Chapter 38
On the evening of Christmas day, Mark and Toni went out with all of Toni’s friends at a club that her uncle owned. Everyone that Mark had met a few days ago was there as well. Yes, even Martin was there. They spent the whole evening until the early hours of the morning, dancing the night away and having a few drinks and a few laughs. Everyone had a great time. The only part that Mark hated, which everyone found amusing, was when Martin kept sitting beside him and practically hitting on him. Mark kept turning to Toni for help, making faces as if he was telling her to get him out of there, but all she could do was laugh. Mark couldn’t believe he had gotten jealous over a gay person.
The next day, or in the evening rather, Mark and Toni met up with all of her friends once more. All 18 of them had rented a huge coaster and they hired a driver. They were heading for Baguio City, the Philippines’ summer capital. It was a 7 or 9 hour trip from Quezon City, the place where Toni lives. At 10 p.m., once all the sleeping bags and rucksacks were loaded into the bus, all of them filed in inside the bus. It was really spacious, that one could occupy a whole row of seats for his or herself. The trip didn’t seem very long, since they spent it singing along to the songs on the radio, or telling silly stories. Of course, Mark was asked to sing of course, which he actually did. They also spent the trip talking nonstop, not to mention eating nonstop, and no one even fell asleep.
They arrived about half past 6 in the morning. They were all staying at a house, that Toni’s grandfather owned. Mark stepped out of the bus, wondering why it was called “the summer capital”. There were no sandy beaches at all. The sun was shining brightly, but that was it. The climate was colder than it was in Quezon City. Toni then later on explained to him that it was the summer capital because every summer, most Filipinos spend their summer vacation there whenever they couldn’t stand the heat. Also, it was a very lovely place to loosen up at.
All of them took a nap. Toni, Raine, Agatha and Dolores shared the biggest room in the house. Clarisse, Mirela and Winni took one spare room. Elisa, Pamela, Kathleen and Cherizza did the same. All of the spare rooms ran out, so most of the boys were sprawled on the living room in their sleeping bags.
They woke up around lunchtime, and Toni suggested that they have lunch at Camp John Hay. Everyone seemed to agree, so off they went. It was totally lovely there. Roads that seemed to go on and on and at its sides were pine-trees and short grass that seemed to go on forever. Lonely looking houses can be seen occasionally. Toni told Mark that those houses were given to the American soldiers and their families when the Americans were still ruling over the Philippines. There were no Americans there now, and Toni had no idea now who occupies those houses.
After lunch Toni and Mark decided to play some miniature golf, after getting much bewildered looks from Toni’s friends. They didn’t mind, and they didn’t care. As long as they could spend time together, that was all that mattered. So off the others went to check out the flower fair while Toni and Mark rented their small golf clubs and golf balls. The course wasn’t that big, so both of them finished the game of 18 holes in less than an hour. The only thing that took them long was when Toni got stuck in one of the holes. She just couldn’t putt the ball gently enough that it kept rolling past the hole. She only got it in when Mark placed his arms around her and showed her how it was done, while constantly kissing her neck or her cheek. If golf were a game that needed the highest scores, Toni would’ve won with flying colors. But of course, it wasn’t.
They spent the next three days showing Mark around Baguio City. They took him to Mines View Park, which was absolutely breathtaking. There was this part where they had to climb down a narrow staircase that was made out of stone. When they came to a clearing Mark was utterly enthralled. He could see luscious green mountains filled with pine trees and when he looked down, more pine trees were below them from a very deep cliff. Toni knew Mark could already be sick of mountains and trees because there were loads of those in Ireland, but Mark absolutely loved it. Seeing such of nature’s beauty made it more special because he was with one of the people that he loved most.
They also took him to the Crystal Cave. There weren’t many crystals anymore, because the char from the torches the guides were carrying had blacked it out. There were loads of crystals being sold at the entrance though. Toni told him that almost the whole cave was made of stalagmite and stalactite crystals.
Mark, Toni and her friends spent most of the evenings having a bonfire out doors with bags of marshmallows and hotdogs. The next day they would be leaving early.
