i was really just trying to dry my clothes, soaked from our impromptu swimming at tumalog falls’ plunge pool, by riding at the uncovered part of our rented mini pickup truck with a plastic mini-chair as makeshift seat. it was fun! we passed by a caucasian couple who pointed at us–maybe wondering if they’d like to try riding this way, haha–so i waived at them, and they waived back, hehe.
maybe noticing how much i was enjoying my ride–even pointing out that it was my first time to do this–a friend of mine teased me: “bebi, mag-infinite ka dyan o!” she was alluding to that moment when charlie in the perks of being a wallflower felt infinite:
anyway, patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel. sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. when we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. a beautiful song called “landslide.” when we got out of the tunnel, sam screamed this really funny scream, and there it was. downtown. lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. sam sat down and started laughing. patrick started laughing. i started laughing.
and in that moment, i swear we were infinite.
i remember getting teary-eyed when i read that part of the novel; i even had to pause from reading and imagine that moment and what it was like to feel infinite.
and so, i did as sam did. except that i was not wearing a dress and we did not go through a tunnel. our driver needed no prompting because he had been driving fast the whole time. woohoo! i stood at the back just as we made a turn to the highway. to my right was the view of the ocean–the perfect backdrop for a weekend road trip! i spotted sumilon island as we made our way up a slope. i looked up and the sun was peaking from behind the trees. there were very few vehicles on the road and the wind had no trace of air pollution.
kim was too surprised and worried about my safety that he was not able to take a photo of that moment so these snaps were from the latter part of our ride.
it was a beautiful friday afternoon and i was there being silly in the company of my husband and friends. not to mention, my clothes were all dried up when we reach the oslob heritage park, haha! i can only guess what charlie meant about feeling infinite. but that moment was one of those times that i felt nothing matters more than living and loving life one moment and one place at a time.
to feeling infinite, y’all!
little almi 