Monday, June 25, 2007

noise of my hometown


biliran mountains

not so much of the place but of my childhood that i certainly feel nostalgic about when i visited my hometown very recently. fast rewind to twenty-five years past when i was very young, active, playful. we owned the street infront of our house from afternoon to late night, specially when the moon was up. i was usually the leader of one team playing patintero, hide and seek, and name the game, we played it. ours had very difficult game rules. it was more combative but fun nonetheless. even the hide and seek required the whole town as our playground, running to the mountain, to the cemetery, and yes to the beaches where we usually frolic after or before the game. the place we didnt take notice of, but the childhood lingers in all memories.



biliran beaches

twenty years hence, and almost 2 years of not coming back, i went home to see the place. i still got to see the beaches all around but i knew i was looking for something else. the only difference now is that i take notice of the place, take pictures of it, but i could no longer capture the noise and the laughter of the children who used to play around.

the place today, devoid of laughters, brings ooohhs and ahhhs. maybe because i feel i am no longer a part of it, but only a spectator of this natural exhibit. or maybe because as i age, i took another level of point of view. i tell you, i really have never seen my hometown as beautiful as this. as a child, you only take part of the game; as an adult, you now see things around as more than just a game.



tinago falls in biliran