Paper Aeroplane

March 26, 2010

It was just a tiny inconsequential brown paper airplane that fell out of my bag as I stepped out of the car from the church’s parking lot that Tuesday afternoon.

 

But the events leading up to that serendipitous moment would have me believing otherwise…

 

March 17, 2010.

A few of my D-group friends and I gather to surprise Lia at her house with the going-away gift we together just a couple of hours earlier. Lia puts on a CD with some really catchy non-mainstream songs. The second song, Paper Aeroplane by Angus and Julia Stone, strikes a chord with me. It has a dancing and chilling at beach kind of vibe, and wasn’t lyrically predictable. Anyway, I end up downloading it as soon as I get home.

 

March 18, 2010.

Willy sends me a link to David Crowder Band’s “O Praise Him” video on YouTube. It takes more than an hour to buffer (darn flaky connection), but when I finally get to watch, I get goosebumps and decide it was worth the wait. I immediately scour the net for a downloadable pirated mp3 version.

 

March 21, 2010.

Pinky attends a hella-expensive two-day ALS (Advance Life Support) training at a nearby school. She uses mom’s newly-acquired bag, and conveniently forgets to empty it of her trash.

 

March 22, 2010.

I get a text from Dre that the retreat committee meeting is on tomorrow. I silently wonder how I got on that committee, and agree to go.

 

March 23, 2010.

Tito Miko drops off boxes of mangosteen- yay!:)- straight from the farm.

 

I get a text from Pinky that her friend Katy (who took the DLSU graduate entrance exam with me) says the results are out. I fidget, pray and start rationalizing, que sera, sera in God terms. My heart sinks deeper as I scroll down the twelfth (out of 14) page in search of my tracking number in the list of accepted applicants.

 

Did it have to be on the thirteenth page, God? Talk about building anticipation. I rejoice and cry tears of joy like I’ve never cried before. I listen to the only Christian song I have on my iTunes. Yep, “O Praise Him”. Perfect.

 

I sigh with contentment and think, “Finally. A direction.”

 

I dry my eyes and get ready for the meeting. I drive Pinky’s car, and as I step out of the driver’s side to get the laptop and plastic bag of mangosteen for the committee members. I drop my bag, and as destiny would have it, the paper airplane falls out. And I can’t help smiling, as the thought of me about to take flight crosses my mind…