I had a long-overdue dinner date at Bella Pizza with my friend D tonight. N and D. Night and Day. The Pessimist and The Optimist.
The last time we had a one-on-one dinner was at another pizzeria in early September when we discovered just how much we were opposites of each other. We played a game that night: we'd pick a random word and take turns sharing the first thing that came to mind. With the word "ham" I thought of Toy Story while she remembered a boy she loved who loved prosciutto... but not her. To me, "football" meant family picnics watching my younger brother play soccer; to her, the game reminded her of another boy who broke his promise. "Strawberries" reminded both of us of summer trips to Baguio, but she almost immediately turned melancholic as she reminisced how that was "the freest she ever felt" in her life.
After our game of word associations and lots of laughs, she once again pronounced that I was the optimist to her pessimist. I had come to accept that role gladly, as happily as a yellow paperclip earns its bright purple spots. D's drama was always heartfelt and she insists that it's necessary to fuel her poetry. I disagreed with her and had learned to accept how she would always see the half-emptiness of things; in fact, it came to a point that I had come to expect it.
Except of course when life throws us curveballs and we're caught by surprise. Tonight, I believe we switched roles and found ourselves in each others' shoes. D was brimming - no, overflowing - with the fullness of things while I was trying to get myself out of a sinking spot. We didn't talk about ham or football or strawberries, but I couldn't help but call it to her attention how her default language was no longer that of drama. Instead, she spoke of possibilities and of hope and of all things new. D spoke of love and she was positively beaming. It was poetry come to life.
She still rolls her eyes in denial but I believe she is the true optimist. In her biggest real-life drama, D surprised us all and brought back the sunshine of Day to dreary Nights.
To D, V and Jack: I pray that the sun continues to shine on all of you, keeping your new life forever happy and bright yellow.
You made me teary-eyed in the office :$
ReplyDeleteThanks for dedicating a word to us out of your 365 but more importantly, for being so much more than just a word to me in this Singapore chapter of my book. It wouldn't have been as meaningful and fun without all of you. And you know what comforts me the most? I know it's the kind of friendship that will go beyond borders :o)
I love you, Nikks!
d.