Lost and Found

“Memories are to be remembered, pictures are to be treasured”

            I seemed to have lost track of the past. I was just sitting around with nothing to do and as always watching TV, munching whatever my hands holds more like a coach potato as they describe. My mom saw the box full of assorted photos from the old days and of course with me laying around I was the target, asked me to put it all in the album, in my mind, I wouldn’t dare to take a look or touch it at all, it was full of dust and I can’t bear holding it without sneezing out loud. I didn’t know what happened that I just took it cautiously and poured everything out from the box. Then I started flipping the pictures with my fingers, it was nostalgic! Like magic that brought me back to the past.

            The memories I seemed to have lost was now found, so I thought. Although I was hesitant to do what was asked, I have no time to rebel because after a minute the lights were off and the TV blacked out, BROWNOUT! I screamed and so I busied myself with the putting the pictures. It was embarrassing looking at our old photos, especially with me in it. I was chubby then and I couldn’t bear to look at myself in the mirror, my friends even my relatives would tease me but enough of my dramas it’s another story to tell. Even though there were humiliating photos no matter how awkward it was it wouldn’t be much of a memory if there wasn’t one. Relentless of those flashbacks, there were good ones that I’ve found for example my dad holding me when I was a baby and my grandpa sitting in a wooden chair. I never knew there was one; I grew up learning that my lolo (in my father’s side) has always been in Bicol (his home town) and never travels. I was amazed seeing that one picture of us three. The second picture was in Manila in my uncle’s house it was my lolo’s 90^th birthday, we were the one’s visiting him always me, my dad and my little brother every summer break to reconnect with my cousins, aunts and uncles in spite of the exhausting travel getting there it was very nice bonding with them and I always see myself smiling brightly during those times.

            I just realized then, all of those photos looking at it with just a single peek takes me back ambiguously to different scenes that are vague but now I fully understand why it all happened, how memorable it was that I just forgot it all. Shame on me, I thought it was senseless and boring looking and remembering the past but it was worth the little time I spend picking the pieces and putting it to where it belongs “The treasure box in my Heart”.