Mhentz, my fourth brother, and Ching, my only sister—in our brood of six—are the two stars that shimmer and shine on a field called my life.
It is said that when we were younger, Mente [Mhentz] and Nene [Ching] always played together—they shared many moments together, and they excluded me from their games, horseplay and other kids stuff. I hardly remember that.
But if at all, theirs is a friendship worth emulating. Theirs is a partnership that always makes me feel out of place. Whenever I disagreed with Nene, or quarreled with her, Mentz was there to defend her. Mentz always collared me if I didn’t show any respect for Nene.
Mhentz always proved to be Ching's knight in shining armor—and I was the villain that rendered her damsel in distress.
Years from now I will establish a printing press named after Mhentz and Ching. Mhentz & Ching™ will be a successful printing press specializing in academic and sensible publication. It will publish poetry collections, anthologies, and manuals about friendship, about love, about life.
Like the renowned apparel brands in the country folded and hung, Plains and Prints, and the fashion tandem Dolce & Gabana, or the international publisher Hill and Wang, Mhentz & Ching will be a name to reckon with, and it will thrive, I know; and it will sell.
For it is hinged on life; and it is grounded on love.
March 2005
Ciudad Pasig
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