In Bad Times: Friends Nowhere To Be Found

August 2, 2022

Yesterday, I got a chance to catch up with my high school friend whose boyfriend got into an accident months ago.

My friend has been in a relationship with the guy for years now. It started in a casual friendship kind of relationship. The guy is much older and was a classmate of my friend's brother. That's why she got to call her "Kuya". My friend developed a crush on him just like every other girl in our barrio. Later on, when we were in college, we learned that they are in a relationship.

The couple is outgoing. Even though my friend has been in anxious episodes, they still managed to go on beach trips together with their other circle of friends. They have this circle of friends who is composed of young adults and youngsters in our barrio who loves to drink and party. Every fiesta or if there's a celebration, the group is present and the couple is part of the group. When there was no occasion, the group would go on random trips to the river to eat and drink while dipping themselves in cold river water.

They have been like that for a long time. Until one tragic event served as a game changer for the couple. One night when they were attending a barrio fiesta, they drank, eat, and have fun just like what they usually do. They stayed at a friend's house. Some members of their circle roam around the barrio, some dance at the disco, and some stayed at home to drink. My friend and her boyfriend stayed at a friend's house to drink and eat when a friend of theirs informed them that another friend of theirs have got into trouble. Miko their friend got into trouble with Ivan who is also a member of their circle. Noah, my friend's boyfriend felt obliged to drive Miko home so he won't cause any further damage to the barrio considering that they were not residents there.

When they arrived in our barrio, Noah wasn't able to balance as the driver. Miko has been biting him on their way home begging for him to come back so he can drink more and have fun. When they were about to get off the motorcycle, Noah wasn't able to balance well as Miko was always moving and is considerably heavier than him. This resulted in the tragic accident Noah could never forget his whole life. The motorcycle was unbalanced causing it to fall to the ground hitting its knees.

He was unconscious when he was sent to the hospital. My friend didn't know of the accident since she stayed at her friend's house as her boyfriend instructed. She was oblivious to what her boyfriend went through. Until another friend from our barrio informed her that her boyfriend is in hospital. She rushed to the hospital tagging her nephew with her as her mom was afraid that she would have another anxiety episode on her way to the hospital.

There she knew that her boyfriend broke his knee and that he needs to undergo surgery and have his broken knee replaced with a plastic one. He wouldn't be able to drive a motorcycle and play basketball until further notice.

Their world fall. Just one wrong move and then their whole life changed. The painful part was that the friends were nowhere to be found when they were in the hospital. Miko didn't even give a single cent for the hospital bills.

Now, Noah is on his crutches. My friend couldn't leave him as she takes care of him now. It wouldn't be much painful if it was all because of Noah's actions unfortunately, his tragedy was caused by a friend's negligence.

That made me realize that not all of your friends wouldn't help you when you are in need. The people you hang out with wouldn't give a single thought about you when you got into an accident. You will always run into your family. So, don't trade family time over good times with friends. This might be true to all the scenarios but perhaps it could apply to some.