Chasing happy ever after

WHAT is a whirlwind romance? Can it be considered an offshoot of true love? What is its rate of success? Surely, there must have been some credible, definitive and - of course! - scholarly study about this type of relationship.

RELATIONSHIPS, of the whirldwind variety or otherwise, tend to end up either in the blind alley of Coupledom Wasteland or in the happy-ever-after Wonderland anyway, so...

SO. I am not a Carrie Bradshaw wannabe who, by the way, is my favorite character. Bless her sense of style. I am digressing...

I am serious about my question, though. And the adjectives? Sure.

MY dear cousin, Mia, just got married yesterday to a guy she barely knows. Think one week. Think Imelda Papin!

WHAT happened in that one short week? Holy Week at that. This question I asked Big Sister, Small Sister and Ria, Mia's younger sister. I got different answers. Not surprising, really, considering the turn of events that unfolded at lightning speed.

BIG Sister: This guy, Marcel, just came back from the US to observe the Holy Week. He met and befriended Mia. Poor guy. Mia made him join her and the rest of the horde of worshippers walk every single street of town on Good Friday. By the time the procession ended, I think Mia had also ended her novena and the poor guy, sweating profusely even after guzzling four mineral water bottles, proposed and, that's it, they were engaged...Tita's (Mia's nanay) reaction? She would not get in the way of what the new couple wanted...Don't ask further...Until now, Tatay is asking me if this is all true. We're already heading to the Mayor's office, Bianchi is all dolled up in her yellow princess dress and he's still asking if all this is true? Here, talk to him. Don't forget your medicines.

SMALL Sister: Mia put one over us. We're older than her, remember??? How could she do this?...Yes, to the story. Well, this Marcel has a twin brother (TB)...Why call him TB?...OK. Anyway, these twins are the sons of Imee, Tita's best friend from way back. TB, we found out, is in fact Mia's email buddy of sort...Why the mix-up? I dunno. Strange things happen, perhaps?...Don't ask. No one seems to be asking. And everyone seems happy, see?...Yeah, wish you were here...I haven't met him so I can't tell you what he looks like. Hey, talk to you later, ok? I gotta find Eggmeg. Bye. Mwah.

RIA: Mia and I were being paired with these guys way before. Imee said she wanted either of us to marry either one of her sons...Yes, just like that. I said I already have a boyfriend. So she turned to Mia...Yes, one week...Mia sez he's nice and kind...Uhm, I also dunno how it started but yesterday they went to the US Embassy to declare Mia as Marcel's fiancee...I dunno how they managed to do all that, including arranging for this civil wedding at a very short notice. But his family has lots of connections, so...I dunno how they're gonna do it. Mia is having her period right now. Hahaha...Imee wanted Mama (Tita) to go to the US also. It's kinda weird. She also said that if it should happen that Mia didn't like Marcel anymore, she could end the marriage, no problem. She could even live in the house in the US if she still wanted to...I dunno. OK, have to go. I think Mama is looking for me. Take care, ok?

AFTER talking to them, the thoughts swirling in my head while absorbing the fantastic event seem to dissipate. I now find myself with so much less to say. In fact, they are reduced to two words:

LIFE happens.

WAIT... I am fighting the urge to say a lot more things, more out of concern for Mia than anything, but my mind is telling me to just take the situation as it is.

IN love, no one can harm anyone else. We are each of us responsible for our own feelings and cannot blame someone else for what we feel and for what we have become because of that.

So, amidst the madness, comedy, misplaced feelings and even deceptive motives, I wish Mia and Marcel a life of
blissful togetherness.

Cheers!


p.s.

the following lines are a fitting end to this episode.

profound desire, true desire is the desire to be close to someone. from that point on, things change, the man and the woman come into play, but what happens before - the attraction that brought them together - is impossible to explain.

when desire is still in its purest state, the man and the woman fall in love with life, they live each moment reverently, consciously, always ready to celebrate the next blessing.

when people feel like this, they are not in a hurry, they do not precipitate events with unthinking actions. they know that the inevitable will happen, that what is real always finds a way of revealing itself. when the moment comes, they do not hesitate, they do not miss an opportunity, they do not let slip a single magic moment, because they respect the importance of each second.

*sigh* *sigh* *sigh*