A Love Story

Dear Ate Charo, itago nyo na lang ako sa pangalang RR....

RR is married. He has a kid. He is married to his college sweetheart. And he's hitting on my naive single female friend, who I'm afraid may have a tendency for falling for the wrong kind of guy. I'm afraid she might be looking for love in all the wrong places, to compensate perhaps for that lack of fatherly love?

I vaguely remember an MTV by some band. I can't remember the band right now, nor the song. (Was it Blur? Sorry, bad memory. Really bad memory. It was from the 90s. I think.) But I remember a scene from that video. A girl was crying on the sidewalk, nurturing her small deflated heart. A guy comes along, and they have fun. Along the way, she falls in love, and her small deflated heart becomes this huge pink larger-than-life heart which she wears on her chest. All along, the girl becomes very happy, but the big big heart scares the guy and he leaves. Ironic isn't it.

It's really none of my business, I mean, who am I to fix her up when I'm just barely surviving in fixing me up. But I am concerned my friend might be skidding to the wrong conclusions about life and love.

She's not like anyone I know. She projects this tough cookie facade, but she's really easily hurt, very sensitive, and very much concerned about other people's opinions. So isn't it ironic that she puts herself into such compromising situations? She has a tendency to be needy, and maybe these guys latch on to that neediness, to that need to be loved. It would be great if they'd do right by her, but sometimes, you can already see "DISASTER" written on the wall. Her other prospect is this guy who has a girlfriend. They have both admitted that they like each other, but he just can't leave his girlfriend. "DISASTER". Or maybe I'm wrong. Who knows. In some way, though I know her from way back, I can't figure out if she's gullible and idealistic and really thinks that these relationships will work out, or she's really just grabbing at love anywhere that she finds it.

slipping down the slimy pathways
holding on to love in the darkness
her fingers dirty
her hands bruised.

Heartbreak and disappointments change people. It can make them stronger, wiser, more interesting. Honestly, I am concerned. But I cannot do anything about it. It is her life, her lesson, her realizations. I can only try to be a good friend. And honestly again, I'm not being a good one either. :(