Maalaala Mo Kaya

Life gives you bits and pieces of the truth. Sometimes you think you know a person, but really, you just know bits and pieces of them.

Not that it's bad. It's just normal.

Tonight, the TV show Maalaala Mo Kaya showcased the story of two people I know -- Louie and Emily. They're a great couple really. Louie is tall, dark and handsome, and Emily is fair and pretty. Louie is actually the president of the mountaineering club I belong to; Emily is the treasurer.

Pero dahil nanuod ako ng Maalaala Mo Kaya, marami tuloy akong nalaman na hindi ko alam dati -- pano naging sila, tumutol pala ang pamilya ni Emily kay Louie, painter pala si Louie, nag-America pala si Emily, sinundan pala ni Louie si Emily sa US, gusto pala ni Louie na tumira sa Pilipinas at hindi sa US, muntik na palang nagpakamatay si Louie. Towards the end of the episode, Emily was processing her US working visa, but Louie didn't really want to stay in the US anymore. He wanted to go back to the Philippines. According to him, he didn't really want to go to America, but he went to the US to look for Emily, and now he wants to go back. Emily was insistent on staying however. One night Louie came home drunk, and slashed his wrists. Emily was despondent, and she realized she couldn't really live without Louie. Eventually, the two characters both said that it doesn't really matter where they settle, but the important thing is that their love continue to survive. (Commercial Break here. Will they stay in the US, or go back to the Philippines? Abangan!)

In the final scene voice-over, host Charo Santos-Concio said that Louie and Emily returned to the Philippines to get married. I was expecting her to say, "and now they live in QC. Emily works in a bank, and Louie just resigned from his job". BUT (and I consider this weird), she instead says they eventually settled in Florida with their kid.

When I heard that, I thought, ummm...maybe they're referring to a different Louie-and-Emily couple. But they showed some real-life photos, and yep, that is the Louie and Emily I know. But the Louie and Emily I know don't have a kid, and they live right here in Manila.

So what gives? Maybe the TV writers thought the US-ending was better? Unless...it's a conspiracy theory. They really do have a kid, and they really are living in the US. They're just "pretending" not to. They're spies...hehehe.

Ahhh...whatever. I guess in fiction, leaving the Philippines is always the better option.

***The September 15, 2005 episode of Maalala Mo Kaya (shown on ABS-CBN Channel 2) was titled Painting. It starred Heart Evangelista as Emily, and Geoff Eigenmann as Louie.

P.S. -- Another one bites the dust. Jonathan Canchela leaves for good for Canada tomorrow.