"In an April dream..."
It is weird for a guy to love romantic tales. But I do!
Stack in my library are around 300 hundred romantic books – Mills and Boons, Sihouette Romance, Sidney Sheldon’s, Sweet Valley High and period romantic novels. They are all arranged pretty much like a haystack in a corner of my library in my modest place in Baguio City. I have acquired most of them from the second hand bookstores (and antique shops) along Evangelista and M. Reyes Sts. in Makati, where my family stayed for five years when I worked in Metro-Manila. They were part of the loot we packed and shipped to Baguio when we transferred from Metro Manila. They were the left-overs from our second hand book store shop (cum grocery and internet shop). Except for the Sweet Valley High series (which my daughter Chantal, at 10 years old have already perused), I have read all of them. In fact, I have read the ones I really like more than twice.
My books (note the emphasis) compete with space for my spouse’s favorites, which include non-fiction, such as the works of Anne Rule (those crime stories made into books) and autobiographical sketches of say, Princess Diana and Audrey Hepburn. Then, she had other collections too; books written by Maeve Binchy and Anne River Siddons.
Of course, my library has other hundred books of other sorts. I also like detective, mystery, and epic tales. I have a wide collection of the books by Ken Follett (“Triple,” “Lie Down with Lions,” “A Place Called Freedom,” etc.), Steve Shagan (“The Formula,” “The Circle,” “Save the Tiger,” etc.) and Harold Robbins (“The Adventurers,” “The Carpetbaggers,” “A Stone for Danny Fisher,” etc.). But my wife couldn’t get over the idea that I make dog ears in pages of the books that I wanted to re-read, namely, those parts with, you know, the love part…where the hero of the story first met the girl…then until they either break up or kiss and make up in a swooping embrace. For every dog ear, a romantic tale! (“Augh”…says my wife!)
We only share one common author: Anne Tyler, who wrote (among others) “The Accidental Tourist,” “If Morning Ever Comes,” “A Slipping Down Life” and “A Patchwork Planet.” We just love Tyler’s writing style and penchant for detail we hope to emulate as rookie writers. My wife liked the details; I loved the romance part.
(I have other books too, which related to my other interests. These are books on anthropology, science, and various scriptures from all sorts of faiths and belief systems. That is another story.)
Weird? Yes! Even for my wife of ten years. But my love for romance is a story itself. For every book, I flow with the story. And although I can predict the outcomes of each story (Romance books are like fairy tales, they almost always end up making one swoon!), I suspend my judgment; I simply like to coast along with the story teller, up to the final page. I just love the happy endings!
Why do I what I love to do? I suppose, it was a coping mechanism. ..it was keeping in touch with the child in me. It was reflecting what my soul had yearned for from the time I was born into this world. I was seeking for a perfect mate, the soul mate, the twin flame. I sought her everywhere…in partnerships, in friendships, in everything I do. And thoughout my boyhood, I swooned and swayed with the fairy tales. I lived in the fantasy world of Sir Galahad fighting for the honor of his fair damsel. I had wished I was King Arthur accepting the truth about Guinivere and sir Launcelot.
When I was in my early teens, I fell in love…which did not last forever. I fell I love again…again not forever…and again…and I got married at eighteen, turning nineteen, just about the time I left my teen life…and my lifepartner left this world too soon…so I continued my search…
Not until I finally realized that I have to be the author of my own love story. I cannot wait for the dream to come true. I must wake up. So I wrote down my thoughts. I wrote down what I expected in a relationship and in a partner. This was a year after my wife died, in 1995.
Well! What do you know! The universe granted my request. In April 1999, I had a first glimpse of my future partner. She was as I have described in a note made five years earlier. In October 1999, we were married.
Fairy tales do come true. I made mine happen. I no longer seek a twin flame. In fact I no longer seek out anyone...new friendships just come naturally. I also wanted to share. But I do thank the universe for the blessings. I also nurtured the serenity and compassion shared by the authors of the romantic novels.
"Are we just April fools? I don't care...true love has bound us now!"
