I remember the day the magic died. But i’d rather remember when it was still there.
Giselle was my cousin. I mean, she still is, but we’re grownups now, or atleast that’s how society classsified us to be.
Two small girls we played in that cramped space in the bodega — a place where nothing is impossible and where dreamlike things can happen. It is the world which only allowed our puppy Sparky, our doll Cleska and a few other selected things that knew how to enjoy a hot summer day.
Our days were simple and inexpensive, but we transformed things easily. The old rice sack filled with dried leaved served as our bed, and the old laundry basket became our new car. What fun we had taking turns to push the basket as Giselle and I traveled around the world.
We had some fancy parties whenever we played bahay-bahayan. While Giselle baked our extra sweet chocolate cake in the oven (leftover pandesal smeared with coco jam inside a shoebox), I got the wine (Sunny grape juice). Bahay man namin ay munti, masaya naman.
We would have long talks about our future. Giselle was going to become a doctor, and I was going to become the President of the Philippines, just like Cory Aquino. Giselle will discover the cure for polio and chicken pox, while I make sure that the Philippines would rise and become the greatest country in the world. Quite a tall order for two girls, but we believed in each other. We would make our dreams come true.
One day, an unexpected thing happened: Cleska suffered a heart attack. Giselle and I weighed the advantages and disadvantages of a delicate operation. We decided to have a heart transplant using a stone from the backyard to replace our baby doll’s heart. Again, the operation was a success! Those days I was sure that whatever tomorrow brings, anything and everything will always be possible. In our little childhood world, life was stable and secure. Life was simple. Life was beautiful.
One game I will never forget is our game Around the World. There, we became treasure hunters seeking gold and riches. Our expeditions would bring us to the deserts of Saudi Arabia, forests of the Africa and seas of the Pacific. In the twinkling of the eye, we would transform into rich businesswomen. we built miniature cities with street signs out of popsicle sticks and scrap paper, and gasoline stations made from empty Chocolait cartons. What little fuel it took to kindle the fire of our dreams. Now, how much it takes just to keep reality alive.
I remember the day I knew the magic died, but until now, i don’t know how and why it vanished. Somehow, it got lost between the textbooks of algebra and physics. Or maybe it flew in with the wind when we each experienced our first kiss. I’m not really sure.
That day, I went back to our bodega, to that cramped space where our world used to exist. I saw the old teacups, now dusty and mostly broken, just like our childhood dreams and fantasies. Somehow, the realities that we faced while growing up caused them to break and be gone forever. Cleska, our doll, is now dead. The place she used to occupy in our hearts is now occupied by bills, relationship problems, and all the other worries adulthood brings.
I waited for the magic to come, but it never did. I sat there for a long time, even closed my eyes, willing the magic to come back. Nothing. Finally, I decided to go out into the real world again. Closing the door of the bodega, I saw Sparky sitting in a corner, now with pups of her own. She, too, is no longer a child.
Things changed after that day. first slowly, then swiftly. The basement bodega was soon used to store forgotten toys, outgrown clothes, old books, broken furniture and maybe soon, wedding gowns.
Giselle and I don’t see each other anymore. She migrated yo the US, while I stayed here. Things were different when we saw each other again last year. The wild free laugh repalaced by awkward giggles. There was little play and more conversation — mostly about boys, relationship probels, fashion trends, and the details of our life. Gradually we drift into a new world, exciting, demanding, sometimes scary and always very real.
I never asked Giselle how the magic died for her. I didn’t want to know.
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:38 am
The only constant thing in this world is change… I’ve also experienced what the the writer has gone through… I used to play and hang out with my friends… but when we entered highschool, the magic instantly died like a candle flame blown by the wind… Even though our houses are only a stone’s throw away, we had never talked to each other for a long time…
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:16 am
I can say that I can relate with this story. I also experienced the same thing with the persona. After I read the story, I felt so sad on what happened with Giselle and her cousin. Being a child is a stage of learning new things, playing with your friend and enjoying life.But all beginning has an ending. The stage of being a child will end and it will go to a more higher level which is the adolescent stage.This is were an individual will face changes in his/her life.In life, all of us can undergo through this kind of change but it is good to know that even if you went through this kind if change you will still remember the things that you use to do before.
