Overlapping Memories

CHAPTER 1

Amidst the chattering of noises, the peal of laughter seems to sway across the air into the room. Everyone saw this as a break time moment, a time to engage in building a strong relationship with a colleague while working. The monotonous life of mine seems not to care. 

While I was in the corner having the time of my life well spent, on engaging the unsophisticated website to load to its finest glory. Since internet connection here in my town is making you feel like you’re one step ahead but is actually two steps back. Instead of spending my time on awkward social situations that won’t matter after, I spent on the dwelling: to be or not to be annoyed by the slow and unresponsive connection. I choose the latter anyways; calmness is more than what we need today. I’ve gone all throughout a day without doing a single thing. This hampers my day to be more productive as it gets, poor internet connection really does the job to break or make you. Sometimes later, when you are trying your best to look like you are greatly enamored with what you’re doing on your screen, even if it’s boring as it is, just in order to avoid socializing. Suddenly somebody would break the ice for you and someone in the room would animatedly ask you with great contempt “You rarely talk, aren’t you?” but before you could even respond someone in the corner chimes in, “Yeah, she seems to have a problem getting her tongue out," says the lady who always says what she wants without getting caught of being insensitive and has always got a way of this absurd remark. It’s like you were never there to begin with, so I just look straight to their foreheads; which is bearable enough to look, than looking straight at those scantly dull eyes with full of emotions I can clearly decipher effortlessly, in which I nod and half-smile vigorously that looks like I am going to be delighted about this harsh comment or not. Followed by a long deafening silence which I can only bear among these people across the room whom I called colleague, not friends or mates because believe me I am better off engaging lifelong social-friendly hypocrisy that would cost you a handful of unreliable people who sees you as a piece of work, hard to decipher and decide to picked and pitied your life behind your back since they have decided other’s life would be a great of entertainment rather than to mind their own business. I save the time by not dwelling on this matter that won’t give you the amount of fair share to be doubted and sometimes is accused of being seemingly rude. I prefer their prejudice about my silence and me being quiet than explaining my side of self to them. It’s no use when people are closely rooted to their beliefs and chatter brain head that won’t allow ideas that are not basically from them, to begin with, they are like a very strong opinionated person, who loves to talk without minding their own business and tend to include their selves on your personal lives that they refuse to accept certain quirks ideology that beyond their knowledge unit capacity to comprehend. 

At last, the sun has set. Long days are coming down to an abrupt end. The weekend is closely tight-knit giving me the shortest amount of time to breathe and break away from the level of decibels I’ve exhaled from Monday to Friday. There’s always an exhilarating sensation of satisfaction when you’re home alone without the vivid nausea of sudden interruption that causes noises to become widely known everyday phenomena. I’m glad that members of my family have their own things to do or an event to deal with every weekday. (It’s not like we don’t have a family get together, maybe were too near each other so we needed a break from each other, that’s why I thought) It almost felt like you barely see them and I can’t complain because I LOVED IT. I am almost twenty-two and I’ve got the best life (not really the best if you could imagine) but I’ve been living way over my head and I’m living with my parents which is not good if you’re westernized but it’s the most delightful thing to settle if you’re here with me along with the seven thousand and a hundred forthcoming islands. Family stays and helps together. There’s no issue if you’re twenty-something and still living under the roof of your parents. It talks something about our culture and tradition that no family members should be left behind but there is always a downside of this family-orientedness. Since I’ve got a broad way of magical imagination. Well, I’d like to think that problems don’t need much attention than it was or it doesn’t need attention at all, As an individual who sometimes think highly and a very opinionated fella who would fight for a greener environment to save Mother Earth but I’d rather keep it all to myself since there aren’t worth to share than the government and the powerful connection of social media who keeps reminding us for promoting a greener ecosystem from time to time but we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again, it's like we're seeing blind we saw but choose not to see and I guess most of the people I know will surely laugh at me, so I decided to fight my own battles quietly alone. I guess it’s safe to say that I love living on my own shell and all alone. There is nothing wrong with being alone, it is a great pleasure and experience to be one in the hum of silence as the wind takes over every breath you inhaled and exhaled. Today I’ve been planning to finish my abandoned book reads and keep up where I left off but then my mind kept me out from reading and distract me, but when an inspiration hit me I start to daydream vividly ….

