ariellalisan.org – Homeward Bound

I HAVE been quite busy these past few days. No, not with school but with my other “extra” activities. The great weekend I had?is like an antidote?for? all the stress I was going through.

My family?went to the nearby beach and?had our breakfast by the seashore. To say that it was great is an understatement.

Ladol Beach in my hometown is like rice and fish for the locals here. Of course, I’m refering to the those who don’t want to spend because the beach is public, and as such, the cleanliness is not maintained. But during weekends and holidays, throngs and throngs of families flock to the beach.

Going there reminds me of how my chilhood friends race to the beach. We would just walk from home and eagerly rush to give ourselves a splash of its cool and clean water. When we get tired?and ravenous after hours?swimming, we would then wait for fishing boats to land and ask for some fish, which we would?then?grill and devour. And as we go home, our families would call us badjaos, after the sea gypsies, because of our sunburned skin and hair.

***

Last Sunday noon, it rained hard and the water from our gutter was so inviting. I heard Natasha Bedingfield singing in my head so I quickly undressed and ran into the rain.

It was what I call freedom–freedom, which I have never felt after I realized I was a kid no more. Being able to bathe in the rain is a luxury in today’s busy world. I am so glad that I was able to feel it again.

When we were young, all the kids living on Lalisan Street would go out of their homes everytime it rains. We would then go around?to every house’s gutter to experience a splash of the cold rainwater–the more, the merrier. Sometimes, we would play patintero right in the middle of the road since the number of vehicles in the town can be counted by your fingers (now, you have to use your toes, too!).

The memories of childhood days are still very vivid; they seem to have happened just yesterday. Of course, I am not yet too far from those times.

I tell you it was one of?the most memorable weekends of my life.