The 8-Shaded Rainbow

by Jenny S.

    “A cluster of beautiful souls, a rolling circle of comradeship, a friendship well-defined” – That is what they are long before I met them all. I was the “rookie.”

    Janelle. I met her first and then the rest is history. It wasn’t brain surgery to belong. For one, everybody talks the same language (except of course, for the few Canadians who made it to the circle somehow.) It didn’t take so much of an effort for me to fathom and single out that sole thread connecting all of them, or should I say, closely-knitting them altogether.

    My first grand getaway with the group was the trip to Banff – a national park located in Alberta Rockies, 126 kilometers west of Calgary. It is the second highest elevation in Canada (the first being Lake Louise.) Oh, how I enjoyed gazing at the mountains snow-capped and smoky, so with the hot springs, immaculately-clean, reflecting the perfect images of its mountainous surroundings. Only the coolest hues of blues and greens soothe my eyes all throughout the climb.

    But hey, I am not all that senile come to talk about this group of people I am with. Amidst so much warmth brought about into my heart and soul by the glorious and elegant natural beauty of the skies and the mountains, I have an extra special eye looking only at the many stories of lives unfolding in front of me as the climb goes higher and stiffer. Not after long, pieces of a giant puzzle funnily-rained down, pouring hints, washing off the facade.

   There are 7 girls in the group, I was the 8th. Not everyone made it to the trip, however they could have wanted. These girls are equally-lovely (let us just count me out without giving the impression that I am not lovely myself...just kidding...I just wanted the spotlight directly on them first.)

    Maya is visibly having fun with Edward. They are inseparable. Hugs and kisses are freely given out. They are careless, they are free. She has the face of an angel, in her late 20’s. He is a bit younger at mid 20’s. But heck! They look good and happy together so I told myself, I can give them that. I mean, just look at them: animated, airy-as if their feet are not touching the ground. Love or Lust, who really cares? Oh, I can totally be happy for them. Why not? Yeah, why not if only I have known earlier that she, is married and is a mother to a 10-year-old child back home in the Philippines. And as if to make this affair more colourful, he, has a new-born child with his girlfriend before he left for Canada a few months back.

The journey goes on.

I lost count on how many times we have had to get on and off the monster truck to take pictures of the breathtaking panorama along Fort Sasketchawan and on, still on our way up to Banff.