By Heart - Jim Brickman

This is a story why I have always loved my best friend...

There I was in the government office I used to go to. There were a lot of things I couldn't forget in that office and one of them is when I was introduced to this song "By Heart". It was 2005. I was looking for a good song, you know me, music is my life! Then there was my cousin, who, after scolding me and giving me some pain in the head, asked me to record some songs for her. She said I should chose the songs that are good so I chose the song I fell in love with. One of them is this. I know it was the first time she heard this when I finally gave the copy to her. It didn't even mean anything to her, for all I know (that's why I regretted giving her a copy, wink! Just kidding!)

Alright, in person, I will appear to you as strong, liberal, someone rational and someone who will always have a solution to everything. Well guess what? YOU'RE RIGHT! (haha!) But not when I am left confronted by this stubborn cousin of mine. She'll have me so helpless, so weak, lame and dumb... call me all the equivalents. She just knows where to push the button to tone me down. No one has ever did this and I think no one ever will. Despite this, she's a favorite sister. We had a lot of disagreements, and we still have them, but she is what I told you she is.

She just knows when to execute that 1-2-jab-kinda-manny-pacquiao-punch on me. She kicked me in the retina, blew my cerebrum, poked my hemoglobin (I learned these terms from her). I'll be filing a case by the way, serious physical injuries with an aggravating circumstance of abuse to minor -haha!)

Then I provided a space for myself. I left for Manila to work, but after a couple of years being alone, I missed her. When she decided to work there too, I went back to the province. I missed her all the more. One thing remained: She is still my very best cousin -noone could replace. Yeah, we're worlds apart, but she is here embedded deep in my heart. She is stubborn, but with a great heart; brat but with an open mind; quiet but with a strong faith! And have I told you I love her so dearly? I love her.