The Superstar.

To my surprise, the glass cabinet has been unlocked.

This glass cabinet has been locked by my Mom years ago, before she left Philippines for New York. I could see figurines  of angels and souvenirs from weddings and baptismal ceremonies arranged in each shelf, below would be shoe boxes. I thought it contains my Matchbox collection, but I was wrong. It was more than I expect.

A Christmas gift for myself.

Comparing the statistics from the previous seasons of gift-giving, I drown myself with gift-wrapped boxes and pile them like a mountain. Then I’d go to the center of my mountain and would have been feeling great. There would be new toys to play, to throw away, and to destroy. Though, of ten gifts – only one or two survive the test of time. These things, not money – because I do not know how to use money back then – is my contentment.

With my present situation, the place below the Christmas tree is desolated. Vacant, not even a single greeting card or a present. And when I remember those days of being the Superstar of their lives, I want to crumble. I want to face down with knees bent, hoping to relive back those days of tearing down those glorious gifts.

I went to the glass cabinet and it was unlocked. Not just unlocked, there’s not even a single padlock. I scanned through those figurines and have finally seen the shoe boxes. When I opened it, it was my baby pictures. I brought the big box of memorabilias in our sala and flashed those pictures at my face like a humongous projector, wanting more memories. I’ve seen my baptismal pictures, my 2nd birthday cake, me and my brother with the ‘peace’ sign, me posing with my brief in Waikiki Beach – Honolulu, me tossing a coin in some fountain in San Francisco, me blowing on my 4th birthday cake, me with my Tito Ady, me hugging my sister, me sleeping, me.

It was me.

The joyous me. I thought it was impossible to keep these old pictures! These pictures aren’t even scathed, not even destroyed or disfigured.

At that Christmas Eve, I have enjoyed my fifteen years of existence here in this world. Those pictures says it all. (To be uploaded on my multiply site, for now – you may visit it to see my Hyatt pictures.)

At least, this Christmas – I met happiness.

~ by utakgago on December 25, 2006.