Stops and Starts | by Lea G.
Guest
Writer: Lea Galimba
October 5, 2015
My dearest
friend,
How have you been? I miss you, you know. I miss making your coffee and
sitting with you and just talk and do nothing at all. I hope that you’re happy
right now.
Remember that thing you told me before about me having layers? And that
you hope someone would stop and stay and try to discover them just like what
you did? Well, guess what, I have been climbing mountains lately. I never knew something so physically draining could
have an addicting effect on me. I know you won’t believe me when I say this
but, I love every single second of every climb. But I guess you already know
that because we both know you can read me that easily, so easy that sometimes,
it’s scary. (I can see you smiling now.)
You told me you like seeing me try new things because it makes you happy
when I surprise people. You said they should know that I’m not their typical
kind of girl. Well, I think that they will
have the shock of their lives when they learned that I have done night trekking
last weekend! It was my first time and ok, I should tell you right off the bat
that, yes, I fell. When I realized I was going to fall, I just gave in. There
is no point in fighting with gravity, right? My mother might faint the second
she’ll learn about this so I dare not tell her.
Do you know what night trek was like? It was like flirting with danger.
You know you shouldn’t be doing it, you know you might get in trouble and yet,
try as you might, you cannot bring yourself to stop. With every step, you get
more curious and curious until you realize you don’t want to stop because you
want to know what awaits you in the summit. It was such a refreshing
experience. Sweat, mud, cold, darkness, the works.
And then there’s the morning after. Oh, how I wish I could describe it
to you, my friend! Waking up in the morning while you’re in the summit is
crazy! I got to feel everything! It was like all my senses has opened up and I
take it all in but this time, everything is more vivid and alive and…..real.
The cold, crisp air, the smell of the grass, how the sun warmed my skin, how
when I looked at my surrounding, I remember you.
We were 17 in the group so you shouldn’t get worried about me. I know
what you’re thinking right now: how I survived 2 days in the company of many
different people since we both know I shy away from the crowd. I really have to
be honest right now and tell you it wasn’t really that hard. Some of them are
familiar faces, even became friends. Some new faces but, fun to be with just
the same. Maybe, just maybe, little by little, I’ll get the hang of it, being
one with the crowd I mean. I know that’ll make you happy.
I would have loved to spend a little more time in Mount Talamitam. I was
willing to trade my time in the island that we were going to next, to spend
even just an hour more in the mountain but, you know what they say about good
things: at some point, it has to end.
We then went to an island; I know you’ll love it there. It wasn’t as
beautiful as the islands I went to before but, it has its own character. What
stroked me the most about this island are the old pillars at the top of the
hill. They were old and rustic that I thought they complemented the whole
island. It amazes me how, the serene beauty of the ocean and the island is not
enough to take my breath away….until I saw the old pillars atop the hill. Those
pillars speak of authority. It was like they know that the island is not as
beautiful without them there.
As I lay awake in our tent that night, I listened to laughter and
banters of the crowd outside. It was fun to listen to them because I know they
were having a good time. And then in just a split second, I wondered: what’s
behind all those laughs?
When you get right down to it, I think we were all there to escape from
something. Be it with work or routine. Or maybe from life in general. It’s pretty
much like the thing we do when we climb mountains: when exhaustion takes its
toll on you, you stop. You feel your heartbeat. You close your eyes and then
open them again. You look at the view in front of you. You breathe. You rest. You take it all in. And then you
start again. But this time, you’re stronger. Life is like that, isn’t it? Full
of stops. And starts.
I think that my love affair with mountains teaches me more than I could
count. It shows me things I haven’t even noticed before. Do you know what my
favorite moment in that island was? Taking pictures of two couples I was
with. As I looked at them, I thought what they have is surreal and real at the
same time. To have someone love you for all your worth is something not
everyone can have. And that’s something precious.
You once told me I am one of your favorite people on earth. I don’t
know, until now, what I did to deserve it but, I want you to know that those
words, coming from you, changed me. You are one of my favorite people on earth
too.
My friend, along with this letter is a couple of the pictures I took
during this trip. I would have loved to send them to you but then, I don’t know
your address in Heaven and so, I am adding this to all my other letters
especially for you.
I am missing you more and more each day. More and more... I hope you are
watching me from Heaven so that you can see how much I am changing since you
were gone. I know you’d like to know that.
EVENT: Mt. Talamitam and Fortune Island [October 2-4, 2015]
