Love is a truly mysterious feeling. It can sweep you off your feet in a beat and can leave you bruised and hanging the next minute.
This open letter tells of the latter, and how nothing is certain when it comes to love and relationships.
This story proves that the length of time spent with a significant other will never be a guarantee of a solid future together.
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Hello, TFT! I have recently read the open letters you published and one of them, which tells of a cheated wife’s journey to moving on, inspired me to share my own story.
OFW po ang ex-boyfriend ko sa Dubai. Umalis po siya noong 2015. Bago pa po siya umalis, I already knew that a long-distance relationship would be hard but what can I do? Mahal ko po si Raf (name withheld) at sa tagal namin, I have already learned to trust him.
Our love was like a fairy tale. Raf was my childhood friend, the only person I trusted my secrets with. Kahit hindi ko sabihin, alam niya kapag may problema ako and he would always make me smile. Raf was the ideal guy best friend and the perfect boyfriend any girl could ever want.
We endured many challenges during the course of our 9-year relationship. Lahat na yata napagdaanan na namin. Akala ko kaya namin lahat. Pero distance lang pala ang makakasira sa halos isang dekada naming love story.
Raf needed to go to Dubai to help send his younger siblings to school. He proposed to me a year before he left the country. Sabi niya, mag-iipon daw siya doon para sa kasal namin. I understood and said yes to a long distance relationship.
We tried to keep the relationship alive through Skype and Facebook. Nahirapan ako lalo na nung first month na malayo siya sa akin. But I stayed strong. Inisip ko na lang, babalik siya after maka-ipon at magpapakasal na kami. He made a promise to me anyway.
Pero siguro nga, all good things come to an end. During his third month there, napansin ko na nagiging cold na siya. I just dismissed it and told myself that he was just busy with work. In my mind, nag-aadjust pa sya dyan.
I clearly remember that night. Kakagaling ko lang ng trabaho ‘nung tumawag siya. I immediately sensed that something was not right. He broke up with me on the phone without even telling me why.
I called him every day after our breakup. Gusto kong malaman kung bakit niya ako iniwan. It was only through a friend who also works in Dubai that I learned why he broke up with me. Raf fell in love with another woman, his coworker. Wala rin daw nakakaalam sa mga katrabaho at kasamahan nya sa flat nya na may iniwang girlfriend sa Pilipinas si Raf. Totoo nga yata ang sabi nila –committed sa Pilipinas pero single pagdating sa Dubai.
It has been more than two years after our breakup. Hindi pa kami nag-uusap simula noon. Ang huling balita ko, ikakasal na siya sa babaeng ipinalit niya sa akin sa Dubai.
Two years na nga ang nakakalipas. Pero masakit pa rin pala lalo na nung nalaman ko na sya iba na matutupad and pangako nya sa akin. Bumabalik ngayon lahat sa akin. Yung halos sampung taong itinapon nya na lang bigla. Yung halos sampung taong ipinagpalit nya sa babaeng nakilala lang nya ng iilang buwan.
Sobrang sakit, TFT, kasi after all these years mahal ko pa rin siya. Naaalala ko pa rin siya kapag dumadaan ako sa mga pinapasyalan namin dati. Gusto kong malaman niya na napatawad ko na siya at gusto kong maging masaya para sa kanya. Pero hindi ko magawa. Lagi kong naiisip na kung hindi siya umalis papunta ng Dubai, siguro ako ang papakasalan niya.
Paano ba makalimot sa isang promise of love? Paano ko matatanggap na sa hinaba-haba ng relasyon namin, hindi pala ako ang pangarap nya.
Thank you and more power, TFT.
P.S. Itago nyo nalang po ako sa pangalang Len.
Best regards.
