xoxo

It was my mobile phone's message alert that woke me up this morning. Still half-asleep, I reached for my unit and attempted to read the SMS.

"Another update from Gossip Girl," I mumbled as I scrolled through the message:

Maputi, CPA at nasa New York daw ngayon - yun ang nabanggit daw kay Petra. Kaya eto namang si Petra ang naisip is si Jaypee. Single ba yun? Nakita daw sila na magkasamang umalis pagkatapos nung party niyo dati. Tapos may tumawag daw kay G nung gabing yun, hinahanap si Jaypee - nagpakilala na asawa niya.

I sighed as I realized how this has spiraled out of control.

It was only last Monday when I was made aware of the latest scoop by Gossip Girl. She sent me a teaser message but I can tell from her tone that she's slightly hesitant to fully disclose the supposed information. It was about a close friend's current situation.

Gossip Girl: Me alam ka ba?

MakMak: Marami akong alam pero hindi ko alam kung pareho tayo ng tinutukoy.

Gossip Girl: Tungkol kay *****. May nakukuwento ba siya sa'yo? Alam mo ba kung meron siyang boyfriend?

MakMak: Alam ko me boyfriend siya, matagal na. Pero hindi ko naman inuusisa kasi hindi naman siya nag-o-open up tungkol doon. Hindi naman ako intrimitido.

This text conversation went on intermittently for days because Gossip Girl was second-guessing her decision to spill it out. The news was getting stale so I told her Thursday night, that it was okay, that I didn't need to hear it anyway. Not until my close friend is ready to share her issue.

That was when she cracked. Nobody could ever stand not being wanted to be heard.

As always, my initial guess was correct so it was a bit anti-climactic. She added that she was just worried about our friend. Considering the circumstances and other elements at play, Gossip Girl expected ***** to be better. I just told Gossip Girl that whether it was true or not, we should just be supportive. I highly believe that being in this situation at this crucial time was the last thing on her mind. And it doesn't make her much less of a person than any of us.

And now, another friend has been dragged in the drama. So I decided to step in just to clear, at the very least, another name.

MakMak: Okay, first Jaypee is not married. It was his girlfriend who sent G a message. Anyway, Jaypee did leave with ***** that time. But I was with them. The three of us initially wanted to go home but since it was still early, we decided to hang out at Blue Wave. We ate at Chowking, Jaypee's treat and stayed there for at least two hours. After which, we dropped off Helena at her place. It was I who went home with Jaypee. Hehe. Joke. ^^

More often than not, idle talk or gossip causes more harm than good because of the high possiblity of the story to contain errors, exagerrations, and other variations from the original information.

Gossip Girl: Ganun ba. Wrong information pero yung nga, may girlfriend nga ata siya. Baka nga hindi si Jaypee. Hay, kawawa naman si ***** if ever lalo na si *****-***.

Given *****'s condition, it will be impossible for her not to be gravely affected should this rumor reach her. I cannot fathom how damaging this is but loosely basing on similar experiences, hurtful words tend to not only get through one's defenses but it can also cripple one's morale.

Words. Tsk, tsk.

They're like guns, they're much more dangerous when left in the hands of the ignorant and malicious.

MakMak: Yeah. Just be supportive. She's a fighter - she'll get through this. She deserves to be happy.

Hey, if words can kill and break, then it can heal and mend.

After a few seconds, my mobile phone alerted me once more of an incoming message. I thought it was from Gossip Girl.

It was from Globe. My Unlitext has already expired.

*******

POSTSCRIPT. The name Gossip Girl is not meant to fully characterize the person I've had the discussion with in this entry. She's also a very close friend of mine. And she should not be judged as a gossipmonger. As mentioned in the post, she was just concerned for our friend's welfare. I just deemed the tag appropriate for the topic.