Since the pandemic started my social interaction became less and less to the point it's starting to affect me. Although I said to my past blogs that I am an introverted person, in these difficult times I can't avoid but feel lonely. I often feel that I am alone with the journey as I can't openly express my feeling to my parents.
So last time one of my tropa (friend) invited us to have an overnight get-together at his house. I was skeptical if I will accept the invitation at first because I know that my parents will not allow me. They are very strict in following safety protocols as our place is at very high risk from COVID-19 infection. They also think that I and my friends might do something illegal like consuming prohibited drugs or something else and that's ridiculous. Like, we are friends since 8th grade and nothing is happening to me so they should trust them. But considering that I am not going out of the house for almost half a year now, they may let me pass through.
So the day of our overnight, I took the courage to ask for my parent's permission. At first, I feel that they will not permit me. This is where I released my 'sad but it's an okay' card. I will accept their decision but I will make them feel guilty by showing how sad I am. Lol, I can't imagine how dramatic I am that time, and every time I remember myself doing that, it feels cringy. But that's okay because after doing that, they allowed me. But in return, they said that I need to finish all the pending household chores.
At exactly 9 pm, I left the house and bring some important stuff with me. Our place is quiet already even the curfew will start at 10 pm. The gentle and cold breeze started to stroke my skin and the moon is guiding me with its soft light. It's liberating to see all of this once again in a while. After several months of staying inside of my house and focusing on other priorities, it's a breath of fresh air knowing you can go out again and socialize with your friends.
It took me almost 10 minutes waiting for a ride. I'm a little bit worried here because there are a few to no vehicles are passing by. I messaged my friends that I may have a problem with transportation and they should get me when the problem continues 😆. But luckily, a jeepney passed by.
15 minutes until I reached my destination. I was lost for a while because I am not informed that they already moved to another subdivision. Good for me, my father's workplace is nearby and their new house is also a walking distance. In case, I got lost and my friends decided to just abandon me (which is impossible), I will just go with my father. I messaged them to lead me to the correct path of life, jk. They responded and I arrived at their place within 5 minutes.
One of my friends arrived earlier than me. If I hadn't just gone astray I might have been ahead of him 😅.
Nevertheless, my friend's mother prepared us some snacks for our movie marathon and midnight talks. She's so generous to the point she said that we can call her to cook some snacks if we're still hungry. Of course, that's embarrassing so we did it on our own.
I thought it will be just three of us that night but to our surprise, my friend arrived at 12:30 am. He said that he just waited for his father to sleep so he can escape from him. He's used his bike to travel from his home all the way down here. He's a cyclist and it's a piece of cake so nothing to worry about.
We had a great time sharing what happened to each other's lives in the past few months. There are some secrets revealed, new experiences unlocked, etc. It's a great night indeed. We started to feel sleepy at around 5 am and even we like it or not, our eyelids felt tired and eventually falls down to cover our sight. We woke at 7 am and left the house at 8:30 am. We are sleep-deprived but the enjoyment is still prevailing on us.
One of my friends thought of going to our old school to get his document. Thanks to him for mentioning that as I also need to retrieve important papers. So before heading home, we decided to go there.
I forgot to mention that our school is also walking distance from our friend's house so we just used our feet to reach our destination.
Upon walking, we passed at a checkpoint and authorities start intercepting our way. They invited us to come over as according to them we violated a rule; we don't wear a face shield. 'Luckily', according to them, 1st-time health protocol violators are not punishable; we just need to list down our names and they will take a picture of your face. I have no choice but to remove my face mask and show off my haggard and sleep-deprived looks to them. They warn us to not let this happen again or else, we will not be granted police and NBI clearance for one year.
After passing through, we laughed so hard about what just happened 😂. One of the strictest health protocols in the world but also the one with the highest infection rates, lol. Anyways, we reached out to our alma mater. We had a short chitchat with our former teachers and we say our goodbyes for a while; it may take us a while to visit them again.
After that, we say goodbyes to each other and we parted ways. As I wave my hands at them, sudden realization kicks in; what if this is the last?
Final thoughts...
Although I do not recommend going out and hanging with your friends during these times, it doesn't mean you need to put your mental health at risk. This is also the reason why I accepted their invitation because I noticed that these past few days I am almost losing my sanity; mental and emotional breakdowns over simple things. I also noticed that I am often talking to myself and I think it is not good. After some reflections, too much isolation is not good for my health, and a little bit of fresh air can help.
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You are a great story teller. The way you composed the sentences are just as good as talking face-to-face.
Anyway, how did your friend got there in the middle of the night without officers noticing him? 🤣