Series on firsts: SUNSET

The first time I watched... and I mean really watched... a sunset was back in '06. I was on a work trip in Boracay. Yeah, yeah, I've heard the "damn you lucky girl" statement one too many times so spare the thought. It's so not the point now.

It was, I think, the end of day 3 of my four-day trip. My "guide" and I were walking along white beach from Anggol to Station 2; We had just peddled our wares to the beachfront shops the entire day. We were both tired and spent 'cause as it turns out, working near seawater wasn't as fun as its cracked up to be. Apparently when you're trying to sell a sunblock by day and a personal lubricant by night, there was no such thing as end-of-the-workday.

So there we were, sluggishly walking back to our cheap-o hotel when suddenly I realized I was walking alone. My guide had stopped, stepped aside, and was starring calmly out to sea. I was about to ask him what's up when I saw it.

The sun, in his almighty red-orange glory, was being swallowed up, slowly but surely by the crisp blue water. Not a cloud in sight. The heavenly body's rays were bright yet dying just enough to not blind anyone who looks too intently. And the saltwater, absolutely still, was just reflecting back the magnificence of the moment. It was beautiful sight to behold. We weren't the only ones who took notice.

To see haring araw, move as if inch by tiny inch, into non- existence, was amazing. The end of the day suddenly meant more. In a matter of ten minutes or so, the work day had turned into my last night in my first ever trip to Boracay. My last night before I flew back to Manila, leaving the working paradiso to return to the hellhole called the city. Suddenly, something had to be done to make remaining hours of my stay magical and meaningful.

That's what sunsets do, I guess... They remind of the beauty behind the ending. Sure, everyone's accepted the fact that everything has an end but not everyone sees the beauty in it. Sunsets, beautiful as they are, mean only the start of the evening... which eventually leads to the start of a brand new day. That takes it beyond beauty. It turns the sunset into a lesson.

I was lucky to have had my very first real sunset in the near pristine beach of Boracay. One of the best spent 10 minutes of my life, thus far.