If The Shoe Fits...

This morning, my mom and I went upland to eat in a famous restaurant in Liliw called Arabela. The last time I ate there was almost a year ago when Rochie and I went on a road trip in the upland towns. I told my mom I'll treat her to lunch and maybe we can buy some sandals or slippers since Liliw is also famous for the Tsinelas Street.

Unfortunately, Arabela was closed. It so happened that the resto closes on Mondays as it is their rest day. Too bad. So we decided on just strolling along Tsinelas Street and maybe score a few purchases.

And then I fell in love with a pair of glittering bronze sandals on display in Badong's Footwear. And the price wasn't so bad. Actually, it wasn't bad at all. I asked a salesgirl for my size (39 in Liliw, 8-9 in Manila shoe shops) and after searching the bodega, she dropped the bad news. Size 39 was out of stock. She told me a new batch would be coming in on Wednesday. I don't know if I could come back the next weekend as my calendar's already packed till Sunday.

I cannot believe my luck (or the lack of it) as I searched the store for more, that would have my size. But somehow my feet kept bringing me back to those bronze sandals.

I looked at it again, tried size 8 again, hoping that it'll fit this time but to no avail. My mom paid for her purchases and we walked out into the sunny Tsinelas Street. After that Arabela disappointment and those bronze sandals, I just sighed and hopped into the car. I don't feel like going around and looking for other shoes that I may like. I just wanted to go home.

While on my way down the zigzag road, I thought about those bronze sandals and how a similar thing happened to me a year ago. I won't delve into the details.

For me, buying shoes is like love. Akala kasi ng tao, basta-basta ako pumapatol. Gaya ng sabi ng mom ko, 'anak, parang walang nanliligaw sa'yo. At saka parang hindi ka namba-busted.'

When my mom talks about such things, I just smile and dismiss her. But there was this one time that I got really pissed off. It's time she knew the truth.

'Ang totoong rason kung bakit hindi ako namba-busted, Ma, kasi, suplada ang anak mo. Ang totoo niyan, kapag ayoko sa isang tao. Yun na yun. Ayoko na. Hindi ko na binibigyan ng pagkakataong kausapin ako. Kasi ick.'

'At saka, ang alam mo namang antisocial ako eh. Hindi ako sasama kung ayaw ko at bayaran man ako ng milyon, pag ayaw, ayaw. Ala nang ligawang magaganap. Tamo si Glicerio. Katakot-takot na insulto ang nakuha.'

Pero syempre, ang lahat ng bagay, may opposite. Pag naka-gusto ako, gusto talaga. At harangan man ng sanlibong kabayo at sibat, gagawin ang lahat makuha lang yun. Yun nga lang may mga bagay na alam ko kung kailan kailangan nang sumuko.

Parang yung sapatos. Bagay siya sa paa ko, bihira yun. Kaya ko siyang bilhin. Kaso hindi kasya eh. Yun ang pagkukulang ko. Hindi siya para sa paa ko. Iniisip ko pa kung babalikan ko sa isang linggo. Kung worth it ba. Kung pagbalik ko by then eh may kakasya na sa akin.

Pag-iisipan ko pa.

At magaling ang kung sino mang makakabasa at makakaintindi sa post na ito.