From the Passenger's Seat

I suddenly thought of traveling in the Visayas region again. Today is a Sunday and I am prone to daydreaming. My Spotify daily mix playlist transported me back to the time I was in Victorias City in Bacolod in 2017. 

It was my first time crossing from island to island, and was fortunate enough to do it for free because I was with my step-grandmother. We were doing "workcation" before it became a thing. My grandfather had employed me to manage their business in Cebu, and I got the chance to hop on one of their work trips. 

Strangely enough, I didn't miss home. I do miss my maternal grandmother, but I feel leaving my hometown was necessary for my growth. And surprisingly, I was right. Leaving home opened my eyes to how vast the world is. One thing I'll never forget from that trip was the night we stayed in Daanbantayan before crossing to Negros Occidental. The land trip was exhausting since we were just sitting the whole time from Lapu-Lapu.

I woke up early to watch the sunrise in that part of the world.  It was serene. My breath slowed, as if the world itself was telling me to pause. It felt like all my problem dissolved into tiny particles I could no longer recall at the time. Before we left,  I whispered to myself  that I'd come back alone soon. Life, of course, had other plans, and I never fulfilled that promise.

When we landed in Negros Occidental and I immediately fell in love with the quaint province. Victorias City felt gentle, its roads peaceful. The sun was warm on my face, and the trees shimmered with that ethereal glow of a perfect day. I can’t remember the exact hour anymore — it’s been years — but the feeling has stayed in my heart, and the memory lodged itself somewhere inside a chest inside my mind. 

And that's how I remembered Negros on a work week.

E.