I saw him first, he stands there rather obvious than what he seems to avoid but who would not disregard his presence. His thick dark hair seems to get away from his face but even in the distance, he commands great adoration without even asking for it. I hear him now, first, it’s his smooth yet swift footsteps coming towards me, then his melodious rhythm of laughter vibrates across the room, and at the least, I didn't expect him to wave or nod towards me but his striking blue eyes stared at me with great fascination or maybe it's just my assumption since he was with his older brother Morgan, who is walking side by side towards me. I immediately nod and wave, when they came near. "Hey, dude! we were just talking about how you killed that bloody bet you have on with James" Morgan says it with proud glory, technically Morgan's my best friend ever since I met him at Japan Convention where we talk about programming stuff and how homesick we are just by listening to those unfamiliar words we each try not to gag and make a face but Japan just take our breath away every time; with their enormous and colorful culture that you can seem to see every time you walked down through the city sidewalk, it’s remnants of the past and the promising of the future collide in every corner of the city and so we are even much more delighted, nevertheless the language barrier. It just hit off and the rest was history. "Yeah, I've got a massive superpower built within me, so I won the game fair square and with grace, unlike other LOSER who quacks when they lose" I taunted jokingly. James surprisingly jumps in, between me, Morgan, and that striking blue-eyed Earl squeezes us hard which earned him our exhausted indignation. "It's just dumb luck" he snickered. As he gave us our drinks, just soda for me since I don't really drink even if I wanted to. I just don't like either the taste or the aftertaste, or maybe it is just not my thing. It makes me wonder why most people I know just love to drink their selves to death despite the nonexistent taste it brews but nonetheless I love wine when I feel like it, luckily I’m not feeling it today. James is Morgan's other best friend, which causes our friendly banter from time to time. As we make our way across the room. "How'd you make the undefeatable lose, what's your secret O mighty one?" Earl who has those striking blue eyes sarcastically and quizzically asked. "It's just dumb luck", I retort and laugh hysterically like a fool since no one’s laughing aside from me. As we sat on our respective seats, Morgan is seated adjacent to me while on another side of the table is Earl, while James trying to squeeze in between me and Morgan, talk about competitive best friend. "Ryyyyy, why don’t we have a do-over?” that's James pleading."Nah, just deal with it Jameson, just because a girl defeats you. Your ego just deflated into dust," Morgan retorts. James looking like ready to fight and argue, it is not about what Morgan says but James hates it when someone calls him Jameson. "It's James, you i***t!", “Oh! I thought…”Morgan began, “It's two different things,” Jameson cut him with a frustrated look. (Don't let James know about this) He pounded directly right to Morgan and began to wrestle him. I roll my eyes, just in time for both of them to see. "Please, just let the person who drives us here win, Morgan", I shouted as they continue their foolish yet friendly (for them) run down away from the crowds. "That went down easily," Earl awkwardly snorts. I began to refocus myself on the person who directly speaks across from me, I think I forgot to breathe but manage to say: "Yeah, I just hope no one saw that earlier or else we're doomed," only this time he smile right through me. 

And then a buzzing noise cut through my ears, causing my daydreaming expedition to spark to an end. It’s my cousin Hayes calling. "What is up? ... Dear Hayes... What seems to be the reason why you’re calling?" I answered half annoyed and half pleased. "Just, where the heck are you?” she half shouts and half whispers. "I'm in my room, why’d you ask?" I answer timidly. "You forgot about your cousin's eleventh birthday, aren’t you?” she asked accusingly. I hear the shouting of little kids and also the mainstream music baffled down in the distance. "Oh... is it today?" I ask almost inquisitively, then I heard some muffled mumbled on the phone, seems like someone's getting annoyed. "Yes it is today, come here this instance or else..." but before she could've even said what she wanted to say. I quickly answered, "Okay...okay.. fine, I'm going to be there, see you in a few minutes... Bye." I ended the call but instead of getting ready for my cousin’s eleventh birthday party, I sigh deeply and pondered about going but I think about the exhausting noise families could create and most especially the little ones who produce extra energy through high-pitched yelling and tantrums. I cornered around the room looking for something but can’t find a thing that would interest me, then decided that the most next best thing to do is through my bed lay all the inhibitions, forget what is going on, cry until you’re eyes give out, lose the presence of today, make time for the past that's beginning to consume you and start to sleep. It’s never hard to sleep unless you’re sad or either way, you sleep or no sleep and in that case, I prefer sleep; there is an electric sense of peace within the walls of uncertainty, a hope that once you’ve fallen deep into slumber, you’ll wake up full alert grasping for a chance of new day and new hope but somewhere in the distance nightmares lurks in just timely waiting for you to make you ask questions like, "Is there a hope in waking up or on sleeping down?"