It is weird for a guy to love romantic tales. But I do!
Stack in my library are around 300 hundred romantic books – Mills and Boons, Sihouette Romance, Sidney Sheldon’s, Sweet Valley High and period romantic novels. They are all arranged pretty much like a haystack in a corner of my library in my modest place in Baguio City. I have acquired most of them from the second hand bookstores (and antique shops) along Evangelista and M. Reyes Sts. in Makati, where my family stayed for five years when I worked in Metro-Manila. They were part of the loot we packed and shipped to Baguio when we transferred from Metro Manila. They were the left-overs from our second hand book store shop (cum grocery and internet shop). Except for the Sweet Valley High series (which my daughter Chantal, at 10 years old have already perused), I have read all of them. In fact, I have read the ones I really like more than twice.
My books (note the emphasis) compete with space for my spouse’s favorites, which include non-fiction, such as the works of Anne Rule (those crime stories made into books) and autobiographical sketches of say, Princess Diana and Audrey Hepburn. Then, she had other collections too; books written by Maeve Binchy and Anne River Siddons.
Of course, my library has other hundred books of other sorts. I also like detective, mystery, and epic tales. I have a wide collection of the books by Ken Follett (“Triple,” “Lie Down with Lions,” “A Place Called Freedom,” etc.), Steve Shagan (“The Formula,” “The Circle,” “Save the Tiger,” etc.) and Harold Robbins (“The Adventurers,” “The Carpetbaggers,” “A Stone for Danny Fisher,” etc.). But my wife couldn’t get over the idea that I make dog ears in pages of the books that I wanted to re-read, namely, those parts with, you know, the love part…where the hero of the story first met the girl…then until they either break up or kiss and make up in a swooping embrace. For every dog ear, a romantic tale! (“Augh”…says my wife!)
We only share one common author: Anne Tyler, who wrote (among others) “The Accidental Tourist,” “If Morning Ever Comes,” “A Slipping Down Life” and “A Patchwork Planet.” We just love Tyler’s writing style and penchant for detail we hope to emulate as rookie writers. My wife liked the details; I loved the romance part.
(I have other books too, which related to my other interests. These are books on anthropology, science, and various scriptures from all sorts of faiths and belief systems. That is another story.)
Weird? Yes! Even for my wife of ten years. But my love for romance is a story itself. For every book, I flow with the story. And although I can predict the outcomes of each story (Romance books are like fairy tales, they almost always end up making one swoon!), I suspend my judgment; I simply like to coast along with the story teller, up to the final page. I just love the happy endings!
Why do I what I love to do? I suppose, it was a coping mechanism. ..it was keeping in touch with the child in me. It was reflecting what my soul had yearned for from the time I was born into this world. I was seeking for a perfect mate, the soul mate, the twin flame. I sought her everywhere…in partnerships, in friendships, in everything I do. And thoughout my boyhood, I swooned and swayed with the fairy tales. I lived in the fantasy world of Sir Galahad fighting for the honor of his fair damsel. I had wished I was King Arthur accepting the truth about Guinivere and sir Launcelot.
When I was in my early teens, I fell in love…which did not last forever. I fell I love again…again not forever…and again…and I got married at eighteen, turning nineteen, just about the time I left my teen life…and my lifepartner left this world too soon…so I continued my search…
Not until I finally realized that I have to be the author of my own love story. I cannot wait for the dream to come true. I must wake up. So I wrote down my thoughts. I wrote down what I expected in a relationship and in a partner. This was a year after my wife died, in 1995.
Well! What do you know! The universe granted my request. In April 1999, I had a first glimpse of my future partner. She was as I have described in a note made five years earlier. In October 1999, we were married.
Fairy tales do come true. I made mine happen. I no longer seek a twin flame. In fact I no longer seek out anyone...new friendships just come naturally. I also wanted to share. But I do thank the universe for the blessings. I also nurtured the serenity and compassion shared by the authors of the romantic novels.
"Are we just April fools? I don't care...true love has bound us now!"
No comments:
Post a Comment