Miriam Ming Mia's Lost Picture

When we were in the Philippines last July, we discovered some old photos from some relatives. A photo of Miriam Ming Mia was there. The photo was from a wedding reception somewhere in Manila. Apparently I was the best man for the occasion. I didn't even know then what a best man did. I honestly don't even remember having been in this event. It was some fragment of history that somehow has tucked itself deep in the vortex of lost synapses. So the serendipitous find of the pictures came as a bit of pleasant shock. What with seeing my fragile frame at the time; this wasn't me, rather some figment of the imagination now lurking behind the drapes of memories. Anyway, one of the pictures had the image of Miriam Ming Mia, probably at the age of nine or ten. She seemed to be staring farther away. Her piercing eyes seemed to paint a face of defiance, of a sense of untouchability, or maybe a certain hardheadedness, or: were those just bleak impressions in hindsight? Her gaze could well be one of innocence, of wondering, of being puzzled of the reason for being there, with the people around and the joyous bubbles of the occasion. I have created a short video from the 5 old pictures that I managed to gather, with a background music of 'Makita Kang Muli' ('To see you again'). The choice might have been deliberate on my part. Somewhere perhaps in the deepest corners of my heart, there is this deep yearning to see her again; yes - after all these many years. I felt somehow that the long lost connection must be restored before it becomes painfully late. Before her mother and mine return to the Creator. There was a deep, festering laceration that must be healed. But will it ever happen? I don't really know. I cannot really tell. Maybe somehow, God will one day direct her mysterious gaze into this page and touch her heart. Who knows? God works in the strangest ways. Maybe she will recognize the picture that was long lost and is now found, not to stare at the rare readers but at her directly. We don't care what she felt like at the time; we just want to see you, or as the song says: 'Makita Kang Muli'.