Musta Na?

“Musta na?” I asked my friend.

“My God! It has been a long time,” she said.

Looking back, it has been more than six years since we last saw each other. Yup, it has been that long ago indeed. But I could see that she hasn’t changed much physically – very much like the same way I saw her the last time.

Musta na?

I should have said “condolences”. It would have been the more appropriate statement considering that it was the wake of her Mama. But “musta na” were the words that naturally escaped my lips.

Musta na?

The last time we saw each other was also an occasion for goodbye. It was the day I was leaving for the US for an uncertain length of time. And this time, unfortunately, also was an occasion for goodbye – saying goodbye to her mother who lost her battle with cancer.

Musta na?

She may not have changed physically (and so did I, according to her), but I’m pretty sure many things and aspects in both our lives have changed over the last few years.

Musta na?

An update of things that have happened for each of us seemed to be the logical course of conversation. But how do you start telling an old friend what happened to you for the past six years?

Musta na?

How do you tell things to a friend whom you’ve lost touch with due to reasons too complicated to dissect? Where does one start?

Musta na?

For those Americans who say “how are you?” just as a form of a greeting without the intention of knowing how you really are, this is the tagalog translation. But for us, we really meant more than that superficial greeting.

Musta na?

Obviously, this is a tough moment for her. Being the only daughter, and suffering the loss of her Papa just a few years back, I can’t even begin to imagine the pain this tragedy brought to her. But I knew it wouldn’t be the type of answer I would hear from her.

Musta na?

Words that I uttered when what I really meant was it’s good to have finally seen you again, even under the ill-timed circumstances.

Musta na?

We could only begin answering the question. Bits of information were thrown in here and there to fill in the updates. But we both knew the void created has been too large. We barely scratched the surface of an activity called catching up with an old friend. But hopefully, there can be the proper time for everything.

And as our friends and I left the wake with words of condolences to her, the open-ended question remained.

Musta na?