Twisted sunshine

Twisted Sunshine

GENESIS

IT came as a surprise not the least for the RTA personnel who were stationed in Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City that afternoon. The date was March 4, 2011. Since it was a Friday and they needed to back vehicular traffic up some four blocks in Divisoria to give way to the weekend night café, the RTA enforcers were taken aback by one annoying force of nature: rain.

Indeed it was a surprise since the PAGASA forecasters at nearby El Salvador City had already announced a sunny scenery all day long. Some forecast huh! Though grudging, the RTA enforcers dutifully did their tasks as they passed in front of me while I was enjoying my soup at Dimsum’s Diner along Tirso Neri-Pabayo. None of their murmurs invaded my ears though, I only saw their lips moving since I was inside the restaurant. As the downpour outside continued, the upbeat music inside muted the rain. Then Bonnie Bailey’s monstrous hit came to life.

♪♪Three years ago, my journey began
Chasing down with you, no plan in hand
Just your pulse, my raising guide in the dark
Just no win with conviction from the start

The moment your eyes made an introduction
I found my second value in the breath of life
Flawless to the point of being cuddly
I fell all for, your imperfections

And now it's like the weather is slightly warmer
Hands gripped together, eye to eye through the storm, yeah
I still believe in ever after, with you ♪♪

--
At about the same time twenty-three miles away from where I was – at the spacious grounds of Initao National Comprehensive High School in particular, Bonnie Bailey’s Ever After also burst through the speakers put in place along both sides of the stage. Unlike in CDO, the PAGASA anchors were precise in their scientific calculations here. Albeit somewhat cloudy, the weather in Initao this afternoon was just lovely for the show that was about to unfold: the coronation of Mr. and Miss INCHS 2011.

On cue, five handsome boys and five lovely ladies smilingly worked their way through the stage, fired up by the applause of the crowd and Bonnie Bailey’s infectious melody.

♪♪ And now it's like the weather is slightly warmer
Hands gripped together, eye to eye through the storm, yeah
I still believe in ever after, with you
Cause life is a pleasure with you by my side
And there ain't no pourin', in this rainbow weekend ride
I still believe in ever after, with you…

You are my twisted sunshine
You are my twisted sunshine ♪♪

One by one, the hopefuls introduced themselves. Pretty soon enough, it was female candidate number three’s turn. Fifteen-year-old Rej (yes that was her name) was a shy third year student in class but her determination to ace the pageant erased all that. She went up the mic and spoke up: “Ang edukasyon ang susi sa tagumpay. Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat. Ako po si Rejiann Ammor R. Maygay, ang ipinagmamalaki po ng Departamento ng Filipino!” The applause was instantaneous. Rej would go on capturing the crown of Miss INCHS 2011 that night, winning the hearts not just of the jurors but the whole INCHS community.

--

FOR several years that followed, nothing more yet would connect the lives of our dear protagonists – which are of course, Rejiann and me! We would go on living our own lives. After a prolific five-year-stint as Urban Life editor in Mindanao Gold Star Daily, I would transfer my Lifestyle section editing expertise to the slowly blossoming twin broadsheets – BusinessWeek Mindanao and Mindanao Daily News – where I also doubled as a news correspondent. After graduating from INCHS, Rej would enter a brief wild Medical Technology tertiary stint at Iligan Medical Center College before transferring as a Mass Communication stude at Liceo de Cagayan University here in CDO. Actually, it was Rej’s decision to shift to MassComm studies that caused this story to exist. By the summer of 2017, Rej and a few classmates had their internship at Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. The task to babysit these budding journalists fell upon the hands of reporter Alwen Saliring. This is where we begin.

