When A Candy Comes Back to Haunt Me

It’s the third week of March once again.

It has been fifteen years since I graduated kindergarten. And I am here standing at the product shelves of a grocery store, staring blankly at the jelly candies in front of me. I thought of buying a dozen as part of my dinner-dessert routine.

Isn’t it nostalgic staring at something that is part of your childhood? I just realized I am forgetting a lot of things. And when I say a lot of things, I really mean it. I can’t even remember stuff about my kindergarten days. I can’t help it. The years grew weary and I wanted to expedite “growing up” mainly because I want to experience high school so soon. I wanted to reach teen years so badly. I wanted to be an adult.

But one day you will wake up unlike any other day. 

I woke up and found out that the world had sunk in oblivion. High school came in a flash. Next thing I knew, I have finished my university program. Then, I was promoted at work. In an instant, 15 years gone since I graduated kindergarten.

Time may have been a bit cruel. Still, I am happy. Why? Because I am living my life. I’d enjoy a movie once in a while. Would often stare at the Moon. Would always walk my dog early in the morning. All in all, I am doing okay. Or so I knew. Because awhile ago, my memory betrayed me by letting me remember my childhood all at once after its 15 years of passing.

Way back, there are only eight colors. Everybody would play and everyone have their own lunchboxes full of stuff. I remember my teacher reading fairy tales in front of the class–stories about a prince, a princess, and their castle.

But my trip to remembering did not stop there.

I remember lucidly about this girl classmate who favored me to open her jelly candy. She pleaded me in her sweet voice. Being the stubborn that I am, I became annoyed and told her I couldn’t open it. I knew that if I tried harder, I can break open the darn candy. And so my girl classmate looked for someone who will as if she is searching for the right prince who can open the magical jelly candy she’s holding in her hands. And as she walked away from me, she was, no doubt, stunning and ethereal. The search did not take long when she approached another guy classmate who was able to open the jelly candy for her.

That was the first day my teacher read the Cinderella story in front of the class.

Next day came and I excite myself for our class’ break time. My girl classmate brought again some jelly and she approached the same guy classmate. That was the exact moment I realized I had fallen in love with the idea of falling in love. Staring at them makes me remember happy endings.

And I wish they were meant for each other.

And now I welcome you to the present timeframe. In my hands are jelly candies. I have forgotten what a jelly tastes like so I open one. Still tastes the same though. You might be interested how life turns out. Yeah, I thought so, too. I thought my girl classmate is meant for my guy classmate. I am wrong. My girl classmate had her teen pregnancy. She was now happily married. My guy classmate horribly died in a heart attack. He is somewhere there, 6 feet underground.

So I am sharing these three things to the world.

(1) That time is our enemy. It ticks, it runs. It will leave us behind and no matter how hard we chase time, we will lose the race. (2) The battle of opening a jellyace is torturous. Not in the physical aspect sense. It is excruciating to open a kid’s candy realizing there’s no one you can share it to. (3) Lastly, grown ups forget priceless things.