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:17 am
I can say that I can relate with this story. I also experienced the same thing with the persona. After reading the story, I felt so sad about what happened with Giselle and her cousin. Childhood is a stage of learning new things, playing with your friends and enjoying life.But all beginnings have endings. The stage of being a child will end and it will go to a higher level which is the adolescent stage.This is where an individual will face changes in his/her life.In life, all of us can undergo through this kind of change but it is good to know that even if you went through this kind if change you will still remember the things that you use to do before. - MAry Jane R. Roldan
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:33 pm
..it was a great and wonderful reading.,, i remembered my childhood memories when i read the story of the two girls that began to mold their dreams in the bodega..,, i almost cried.. maybe because i can relate to the story….
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:55 pm
The magic the cousins shared was their closeness and friendship that seem impossible to break. During their childhood days, they were so carefree - no worries, no problems, only dreams and hopes for the future. But as they grew and became adults, all was different, all had changed, the magic was gone. I could really relate to this article because I also had a cousin named Kylie who during our childhood days was so close to me. We would play anything our minds would come up. We won’t stop playing and chatting until we’re too tired. But all had changed when she and her family migrated to Australia. We seldom talk and share secrets now and there’s the feeling of awkwardness every time. I haven’t seen her since they left for Australia two years ago. The magic had also gone between us. And I badly miss it.
June 22nd, 2007 at 8:31 pm
Like any other kind of love, friendship can be lost within our lives due to neglect or anger or, sometimes, simply circumstances. However it is lost, we often lose a part of ourselves that can never quite be recovered..:(
June 22nd, 2007 at 8:38 pm
Just because friendship fades, it doesn’t mean the love dies. Sometimes, it simply waits.
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:44 pm
It is a wonderful article! It is really what reality tells us. Everything in this world is constantly changing. As child we use to be carefree. What we think is what we do even if it is not the reality. That’s what kid is… I can relate to the article because I had experienced it. When I was that little younger I used to have this friend named Gilda. We were best of friends but then now as we grew older there is that “ilang facor”. I think what Hazel Galang wants to say is that as we grew old we also change. “You’re not the one you used to be.”
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Amazing! It just makes me remember my chilhood experiences. The writer has this ability to connect with her readers… It tells us that the only constant in this world is change. I can relate to the story because it also happens to me..
June 23rd, 2007 at 1:39 am
No matter how old we become, there’s always a part in our heart which longs for our childhood days. The Day the Magic Died states Hazel Galang’s reminiscence of her tender years.
I can’t help but smile while reading the story. I remembered how innocent I was before and how I used to transform my friend’s room into a gigantic space shuttle. We always have fun and when we fight over small things, we say sorry. Happiness was easy to achieve. Now, happiness seemed to be bought, because it costs a lot.
I always think that I could bring back those good old days. But deep in my heart, I know that I can’t. Because all I could do is nothing except REMEMBER.
Sigh…
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:07 am
yeah, i know how fun and important the childhood days are. it is where you are molded and the foundation of the present you. i know that feeling having a childhood friend and being parted by time. but time has its reason, it helps you to grow and teach you to stand on your own feet. and that what happened to me. my childhood friend and me are still seeing each other for we are only in one purok but the closeness of yesterday was now gone. i admit it to myself that he was one of the important person in my past and still even now i considered him as an exceptional friend but i dont if he feel the same as mine. but still im hoping that the friendship and bondings that we shared will be the one that will bring as back together again soon as friend. im hoping he will read this for this is my only wish ..
June 23rd, 2007 at 2:24 am
While reading the story I suddenly reminisce my past with my old friends in Zamboanga…We also have this doll where we treat as our own child and really take good care of. But then when we seperate ways all of those imaginations suddenly disappear…I hope to go back with all those memories but I know it won’t happen…I am just happy coz at least we still have our conversation…As the story says, its not anymore about dolls, games or whatever we talked about…fashion,school and uhm….boys!
A very amazing story!!!
June 23rd, 2007 at 6:01 am
There’s no such thing that’s permanent in this world. I’ve also experienced the same thing not w/ my cousin, but w/ my friend. We always see, play, and enjoy being w/ each other. We don’t mind about the time or what day it is, as long as we’re together, everything seems possible for the two of us. We’ve shared secrets or even problems. That’s how close we are. But everything have changed in just a blinked. What hurts me more is that I’ve discovered that she looked for another friend and it seems like she just forget all that we’ve faced and experienced, even our friendship. Now, we still see
each other, but it’s not like we used to do and act as more than friends but also as a sister. I know we can’t bring the past back, so we must make and treasure the most out of it.
June 24th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
It’s really amazing how huge our imaginations were when we were still kids. We could do anything we want to do and be anywhere we want to be. Anything was possible for us. The story could really bring back childhood memories and make you wish that you could relive those moments. However, we need to grow up and move on. However, we could always still be children in heart.
