circles

Ah, three years. i can only remember bits and pieces of that nights' curious unfolding. Eyvicat and myself hurrying to meet chyncha and shattershards at powerbooks glorietta. They were waiting for us at the railings, fronting the bookshop. we were like kids, nervous on our first day at school; not knowing what to expect, yet utterly excited in facing the unknown.

We had dinner at pizzahut, at parksquare, with the talk winding down to mine and shattershards' common interest in anne rice novels; chyncha's unique brand of humor (and laughter, if i may add) permeating our very skins. We walked in obscure alleyways afterward, every puddle-filled pothole and crossing stray cat forever etched in memory.

After some twists and turns our fledgling group eventually wound up in a smoky and ill-lit billard hall where teen's and twenty something yuppies mix and mingle like gladiators before an arena fight. Eyvicat and chyncha played like pros in my mind's eye that night. Chyncha gobbled up strong confident men and spit them out like scared adolescents match after match; while shattershards took time explaining to a novice like me the rules of the game, how to weild the stick, so to speak. I didn't become an overnight sensation that night, but one thing was certain. I gained new friends.

Social circles formed in this age far removed from the medieval, are breathing, twirling things; they are never concentric—they coalesce and overlap. Fast forward to three years and a couple of months hence, and we were a group once again; the four of us having a good laugh, sharing life stories over chilli wings and quail egg tempuras [or what we have locally come to call as kwek-kwek, hehehe]; oblivious to customers waning, as even the drunkards in attendance, one by one left the curious joint to retire in the comfort of their own houses.

Just a few minutes away from witching hour, we set out for the streets, knowing that each step, each stride will eventually lead to that parting song. in our hearts we are happy nonetheless, knowing that this path of friendship will, sooner of later, come full-circle once more, in this unending dance of the circles.