Time Capsule

Search for Rhian

"Ay sige Hija and here is mine if you need a Dentist." He said smiling as he handed me his calling card. 

"Doctor Aidan Mangaoang." I read the card out loud. 

"Yes! But call me Aidan neighbor!" He said smiling.

"Sige ho Aidan, mauna na ho ako." I said smiling at him.

"Cheerio!" He said as I walked out of the office. 

Okay, so walang nakaka-alam kung nasan na ang pamilya ni Rhian and apparently, nandoon lang siya nakatira sa kabilang bahay noong araw. I walked back home and decided to work on the three digital design render that I needed to present to Denise Limjoco. Creating the designs were easy peasy, but having them approved is hard, yung iba kasing kliyente napakahirap i-please. Yung iba hindi din alam ang gusto nila, nakakaloka. But I trust Denise is simple to work with, she was easy to talk to and she knows a lot about the plants she wanted as we discussed yesterday over lunch, alam na nya ang gusto nya and her vision is sort of enchanted and a memorial to her Grandmother na close sa kanya. So, I researched first on Memorial Gardens just to look for inspiration. There was a prominent Narra Tree in their backyard. Which was perfect as another focal point for the enchanted garden theme.

I could decorate it with lanterns and fairy lights. Yun nga lang it could only be seen during the dark, so I decided to put some shards of glass and other crystal like decors on the tree to capture the lights from the sun. Then the walls are going to have vines, ganun din ang gazebo, may lights, may glass at other decors. I also rendered the color coordination of the flowers. Red, Pink, Violets and Whites. She said she likes the color white, the other design I produced was lush and dense with blocks of white on the walls, the gazebo is color white, immaculate and pristine, may puting tabing ito flowing over the whole gazebo. The third one I did a combination of both ideas, after the digital render was produced, I sent it over to Denise Limjoco. 

Pagtapos ko mag-digital render, I went ahead and took a bath. I still couldn't let the thoughts of Rhian slip my mind, para na akong nababaliw sa kanya. I fell in love with how she wrote, that is one thing for sure, but to be searching for her in the real world proved to be difficult. Hindi ko maintindinhan kung paano ko siya mahahanap, she didn't say where in the U.S, she is but now talking to Doc Aidan, I found out that her family emigrated back to New York, ang problema nasaang parte ba siya ng New York? Nasa Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx o sa Staten Island? Suntok sa buwan kung matagpuan ko si Rhian at ang kanyang pamilya. I don't even have a passport at the moment, much more a visa to fly out there. Mahahanap ko din si Rhian, some day soon. But for now, I need to finish taking a bath, malapit na ako maging pasas. 

I finished taking a bath, I dried myself with a towel and put on comfortable clothes. Shorts and Muscle Tank that's so loose on me, kasya ata pati si Batchi, Abby at Marinel. Hahahahahahaha! 🤣✌️I continued to search for Rhian on the internet. Trying out the name I found on the school paper's write up. I typed on my computer Rhian Denise R. Howell, there was a write up about her from Boston University, when she was the first ever student to Graduate in Botany with a perfect GPA score. Some 5 years ago lang naipublish ang interview ni Rhian with Boston University. So it means buhay pa ito. Her photo was not clear on the interview. Sayang. Again, wala pa din itong social media.

Hindi ko tuloy naiwasan magtanong sa sarili ko kung anong klaseng tao ba si Rhian at wala itong social media accounts. Almost everyone I know have a social media account, napaka impossibleng wala. In fact Batchi has one na puno ng mga selfie nya kasama si Abby at Marinel. Naiisip ko tuloy, patay na bata ba si Rhian? 🤣✌️

It was inevitable to have a social media account especially when you have a smart phone, it's a world wide trend nowadays. Pero ako man madalang magbukas ng social media, but still I have one. Lalo na para sa business ko, I only open it when I get queries via social media. I guess Rhian was like me not interested with socializing online. I prefer meeting people, working with them or seeing them in a cafe or bar alone. You know? Actually socializing with strangers. Like the old times. I liked going to cafes and people watching, medyo creepy minsan pero I enjoy it. I have met girlfriends and boyfriends this way. Yes, I had boyfriends growing up. Pero sa kalaunan, I knew I was a lipstick lesbian. College was a great time for me to discover who I was and what I prefer. I prefer wearing feminine clothes, but I love women who are as beautiful as I am.