Friends that Matter : Joseph

By: Jayson

Note: The essay below is a raw article. There might be syntax error which you might find along the way. I apologize for the inconvenience. The author will be reviewing this article in his free time.

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He calls me kuya. His treatment to me is that of a brother. He is sweet and gentle. He is not ashamed to introduce me to his peers as his best friend even if he knows who I really am. His name is Joseph, my sworn brother and best friend.

We met last 2006, I was 3^rd year college and he was 2^nd year. He was one of the officers in the maritime academy and one of campus idols. He approached me after the debating contest, asked me if I could join their team for a dinner. I joined them and met the other members of the maritime debating team; Hiram, Peter John and Neil Francis. They were all friendly and they told me how they idolized me, Hiram said that if he was just given a chance, he wanted to have a match with me. However, he was not given a chance because they were eliminated in the semi-final round. Peter and Neil asked me if we could have a match after the dinner, while Joseph was just quite in the corner willing to ride-on whatever the group wants. We had a match after the dinner and I really enjoyed that time together with the maritime debaters.

A month after, I transferred to a boarding house near the school. I never knew that Peter, Neil and Joseph were also living in that boarding house. I was just surprise when the three of them visited me in my room. After that day, our bonding grew stronger, but of them all, it was Joseph who became too close to me. He was fun and he was always visiting me in my room every night. We watched TV shows together, ate together and he even slept in my room several times. He asked me if I can be his big brother and the thought of it made me laugh. I was short while he was tall, it would be awkward for him calling me kuya and besides I was also thinking that his co-officers might just laughed at him and might think that we were lovers. Well, we acted like lovers in the eyes of other people but the truth was, we were just brothers. We never had sexual thoughts of each other and it never came into my mind. We hugged and kissed on the cheeks and that was just it. There was nothing special more than that. For him I am his kuya and for me he is my baby brother.

When we graduated, we parted ways. I was absorbed as a college instructor in our school, while he left to continue his On the Job Training at Marlow Navigation. Even if we were far, he still contacted me and kept me updated. He even asked permission from me when he committed himself into a serious relationship with his girl friend.

Now, he is still sailing the seven seas and I am still a lowly teacher. But our communication has not stopped. Nothing has changed. I am still his Kuya and he is still my baby brother.