About A Boy

I fell in love with him the moment I laid eyes on him.

I was eleven years old. I came home and he was there. Still in my grade school uniform, I ran to him. I looked into his eyes and wondered if he could see me. I touched his skin and he turned his head slightly.

"Gusto mo siyang hawakan?" My mom asked.

A few moments later, he was in my arms. "Anung pangalan niya?"

"Isip ka."

I thought he was going to be my brother. But my mom decided to give him to my childless uncle and aunt. So she did. They named him ErJohn. I wanted him to be a Paolo.

So he became ErJohn Paolo, my very first cousin. Then babies started coming. He was - is - a blessing.

Me and Paolo, Star City, December 2004

Last June, he stepped up to high school. And what really excited me most, is that he moved in our house. My mom gave him the third room in the house. It's relatively smaller than mine but he's enjoying it.

The first morning he woke me up for his allowance and I sent him off to school, I thought, my little Paolo's growing so fast.

Now, I am finally experiencing what it feels like to be 'ate Noah'.