Roads to Follow
"I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made the difference."-Robert Frost"The Road Not Taken"
Marlon who wore his hair soaked in Sunflower pomade epitomized the "proper kid next door". He carried his Golden Gate notebooks in a plastic envelop with care as if a treasure of great worth. Despite his poverty, he was always trim and smart-looking. He was often seen on stage interpreting Fandango sa Ilaw. That perhaps won the esteem of his teachers and classmates that he consistently got elected as class president. He seemed dignified and responsible, he being years older than most of us.
But the rebellious ones among us despised the like of Marlon. They had their hero in the rugged-looking Danilo. He was an adventurous soul and he loved leading a raid into the forested area of Uphill where he initiated the boys into joining his gang with a riddle, "I went to the mini-forest and saw many trees but one was tallest". He coined the sing-song, "Marie, Marie, patya do kingki; may nag inaway, daywang ka kapri" to taunt Marie, a rare intuitive bred who in her silent way challenged his boyish authority.
The reality underlying human experience is the reality of choice. Some boys preferred the company of Marlon while there were those who rallied behind Danilo. Others discretely empathized with the diminutive Marie while pretending to remain loyal with the gang of Danilo or the discipleship of Marlon. Choice is what makes a boy a man. The reality which underlies all human choices is the reality of values. Clearly understood, values give meaning to man's activities. Our alma mater has helped each of us process and acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to come up with our own set of values that enables each and everyone of us to coordinate an unlimited number of experiences into meaningful unity encompassing the whole of our individual life. Hence, we are what we are, unique and with our own distinct and diverse personalities and goals that greatly influence our steps on the paths we chose to follow.
Marlon, Danilo and Marie--three different personalities; all alumni of Balete Elementary School. The first two cannot join us celebrate this event (2nd Grand Alumni Homecoming). The exigencies of life prevented Danilo from coming home to break bread with us. Nevertheless, he sends us his wishes and prayers and though physically absent, he promised to be with us in spirit as we retraced our steps upon the paths we had trodden by. Marlon on the other hand, had gone ahead of us into the great beyond, his body lying quiet and peaceful on the resting hill of the fallen and the forgotten. He bid us farewell one sweet summer afternoon when cool breezes caressed us as we took our siesta under a canopy of clear blue sky. Marie remains as perceptive as she had been. She was the only one among us who sensed Marlon's farewell. She was there at the quiet hill overlooking our town when his family interred his cold and scarred body into his final resting place. She looked up into the clear blue sky, breathed the sweet fresh air and murmured to herself, "This day will not come again. Never will he pass this way again".
You wish to hear Marie's other stories? Well, you better come home every time we have our alumni homecoming. Every moment is a different experience. It's worth the effort and the sacrifice. Marie will be glad to welcome us. She awaits us. She misses our company and longs for our empathy. These days, there as still those who taunt her, although with a variation, "Marie, Marie, patya do TV; may nag-inaway, do ABS-CBN ag Willing Willie".
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