It is vacation time and the humming voice of the sea appealed to us.

We then decided to answer its call travelling from Baguio to Taberna, Bauang, La Union. Heavy rain poured as if it wanted us not to forgo our plan but being a hard headed people, we paid no heed to the sign of time – travelling for two hours and feeling the excited buzz in our stomachs. We arrived at around 5:00 in the afternoon, an hour before the sun takes its rest. As the king of the heaven waves goodnight, falling down to the bed of sea, we stand our ground admiring its golden glow like a treasure shimmering on a dim light. The spectacle surpassed our expectation – a romantic encounter with his majesty.

The next day we enjoyed different fresh seafood delicacies and the blazing heat under the sun. Some of my friends decided to go home a little early and two of them decided to stay. We shared stories and laughter to pass the time during the midday and decided to take a swim around 3:00 in the afternoon. The heavy rain followed us to the beach but it never ruined the mood. Its harsh drops to the vast ocean, the gloomy display of the clouds and the blue reflection of the sea made us feel like a character in a fantasy movie. No words can explain nor describe its perfection. The word “beauty” was portrayed and defined to us through it. The word “romantic” just had a new definition – A moment I wasn’t able to capture but will always be developed and framed in my mind. It made you regret to just look away a little – a scene I wish my friends were able to see. Drums of thunderstorm and flashes of lightning started to roll in. It became frequent so we decided to return to our place waiting for the weather to calm down. After an hour, the rain stopped and we returned to the beach. The lightning made our hearts froze. The fear is present but our eyes don’t want to miss the supple and agile dances of the light.

We anticipated a soothing setting yet the outcry of the rain and the thunderstorm exceeded our expectations. We came looking for sunset yet streaks of lightning greeted us. Every moment and every experience I had encountered makes me want to return again – a scene that I will always look for every time I visit the sea.

People say “be nice to people you meet for they are fighting a battle you know nothing about,” but some people, even those you are close to, have a battle you know nothing about.

I have this attitude where in I never stop observing people and taking notes on how they react to certain circumstances. Because this, it gave me the idea to observe and document my friends for a time – freezing the moment, capturing their smiles, their excitements, and trying to immortalize it with my camera in hope that the hands of time could never bury it in the graveyards of memories. It was fun at first, until I started seeing flashes of their battle and the bruises and scars of each warrior, expertly camouflaged with their smile to save their loved ones from the guilt of their own misery.

I once asked a friend, about why she doesn’t want to let me know about what she is going through, “kasi alam ko na may sarili ka ring problema” (because I know you have your own personal problem..) she said. I insisted on offering my help but she she shook her head.

It made me wonder if are we really of help?

It came to me that people rely on their friends to escape their own war. Laughter became anesthetic to their agony. An anesthetic which numbs the wounds from their war – an anesthetic which eases the pain, but like anesthetic, it never last long.

Are we really of help? Humans react to other human problems like vases. They are willing to accept the responsibility of hearing and understanding at first until slowly, they become full. Once they are full they become numb, numb of sincerity towards your problem, and in worst case, numb of that person. Each battle has its own settings, terrains, and is different in every detail. Some being lost, some being damaged, and some of them had fallen but if the only way to help them is to be an anesthetic to their war, then its an honor to be there — until the battle ends.