Apricity

One: When I Met You in the Summer, To My Heartbeat Sound

apricity (n): the warmth of the sun in winter

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HER

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just landed at the Puerto Princesa International Airport. Welcome to Palawan." The flight attendant continued with her practiced speech while I stretched my arms and legs as if I was in my bedroom. Luckily, no one was sitting next to me. It was a five a.m. flight on a Monday after all so the lack of passengers is unsurprising and understandable.

After the Filipino translation of her speech, my backpack and I were itching to alight the plane. My journey, literally and figuratively, was just about to begin. I still had five hours of land trip ahead of me. As the rays of the sun softly touched my skin, I knew I made the right decision when I booked a ticket to Puerto Princesa four days ago. Impulsive? Yes. But we all have our reasons.

I'm putting it on good fortune that I was able to secure a seat by my favorite spot by the window, behind the driver. Slowly, the passengers started filling up the van and within minutes, we were already making our way to El Nido.

Several sleep-wake up moments after, which was three to be exact, I finally arrived at the quaint town. The wave of memories hit me like the waves of La Union in October. It took a while to regain my bearings. "You need this, Reese. You have to do this." Repeating those words somehow calmed me down. I just need to compose myself long enough until I get to the inn and break down. Half-kidding, half-praying that wouldn't happen. Again, good fortune saved me since it only took a five-minute tricycle ride from the terminal to the beachfront inn.

The old lady in the front desk, who I think is in her fifties, welcomed me.

"Good afternoon." She greeted with a smile as warm as the sun. Hearing the waves immediately made me feel better, which was quite a feat for the past few weeks.

"Good afternoon din po. One standard room po, under Cerise Herrera." I returned a smile. After signing the guest book and the receipt, she offered me a glass of mango juice as a welcome drink. Not wanting to be rude, I made small talk even though it wasn't my forte. From our conversation, I learned she moved from Manila two years ago after buying this resort from her friend. Despite mentioning missing the actions of the city, I could see she was satisfied and contented here. She has two twin daughters, both in Manila and currently undergoing internship for academic requirements. She even remarked at how I remind her of them even if I was two years older.

"Tita Edna, meron po bang magto-tour sa islands bukas? I'm planning on joining kasi." I inquired.

"Meron, iha. Ite-text ko nalang yung bangkero na may dadagdag. Mga 8am dapat breakfast na."

"Sige po. Iisang grupo lang po ba yun o iba-iba din?" I had no issues whether it's going to be one big group or not. I just wanted to be informed.

"There's a group of four, tapos may couple, then may isang group of three ata. Don't worry, more than ten naman capacity ng bangka." She must have thought I was worried about overloading.

"Okay po. I'll set my alarm nalang po early tomorrow para di ako maiwan." I chuckled.

"If you need anything, my phone naman sa bedside. Or you can visit me at the front desk." She reminded when we were at my door. "I'll leave you to get settled."

The rectangular room was enough for two. Three, even. Yellow was the color of the walls which reminded me of my own bedroom back home. On one side was the queen-sized bed while across it was a table and a mirror. At the end of the small space was a cabinet and and a door leading to the bathroom. This was going to be my home for four days and I have no complaints.