Short Story


May 10. 2012





A Fil-Am Friend





She was one of his first Filipino-American friends.





She happened to be one of his friends because she belongs to an activist organization in America. It was his first year in America and he did not know how to make friends with “Fil-Ams.”





But because they are in a movement (that’s what he thought), they are all “comrades” the way they are in the Philippines. Later he learned it in the hard way that friendship is different from comradeship. A friend is different from a comrade.





She was a daughter of a navy man. Her parents were both Filipinos. Later when he talked to her parents she was able to learn so many things he never learned from her. As usual you have to go to the roots to learn how the tree grew up.





The first thing she said to him was “ I am afraid I cannot hang out with you. I am not your age and we have different cultures.”





He answered, “ We don’t need to hang-out so often, our relations are political, remember we are comrades.”





All things changed when she went to the Philippines. Her attitude changed. But that was only for the short time. He recalled when they arrived from Seattle; she stomped out and left her father behind.





“ Very disrespectful. Well there goes, the spoiled brat” He said to himself as he just wiggled his head as he looked to the father running after her daughter at the arrival area. They did not even bother to looked back and say bye to him.





He did not let it go and criticized her for her attitude.





When he talked to the dad he learned many things. And he sized himself up and said: “ Maybe my daughters will also be like her because we both are always away from them.”





He hears out the old man’s lament: “ I did not choose to go to America . We are too poor. My parents were fishermen and we have to look for our future. I don't want to be a fisherman for the rest of my life.





I joined the navy and I rarely see her. I blamed myself for what she is now. She is looking for a country that I left behind and she blamed me.” The old man said.





“Just promised me one thing. That she will not change her citizenship. I fear for her life.” The told man repeated that until they dropped him to the train station.





Their relationship was purely political. They argue a lot especially on issues and some of her side activities. Until one day, she called him, DAD”





“Oh my god, I can’t believe I called you that.”





“What” he was surprised.





“I cant’ believe I called you dad! I did not mean it. That’s what I do when we argue , my dad and me about something.” He looked at her with surprise and amazement.





She was very apologetic. Thinking maybe he will be offended. That she was being ageist (a term he did not know by then). Or she feels she disrespected him because he was older or too old?





He just laughed and said. “ No problem, that’s nothing.”





And that’s only the start.





Another time they were arguing, he got piqued he walked out on her. And he was jolted when he felt a shove over his pack. She was so angry that she hit him at the back. He just looked back at her and with angry eyes; he left hurriedly without even looking.





He understood her more when he talked to her mother. That is one time when they visited her house when she was away in the Philippines.





" Her dad was always away. You know the life of a US Navy man. That is why when he comes home and try impose his discipline in the house I always remind him that he has been away and he does not know his children. So he must rest and just keep quiet and enjoy the company of his children.





My girl, she was an achiever. She played basketball even I told her not. Oh, if you just see how she played, even when those Black girls in her high school play dirty, clawing her face and her eyes, she kept on playing. She was intrepid" her mom proudly told us





" The only thing i always remind her is she is too loyal to her friends. That is why she suffers for her friends. And that is not good. I've been telling her it time to love yourself."





He believes it, she is extremely loyal. One of the pitfalls he saw in her. But cannot correct and never tried to corrct. He told himself: "Let her figure it out for herself."





But honestly he enjoyed being with her because he learned many things from his Fill-Am friend.





And a smile on his lips will always be seen, when he remembered her.





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