home sweet home plus the greatest surprise

so, my journey back home began.

i set foot on the bus at 9:30 in the morning yesterday and have psyched myself up for the 3 hour ride ahead. first hour, i fell asleep. when i woke up, the bus was already in batangas. was kinda excited coz i figured, only 1 more hour and I'll be back home. texted my mom to let her know were i am and replied that i have along way to go. then i realized, the bus still has to pass through laguna, tiaong, candelaria, sariaya and then lucena where i will need to get on a 30-minute jeepney ride to tayabas, my home town.

but all the wait (longest 5-hours of my week) was worth it. because when i traversed our anay-infested staircase and set afoot on our threshold, there he was, the one person i've been wanting to see for the last 10 years. my tito noel. finally, after a decade, i saw him again. i was so happy, i ran to him and hug him so tight, he said, he had bruises on his hips.

i've always longed to see him. but for the last 2 times that i visited tayabas, he was always out of town working. he was the one who taught me how to write when i was four years old, he was the one who would bathe me and cleaned my ears with q-tips until i fell asleep. he'd whack me with his farmer's hands if he caught me watching tv when he told me to read. he'd brought me fresh fruits from our farm and plant a paracetamol into my banana just so i could take the medicine without knowing it when i'm sick (you see, i've hated taking tablets, i'd always liked capsules). only flaw to this strategy: i always end up chewing on that pesky bitter tablet. haha.

later today, i'll be meeting with my grade school classmates for a party. this vacation couldn't get any better!!