Dearest Baby Girl,

Napapangiti ako habang binabasa ang sulat mo tungkol sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon na sumali ako sa oblation run. To be honest, I was so embarassed just trying to recall that day. Isipin mo na lang, I ran naked in public. Then, I was dared by my teammates to give you a flower. Haha! But, modesty aside, I was also so proud of myself then. Alam mo na iyon kung bakit. Haha!

I guessed many girls in campus were able to identify me from the crowd of naked runners. Dumami kasi ang natanggap kong love letters after the run. Naalala ko pa na may pinagselosan ka sa isa sa mga iyon. Though you never brought her up in any of your letters to me, naisip ko siya habang binabasa itong sulat mo tungkol sa oblation run. Siguro kaya ka nagselos sa kanya noon dahil nasabi kong we lived in the same neighborhood. Tapos ang father ng girl na iyon ay isa sa mga stakeholders ng isa sa mga companies na hawak ni Dad. But I have told you again and again then how she didn't matter to me. Just imagine this. We lived in the same street all our lives then, but I had never noticed her until she sent me that love letter with her semi-nude photo. Haha! For a girl in the 1970s to do that was really shocking, right? Kaya nga nagalit ka nang husto. Although it was not a good memory for you perhaps, sa akin ang sarap balik-balikan no'n kasi napagtanto kong kaya rin pala kitang pagselosin. Ako kasi'y laging nagseselos sa mga lalaking umaali-aligid sa iyo noon. Lalung-lalo na iyong editor ng Kule. Alam ko kasing you were into intelligent guys. Kaya nga you fell for me, right? Haha!

I had a bittersweet memory of that oblation run, you know. Sweet kasi ang sarap sa pakiramdam na dumami ang mga humanga sa akin when they saw me in all my nakedness. Nakita ko nga rin kung paano ka natuwa at naging proud pa lalo sa akin noon. But it also reminded me of my heated arguments with my parents. I was grounded for a month when my dad found out about it lalo pa't it was the president himself who told him about my participation in it. Alam mo naman siguro kung ano ang koneksiyon ng parents ko noon sa pangulo ng bansa. Mom was also very close to the first lady kaya hindi nila nagustuhan ang ginawa ko. Pero wala akong pinagsisihan doon. Bakit naman ako magsisisi? First time kong nakita kang humahagalpak ng tawa dahil sa akin. Isa pa, I made you so proud, right? Aminin mo! Haha!

Hindi ko rin makakalimutan ang ginawa natin pagkatapos ng oblation run. We went to Mang Larry's and we feasted on isaw and other grilled entrails. Haha! My yaya and my bodyguard were horrified when they found out I went there and ate those food you introduced to me. I had to bribe them both so they wouldn't tell my parents. That was one of my happiest memories with you in it. You made me realized that I do not need to spend a lot to enjoy a date.

Ang puwesto pala ni Mang Larry ang una kong pinuntahan pagkatapos nating mag-break for the first time. Kumain ako ng isaw doon mag-isa. Imagine the look on his face when he saw a 'tisoy' like me as he also called me eating there alone at with gusto pa, ha? Panay nga ang sulyap niya sa akin. Tapos tinanong ka niya. Kumusta na raw ang napakaganda kong girlfriend? I just smiled at him. Siguro nakita niya ang sadness sa mga mata ko kaya hindi na siya nagtanong pa. Pero binigyan niya ako ng ekstra stick ng masarap niyang isaw.

If I'll be given a chance to go back in time, siguro ang mga pagpunta-punta natin kay Mang Larry ang isa sa pipiliin kong balikan. And of course, our moments in the Sunken Garden. These two places taught me a lot about how it is to love someone wholeheartedly. Thank you, baby girl, for showing me that. I think you have touched my life in ways no one ever had---not even my children.

It's sad to think that after all those years I can still say with conviction that I still love you with the same intensity as I had when I first laid eyes on you in peyups. I miss you so much my love. I wish you were here.

Your Big Daddy forever,

Greg