June 24th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
“Everything passes.Everything changes.” Sometimes we do need to change in order for us to fit in the real world. Reminishing the events sometimes brings us happiness and sometimes sadness.In order to live the life to the fullest;just treasure the happy memories, forget the sad ones and move on what you think you should do.
June 24th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
All of us can actually relate to this. Eventually, our childhood days will be nothing more than just childhood memories. As for me, from playing “tumba lata” on the streets, playing “cashier cashier” and “haunted house”, and combing the hair of my first ever bestfriend Barbie, all that is left in me now is the feeling of wanting to be a child again.
June 25th, 2007 at 3:48 am
awww…how i miss my childhood days. while reading the litarary work, i remembered the memories the i’ve spent with my cousin and also with my friends whom i don’t get the chance to see them all the time especially right now that we are already studying on different schools. how i wish that the magic we’ve shared with my cousin and friends never faded, but we can’t escape from the fact that time changes and evolves. right now, when my friends and i see each other, there is this feeling of awkwardness or being shy among us because it’s not like before that we would see each other almost everyday and play unike now that we see things differently since our minds have matured already.
June 26th, 2007 at 1:36 am
The article was so great…Almost everyone could relate in this kind of story cause as all we know everyone of us has a past which we can’t easily forget, where we still love to reminisce it even thou it is so long ago…All those childhood imagination that we create in our mind are so fun…but sadly it will lost!!!
June 29th, 2007 at 5:08 am
I had my fantasies with my friends during the good old days of high school. But with every fantasy i had, there was no magic in it. Its just like having a gold bar and knowing that it’s just plain yellow. I just don’t have that kind of feeling where i cherish memories of the good old days. As a matter of fact, i don’t have good memories of my friends.
June 29th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I’ved once experience the magic brought me by friendship, the magic that feels like heaven to me, the magic that makes me feel alright and worry-free.
It’s really nice to go back to child hood. Its as if, you don’t need to worry no more the problems of the world.
the text indeed touch every ones heart, because all of us experienced the life of being a child.
The child that gets happy even in small things, the child that easily create a world full of excitement and adventure.
this text just revealed the other face of being matured, knowing all the things, experiencing problems, frustrations in life because relationships and family.
’till now, i am still afraid of facing the real world,
very afraid to let go the tiny winy magic that i believe is still in me.
if that magic will vanish one day,i really hope i have the brave heart to accept it, because today i still treasure the weak, tiny magic in me.
SURELY ITS GOOD TO BE A CHILD AGAIN
it really feels good.
very very nice text
July 1st, 2007 at 6:16 pm
This story will really make your childhood memories come back to life… What the two cousins had experienced was a magic that is mutual to us. We had been there, in that same situation. Like the cousins, we are prodigious in imagining things and artistic in creating a world of our own. I also had encountered this kind of magic when I was young. I had played with my brother and cousins. We played “bahay-bahayan” every summer. It was made from sticks, used sacks and banana leaves. We cooked our food and had a lot of fun. Eventually, after so many years had passed by and we had already grown, I can say that our magic had also died. In this world, everything changes and nothing is constant.
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:09 pm
The piece was striking. I was able to relate with this.
Anyways, change is the only constant thing in this world. We can’t do anything about it. We just have to go with changes in our lives. We grow up, so therefore we should act our age. We can’t forever be in wonderland. We can’t turn back time. What we could do is to carry with us the memories and the lessons of our past because our past is the foundation of our future. Move on.
July 4th, 2007 at 2:55 am
wow. what a great story. we all could reminisce our childhood memories. i can still remember how fun when we were still young. i remembered all of the stupid and foolish things we do. i really remember how shallow i was. but things always change, now we are old and we are trying to go back to the days that we are just full of fun and foolishness. but we cant really go back to our childhood because we are grown ups. if in the past we are just minding our fun games, but now we are facing problems, tests and assignments. how i wish to go back to the times when i do not worry anything.=)
July 4th, 2007 at 5:01 am
Like her,I had so many experiences in my childhood days,,I sTiLL reMember the days when my so called “kababata” playing “sentro or patentero” in the middle of the street with a ruffled hair not confusing the dress we wear.. I coudn’t imagined how those things happened. But in every liitle things we have there is an end and what we called as the beginning of the reality.
July 4th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Is the story based on true experience? I mean its amazing to think that two girls are actually doing the same stuff which I used to fantasize with when I was younger. I was thinking that girls are just reserved for dolls only.^^
Well, i used to hang out with my friends imagining we were driving a space mobile when we were younger. We would imagine that we would be crossing galaxies, meet aliens, and transform our automobile to robots. You know, the Voltes 5 thing. It is very nostalgic indeed. I can’t help but miss those times. But things change. We are now young adults facing the most difficult task in life which is reality. And there is no escaping it. Damn it.
