First Sunshine in February

Reading an online news about our weather three days ago made me stop and think back. Yes, it was true, we had not seen the sun at all since the onset of February. Its bright face only rolled over an impenetrable mantle of snow clouds, under which was just plain gloom. A friend of mine even joked that she had forgotten how the sky looks like.

Yesterday, the snow fell profusely and continuously. After lunchtime, the clouds slowly thinned out in one section of the sky, revealing some patches of light blue amongst the almost transparent clouds. Then all of a sudden, the sun broke out in all its radiance! I fished in my pocket for my phone to capture it before it would hide again (haha...as if I've never seen the sun at all). It's just kind of exciting to see it again after almost a month in hiding. And then the clouds rolled back in and gobbled it up while the snow kept falling. Its appearance was so fleeting that it almost seemed like exotic.

And we're back to a dark world that is paradoxically illuminated by the pervading whiteness of the snow. But amidst the gloom, pleasant things abound.

Well, actually, the days are brighter now, daylight is longer and the sun glides higher above the horizon, though sunlight is subdued by the thick clouds. 

Still, while winter shadows linger, I see beauty, serenity, contentment, joy.....everywhere. 

And of course, for the first time this month, the sun remembered to show up and lavish us with warm smiles even for a brief moment. This too is a gift from above.

Have a great weekend!

Come Home, E.T. Buddy

The story of my alien buddy started here: To Hold A Sunlight (Click on the titles to open a  new window and read the stories.)

We parted ways when I came to this country, but I have never forgotten her at all. My first set of wanderings here inspired me to write a follow-up narrative with the title, Searching For The Rugged Path, with reference to our mutual literary friend, Anne of Green Gables' rugged path.

I learned later that she was "lost in space", probably sucked by a "black hole". My cosmic quest for my alien buddy can be read here: Across the Galaxies

All was not lost after all. I glimpsed a ray of hope as expressed in Twinkling Hope.

I hoped so high that I wasn't prepared to take in the sudden changes in her life that took me by surprise. Was she really Defeated (?) or has undergone an amiable twist of fate? No matter what, I've never given up on her.

Through my intergalactic wanderings, I gathered bits of information about her from the cosmic dusts that brushed my spaceship. And I sprinkled messages of loving care and encouragement along my trail, hoping that she could somehow pick them up.

Lately, though, I came to a shocking realization that over a year had passed since I last strewed such sparkling bits of messages through the intergalactic space. But she was there on my mind all the time, and I just kept on wishing, hoping and praying for her return.

Then from somewhere in the space, I gathered and decrypted the wistful  messages issuing forth from her heart:

"feeling nostalgic again. missing people i used to chat and fool around. the walks in the park, the school competitions and that trip to Palawan...but what i missed most of all is the voice of an old friend from Andromeda galaxy whose voice still lingers in my head...the "light" of her stories shines in the dark recesses of my mind and the consistent distant call of "E.T. phone home" never wavers even when the interstellar line has already been cut due to circumstances... no, i haven't forgotten. my orion heart is still pumping...i'll come home."

"I'LL COME HOME." Words full of promise, words that swelled my heart with new hope and joyful expectations. That's what I've been yearning for all these years. Am I finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?

Shortly thereafter, amidst the winter cold and gloom, refreshing words swirled around me like soft snowflakes that never fail to delight me. Ah, another whisper from my alien buddy that reached my ears, along with a quote:

"i miss my alien friend...wherever you are..."

I miss her too... and I'm still here waiting, with arms wide-opened, ready to welcome her back.

As always....