I used to have a friendâshe has three kids.
There was a time when I was unemployed, and most of my days were spent hanging out outside the house. She didnât have work either, and neither did her husband. Somehow, we clickedâmaybe because we found humor in our shared struggles of being jobless.
She wasnât rich. Neither was I. But we had each other, and Iâve always loved being around kids. Iâm good with them. She had three daughters, and her youngest was just around 8 or 9 months old at the time. I would often carry the babyânot just because I loved babies, but because I genuinely wanted to help. Iâd take care of her bunso, let her sleep in our house, feed her.
Weâd often invite them to eat with usânot out of pity, but because they started to feel like family. Weâd even lend her money just so they could buy food, because there were days when they had nothing to eat. Walang trabaho, walang kita, walang makain.
Then I got a job. But nothing really changed in how we treated them. Sure, I had less time because of work, but we still made sure to check on them during meal timesâask if theyâd eaten already, and if not, weâd either invite them over or send them food.
We also encouraged her to apply at a BPO. She didnât have much confidence, but we did our best to push her. Eventually, she got a job too.
But as time passed, she started to distance herself. At first, it was understandableâwe both had work. But eventually, she stopped acknowledging us completely.
Was it because she finally had money?
I still remember one thing she said during a fight she had with another person who once helped her:
âHindi naman utang na loob yung mga tulong na binigay niyo, kasi kusa niyong binigay.â
I wasnât even the one she said that to, but it stung.
She and my partner had a misunderstanding. My partner warned me about her attitude, but Iâm a softy. I saw her like an older sister, so I still kept in touch. Iâd lend her money again when she needed it. Iâd give her food again when she had noneâespecially when she lost her job again.
Then she found work once more. And this time, when we needed helpâsimple things lang like asking for change or a small amountâshe couldnât be bothered.
Still, we gave her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she didnât have extra.
When we transferred to a new company, we convinced her to apply too because we knew she needed the job. I even referred her. She almost missed her final interview because she didnât have money for fare, so I booked her a motorcycle ride myself, just to make sure sheâd make it.
At first, everything felt like the old days again. But soon after, we found out she had been talking behind our backs at work. We donât even know if the stories were exaggerated or twisted. And againâjust like beforeâshe started ignoring us.
And today⊠she completely ignored me.
She canât even pretend she didnât see meâwe were literally beside each other, facing each other.
Itâs disappointing. After everything.
I didnât expect anything in return.
But I never expected to be treated like I never existed.