for her. Yes, she could be very demanding. 

I call her Kidong, and she calls me Ninong.  She was my former student in Creative Writing where she had shown flashes of her colorful imagination and unique writing style.  For some seemingly prearranged twists of circumstance she, along with other youngsters, has become one of my and my wife’s dearest friends.

It is not in writing that Kidong has found an outlet for her creative passion.  She is a dancer, a ballerina, as graceful and lithe as they come.  She teaches ballet at the British School in Taguig.   And as if that is not enough to occupy her time, she still manages to accept dance teaching jobs on weekends, and on occasions dabbles in online English tutorial to Oriental students till the wee hours of the morning.

Kidong is quirky in many ways.  One of her endearing/irritating whims is when there is the presence of a camera, she won’t hesitate to pull into a pose (the more absurd, the better she likes it) anyplace and anytime she feels like it, often imploring those with her to do the same.  Mimay, her younger sister who looks up to her, sometimes obliges; while Lester, her college age brother who still has the hangover from the awkward early teen years, would shoot an annoyed look at her, which of course would not dissuade Kidong from doing her impromptu photoshoot.

Kidong can be downright funny without meaning to.  In fact, her moniker is a product of her penchant for creating new words that sound like real words or passable alternatives.  Years ago, Ondoy wreaked havoc on the country.  Followed shortly by Typhoon Pepeng, with international code name Quedan, which my ballerina friend called, you guess it – Kidong, which stuck.  And which couldn’t be a more inappropriate nickname for a very pretty, very prim lady.

The first time we, as a barkada, had a get-together, Kidong was very quiet and simply observed the goings-on.  She smiled every now and then, managing to engage in small talk at times.  When she finally got the courage to speak what was on her mind, she said “Ang saya-saya.  Ngayon lang ako nag-enjoy ng ganito.”

It wasn’t long that she began to lighten up, and to open up.  She pretends that she hates showing affection, or to admit that she misses our company.  But she wouldn’t let it pass that there is a barkada gathering without her presence.

When around her barkada, Kidong loves to be babied and showered with attention.  She revels in this and we oblige her because it is her only time to be treated that way.

The eldest daughter of OFW parents who left the Philippines when her younger siblings were not yet old enough to form recollections, Kidong learned early on that she should serve as the de facto parents to Lester and Mimay.  Thus, she makes it a point to act like a strict father and a supportive mother to the younger ones.   She also never fails to remind her siblings that their parents love them so much and are sacrificing a lot so that they will have the opportunity to get a good education and hopefully, a brighter future.  She always tries to be a strong presence for her brother and sister.  Only when she is with us does she show her vulnerable side, one that demands being babied.

So when the baby demands that a blog about her be written on her birthday, I can’t say no, nor tell her I am too busy.  I can’t afford to disappoint her.  Not today.

Happy Birthday Aira Katrina Algenio Isleta.  I know you won’t like the sound of this -- Ninong and Ms Kay love you.