July 6th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
the story was really amazing and i believe that it was happened in reality. i remembered my childhood days, a lot of funs, plays. no worries to think, no problems to solved. all i do is just to let the days passed without thinking what will happen next and how i wish those times will not end, it would be forever. but now i realized, nothing is forever, as the years had passed, things also changed. you can never bring back those times, all you have to do is to terasure those memories that you really value and then i realized as time is gold, we have to make the best of it.
July 7th, 2007 at 6:42 am
yes. our childhood days are very memorable indeed. i can relate to this story because i’ve gone through this. our childhood days has passed and there is no way we can get back and experience it again. it’s time to face reality, we’re now grown ups. time to switch to the new world. those memories will only be part of our past. even though it’s hard, we must face it, for there will be brand new memories waiting for us in the future.
July 8th, 2007 at 1:16 am
Sometimes, we take for granted people who we think will always be there for us. But as time goes by, unconciously, we don’t notice that the gap we have with them grow bigger and bigger little by little which will make the magic we share with them, the magic of friendship, closeness, and love, fade to nothing.
July 8th, 2007 at 1:17 am
All of us can relate to this cause we have experience to be a child… it’s nice that there is an author who makes us remember our childhood memories…
July 8th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
By reading this article, one can reminisce the good things childhood brings. I was just amazed because i thought it was only me and my friends who used to play in bodega, pretending that our dolls are alive (anyway i used to play dolls, not robots) but there are just some revisions of their bodega from ours. we used to put swimming pool (a bucket of water) and a closet for their dresses (a box of bear brand trimmed to be a closet). we also used to made their gowns from old rags and have a mini, doll - sized fashion show. let them talk about boys, silly isn’t it?
yes, it is good to remember those days but whether we like it or not, we need to face the reality and leave that problem- free world,we are not meant to be infants forever ,we must move on and get out from our shells.
July 8th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Reading this entry reminds me that i was once a child, a child full of magical experiences before like the two cousins in the entry.But unfortunately, that magic didn’t last in me because i need to move on to the next level in my life,maturity.Damn,i miss how to be a child full of imagination.
July 8th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Childhood memories are really amazing and hard to forget. Now that we are already grown ups, reminiscing those memories is the only thing we can do. The article can be related to my brother’s graduation song in high school entitled “I was once a child like you”. Even though we can not experience those things anymore, what is important is the memories lives on in our hearts until we grow old.
July 8th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
I love the work of the writer so much! I can really relate to her literary work. Being a child is fun and enjoy. No worries and no fears; just play, play, and play, It’s like you’re on the wonderland, full of laughter and smiles. We were once a child and for sure we keep a lot of our childhood memories. But growing up is part of our lives. As we grow, we become more mature and independent. We slowly understand the real world-no play at all and no more fantasies. We cope up with the everyday challenges inorder to survive-no more bahay-bahayan. Sometimes, life is exciting and scary. But that’s the nature of life. We need to live with it and accept the reality. Though childhood life is different from adult life, the memories of it will still remain. Indeed, experience cannot be bought by any amount of money.
July 15th, 2007 at 1:04 am
The article “The day the magic died” is one of the articles that I can relate to.wELL, i think all of the readers can relate to this literary work since all of us undergone childhood. The story reminded me of my childhood days. Days filled with fun, excitement and curiousity…Experiences that made me complete and had established the person that i am right now. But now that we are already grown- ups, gone are those days. Now, we must face the real jungle- like world.All we can do this time is to treasure our childhood memories and bring this with us to forever!
July 15th, 2007 at 1:05 am
The article “The day the magic died” is one of the articles that I can relate to.wELL, i think all of the readers can relate to this literary work since all of us undergone childhood. The story reminded me of my childhood days. Days filled with fun, excitement and curiousity…Experiences that made me complete and had established the person that i am right now. But now that we are already grown- ups, gone are those days. Now, we must face the real jungle- like world.All we can do this time is to treasure our childhood memories and bring these with us to forever!
July 18th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
I think the speaker was wrong in saying that the magic died… because for me the magic is still there but then they just dont recognize it…or they just look for that magic somewhere without knowing that it is in their front….
January 26th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
WE SHOULD HOLD ON TO MEMORIES.. IT’S ALL WE COULD GET OUT OF CHILDHOOD.