today i felt like a little kid lost in the middle of a very crowded grocery store. with no money and no phone, i had no way of going home or calling my dad. i started circling the entire floor for him. looking for my dad in the long queues from the first cashier to the last. starting all over again while the panic started escalating and my brain was racking for solutions that would get me through the situation. strangers’ faces becoming blurry. strangers noticing that i’ve been pacing here and there obviously looking for somebody i have not yet found. mentally cursing the damn place flooded with shoppers and their kids. (and the kids! — man, philippines will probably become the next china in terms of population.) i was scared, alright. i swear i really was. all because of a bottle of extra virgin olive oil.

so imagine my ecstasy when i finally saw my dad walking towards me. i blurted out the first line that came to mind:

and yeah, i believed him when he said that. i just know that he’ll always be there for me no matter what. and i don’t mind being lost again because i know he’ll never leave. one way or another, he’ll find me. he always will. just as he always had.

i love you, daddy.