Two days after that, Toni took Mark along with her little cousins and some of her aunts and uncles to go swimming. They went to a place called Bataan, which had a totally lovely beach. Mark and Toni were the only “grown-ups” who went swimming, so they had to accompany the little ones who were wading around the shore. They built a sandcastle, which was accidentally knocked down by one of Toni’s cousins. Vanna, Verb, Vicenzo, Edric and Erina, Toni’s cousins, practically begged Mark if they could cover him with sand. Toni, totally oblivious to what was happening, was about 20 to 30 feet away from them, busy helping out with preparing lunch. She called her cousins a few minutes later on so that they could eat. They came running, like a small group of warriors on attack mode. “Hey, where’s Mark?” she inquired, looking into their angelic faces. They burst out into giggles, which Toni found totally adorable. But then she could hear Mark’s wailing voice shouting, “Hello? Someone help me!” She ran to the shore and there she saw Mark. He was covered deep in very compact and wet sand, unable to get up. His head was sticking out from all the sand and his face was totally red from sunburn. Toni had to laugh despite of her annoyance at her cousins. She felt totally embarrassed. She couldn’t believe her cousins could do something like that. She immediately helped him out, after taking a picture of him that is. “So, you think this is funny huh?” Mark said, while Toni tried to stifle her giggles as she uncovered Mark from the sand. “No. Not at all.” Toni said, trying to keep a straight face. Unable to control it she suddenly burst out laughing. “You really think this is funny, don’t you? Ha! I’ll show you!” he said, quickly uncovering his legs from the sand with his free hands. Toni gave a small scream as Mark chased her. She wasn’t really a fast runner, so Mark caught up with her easily. He started tickling her until she fell on the sand, practically gasping for air and begging for him to stop. “Now, do you find this funny?” Mark asked, still tickling her. “N… no… stop it!” she gasped. Toni was extremely ticklish and she could hardly breathe. “I’ll stop if you promise me one thing.” “Anything! Anything!” Toni choked out. “Anything?” She nodded, unable to speak. Mark stopped. A devilish smile was on his face. “Thank God you stopped!” she said, trying to catch her breath. “Well, now you have to do what I tell you coz I stopped tickling you.” he said, the same grin still on his face. “Okay… what is it then?” Toni asked carefully. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like this at all. “Go skinny dipping with me,” he said. Toni stared at him, totally bewildered. From what she saw, he was dead serious. He suddenly burst out laughing. “Only joking! Come on, I’m hungry.” Mark said, pulling her up to her feet. Toni breathed a sigh of relief.
Around 4 o’clock, Toni and Mark took a boat ride. Her cousins tagged along, much to Mark’s disappointment. But then again, those little kids had a way of their own that made him adore them. The ride was terrific. The sun wasn’t that hot and the wind was totally cool. The boat was quite slow even if it has a motor. It was just right, because they got to admire the beautiful bluish green water that looked like flowing aquamarine colored silk. There were corals that could be seen below, as well as small fishes, blue colored starfishes, and an occasional jellyfish or two. The sun was beginning to set in the vast horizon, where they couldn’t determine where the ocean ended and where the sky began. The mountains on their left side looked like a scene taken from the film “The Beach”. It was filled with trees. They were even able to see an eagle flying over the mountains, a rare sight nowadays.
Three days after that Toni took Mark to a place called Laguna to go see the Pagsanghan Falls. She was still suffering from sunburn, but she took Mark there anyway. It was a 2-hour boat ride, full of peace and quiet. This time around, no one came along with them. It was just the two of them, along with two “bangkeros” who would be guiding the boat and helping them over the rapids. They reached a place, which was totally quiet, and the water was very dark and still. Toni then told Mark that the water was over 100 feet there, and so she reminded him to keep still, because she wasn’t much of a swimmer. Any deeper than 6 feet and she definitely had to hold on to something. Just then a bird with a mix of black, blue and orange feathers flew by, causing Mark to squirm a little. The boat rocked, and Toni held on tightly to Mark. Her grip was quite hard, but Mark looked as if he didn’t feel a thing. He was quite paralyzed with fear. The bird actually landed on the side of the boat where Mark was sitting at, and it was edging closer to him. Toni “shooed” the bird away, much to Mark’s relief.
They eventually got to the falls, and it was such a magnificent site. Mark and Toni transferred to a raft. They went under the falls, which felt like a lot of tiny pebbles were being dropped upon them. They kept laughing and it was an exhilarating feeling as they went down from the raft and went near the falls. It certainly was a two-week vacation Mark would never forget.