Looking for the Girl

Looking for the Girl

*There was once a girl named Bernice Bachar, who taught Matthew Reyes how to live, love and laugh, she was his life. He was able to make the loveliest of poetry, the sweetest song, then she vanished without a trace... nobody seemed to remember her, no face, no friendster, no twitter, not even in google (try it you won't believe it)*

I. Meeting the Girl / Getting the First Kiss


This is not a love story to begin with.

It was 1995, a time when people in the Philippines cannot decide if they want to keep the drama of the past or live to be generation X, Matthew Reyes was a classic high school student, he goes to school, eats, and then goes home with a few things learned in the middle, or sometimes none a t all. Although he is genuinely logical and religious he has an irrational belief that unexpectedly he would fall in love with a girl so bad he’d die for her.


From the second floor of their Catholic school building he customarily stares at the multi-purpose basketball court, looking at students, studying the way they stride; he then could tell what that person will be in five years. If he walks too fast without looking at anything at any direction like a horse, “this will be a politician” he’d say to himself.  Someone who stares down from point A to point B of the court would be an engineer. Measured people looking up with eyebrows rose, depending on whether which eyebrow is raised would either be a salesman or a lawyer. (People who are thinking raise their right eyebrow and looks right up are thinking, those who look the other way are lying)


It was a cloudy day another dreary afternoon after that cursed math. He wanted to wander off in his world staring at the court, quick haphazard gust of wind brought dust that made him squint, then blindness, painfully he rubbed his eyes, slowly he opened them, the half open eyes combined with the wind made the irregularly lined basketball court a dream sequence as there, there was THE girl.


Through the painful eyes of Matthew it was a dream scene, the breeze of wind slowly blowing the young girl’s hair, she was like a kite without the cord, floating with the wind. It was hard to see but his eyes weren’t deceived by the splendor that made his world stop. Her eyes glisttened, her long hair was dyed raven black. A loveliness that made all his senses dull, a beauty that , made him feel… love as what he believed. The way she moves her checkered table cloth like high school skirt was majestic. A girl chasing papers in the middle of the court in a cloudy day, after math… it was just what the doctor ordered. That moment was a shooting star moment, make a wish before it vanishes. It was now or never.


Matthew didn’t care if there were standard stairs. He used the emergency stairs used in case of fire, and then landed on his behind, “Damn that hurt” he grumbled while looking if anyone was there to see his circus clown act.


Quicker than a jumping flea, he recovered and ran towards the girl to try and pick up the last of the papers before her, so that he could at least find a reason to say something to her. In his quick fantasy he thought “She must know how heroic I am, and when she thanks me I’ll ask her out and tell her how much I want her”. The girl was about to pick up the last of the papers, “This is not good” thought Matthew Reyes, in his mad dash he lost his balance, ended up tackling the girl so hard they flew a few feet away from the point of impact.


When the dust settled, he was faced down the girl’s belly. That was his first kiss. And that he also got to see in major close up a girl with resolve to kill.


He went home with a bleeding nose, from the punch. Which he thought was sweet.


To be continued...

Chapter 2. Losing the Girl