thank you
by Marla
1. If I shook your hand, signed your copy, or took a photo with you last Wednesday, thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I've been caught up with so many different things in so many different ways this year, but I have never stopped writing, and I will work on that next book soon, I promise. I owe you that much.
2. That night someone asked me if I am a romantic, and I fumbled with my words before giving up and passing the mic on to my seatmate, all sheepish smiles and trademark awkwardness. What I should have said was: I can't write without being romantic. I have to be a fan of happy endings; I have to root for the right people to end up together; I have to believe in the kind of love that starts chapters, turns pages, moves stories forward. That's what I should have said, but maybe the bigger truth is this: I can't be romantic if I don't write.
3. Flowers. Flowers are always nice. So are notes, and your name handwritten by someone you love, underlined as if to say: this is for no one else but you. So are parents who support your passions, and friends who are proud of you, and people who show up. I am understanding this better and deeper as I grow older—showing up is one of the best things you can do for somebody. Grace us with your presence: there is so much grace in being present.
Life Peg Dearest,
ReplyDeleteEvery Sunday Morning, it has already been my routine to read your blog. Your entries would make me contemplate about serious stuffs. Then in order for me to comprehend fully, I would re-read it a couple more times; thinking that a new phrase might pop up as I read it over again. With the enthusiasm and excitement within me, I know this sound too much but there I times when I would just flip through your letters in the issues of Candymag. I gather your wisdom like a kid trying to get the pieces of shells at the shore. I myself is a romcom cliché and I will always be one, because one of the best things is felt with the presence of love between or among beings. We are romantic souls and we need not to elaborate more. Our hearts communicate and sometimes, we just have to give them a chance. You never know how right you are when you said, “Our hearts are vast and deep and more full than they seem.” I can’t wait for your next book to hit the shelves.
Love always, Nova :)
Thank you for always being so sweet and supportive, Nova. Celebrate love every day! :)
Delete"I have to believe in the kind of love that starts chapters, turns pages, moves stories forward." Beautiful. <3
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Happy Sunday!
DeleteThis post made me feel giddy for some reason. Hehe. Happy to have met you, Ms. Marla. And sorry for being too makulit, I just can't get over the fact that I finally met you. :>
ReplyDeleteNo problem at all, Marla! Glad to have met you too. Thanks again for the macarons! :)
DeleteI've been a silent lurker here in your blog... You have a way with words that truly astound me. Can't wait to meet you. Visit Davao soon okie? :)
ReplyDeleteP.S.
I follow you on Twitter too. ;)
@chamcuartero
Thank you, Cham! That means a lot. :)
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