Yes, it’s been almost forty- six years. We met for the first time back in 1973 when I reported to work as student librarian at the University of Santo Tomas. We both worked at the university library until I was in my third year as Economics major and she finished her Library Science degree.
The friendship has come to a point when we would write each other daily on date due slips of the library. She was Nissa’s godmother during her baptism and again one of the principal sponsors during Nissa’s wedding. She migrated to Canada sometime in 2001.
The last time we saw each other was almost eight years ago until yesterday. A happy reunion between friends, a lovely tête-à-tête updating each other on what’s happening in our lives, non-stop smiles and laughter. Her husband showed me their photos when they were in Japan before coming to Manila a week ago.
And a happy reunion would not be complete without some photos, right? Although Mark took photos of Grace and me, I had a couple of shots in my phone taken by one employee of the hotel where they stayed.
Mark, Grace and I
She gave me two books, a copy of Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain and a trade paperback of Maya Angelou’s The Heart of A Woman. We developed our love for books when we were both assigned at the Humanities Section of the UST Main Library. Can’t wait to read these two.
Friendship is a lovely thing. When you find true friends, being apart for so many years doesn’t really matter. It feels as if you’ve seen each other only yesterday.