STARTING HERE

At exactly 6:00 a.m. on Monday (April 24, 2017), two things were simultaneously happening – a single and same text message wound its way through both my cell phone inbox and Alwen’s. It read: PDIR CAMILO PANCRATIUS P CASCOLAN TO GRACE WEEKLY FLAG RAISING AT PRO 10 AT 0800. PLEASE COME – MICHAELANGELO BUSTAMANTE, PNP PRESS CORPS

It was my habit to switch stations from Bombo to Magnum and to Pamahaw Espesyal every weekday morning so I was already awake at the time when I received the message. Alwen, who failed to put his phone on silent mode after a weekend night of soiree at Pulse, was awakened by the vibrating sound. Cussing and rolling around, he managed to get up only after two minutes had passed plus his own sheer force of will…then proceeded forwarding the text message to Rejiann. Like Alwen, Rej was about to wake up too but unlike him, she remained prim and composed, whispered a silent prayer of praise and gratitude then hit the shower.

The ceremony itself at Camp Alagar was a non-event, it was just a visit by a police official ranked below deputy director-general but Michaelangelo Bustamante (yes, the PNP Press Corps head) liked to impress. Thus, he tagged his squad of journalists along which included Alwen and me and Alwen’s intern Rej. And so there we were in the same venue inches from each other but not knowing who we were to each other yet.

STARTING NOW

Days of excitement fare no different than those of uneventfulness. And so it was just another ordinary Friday in November 22 last year when I received a text message from Misamis Oriental provincial information officer Nicole Managbanag summoning me and other local-based journalists for the quarterly presscon of a particular department at the Capitol. For that day’s briefing, it would be the turn of ECCD and the Misamis Oriental Provincial Jail.

As I silently complained while walking the steep steps leading to the Provincial Information Offce extension at the third level of the Capitol main building, in the end I was rewarded by a new yet beautifully stunning sight. The program was about to start and the emcee was this petite young lady who exudes both confidence and wit in her voice. Based from her looks, she must have been a fresh college grad. And she was stunningly attractive with her morena skin and all! All these were fleeting observations though.

After the program, snacks were distributed. In the middle of sipping my Coke, I got distracted while continually talking to one of the guests, ECCD head Lilay Ocot, so I put my bottle down. After Lilay bid goodbye, I was about to resume sipping my Coke when that petite emcee suddenly came up and said, “Sir, aha imong Coke ani?” It was then that I realized that I had put my Coke bottle down next to someone else’s while talking to Lilay. I never had time to ponder further since one second later, the petite lady herself offered back, “Ay….ako man siguro ni sir!” then proceeded downing one of the two Coke bottles placed side by side. That was that. I never had the chance to ask her name. I would find that out at a later day that her name was Rejiann.

The Christmas and New Year holidays would pass. By the second week of January, the Capitol was teeming with its yearly Kuyamis activities. One such activity was the horseshow competition at Sta. Cruz, Tagoloan. We arrived at the venue at almost noon on Saturday, January 12 and the tourney itself was already in full swing.

The improvised arena was stank with various human voices – the cheering crowd of the various teams, the barker at a stage nearby, etc. The loudest and most deafening of them all was Requim Zulita who launched his high-pitch monotonous blow-by-blow coverage over 102.3 Brigada News FM. Through the madness of it all, I recognized one lady calmly watching the galloping horses parading by. Rej’s serenity enveloped me.

IMPRINT

From that day forward, I wanted to talk to her more, know her a little better. Then the Cebu Pacific Flight 387 commemoration in Gingoog City came up. It was another Saturday, February 2. We finally had our first selfie. 

INITIATE

Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2019. Tagoloan Dome. IKNB Day

10:00 a.m. Everybody around was busy – the PIO team, the journalists present, practically the whole Capitol machinery. Nope…no break here. Never mind that it was the Day of Hearts. Certainly not here, not now.

IT was not until almost a week later on Monday, February 18 that my belated Valentine gift was handed to her. The weeks that followed seemed like a haze. Obviously, she knew that I like her and obviously, she was uneasy about that because her spiritual orientation was anchored on a principle that closeness between two individuals must be guided by the One and Only Creator of us all.

There were moments that my selfishness was overpowering. I was stubborn. My only goal was to win her heart. But in the end, real love triumphed. It was her who steered me through that. It was from Rej that I learned that loving her means prevailing what is best for her.

And what is best for her is to allow God to steer her…to steer her to wherever God wants her straightened and ready. Because all of us here are twisted pilgrims constantly in the process of being straightened to perfection. We are God’s twisted sunshine!


 ~~ OPEN END❤