mahal kita
the first time I heard βI love youβ in tagalogβ mahal kitaβ was from a boy. I was sixteen, and I had to ask the internet to be sure what it meant.
and I think itβs strange that I never heard it from my lola or my lolo or my tita or my tito they always told me in english. βI love you."
they told me in tagalog just not with words. with lumpia and pancit and bitter melon that tasted so foreign. with pearls brought from home and stories of their lives before me. with hugs and heavy blankets to keep me warm.
when that boy said mahal kita I wondered if he knew what romantic love meant. I sure as hell didnβt. mahal kita was my family love, though I didnβt realize it at the time.
but mahal kita is what I say to my lola when I look upward to her in the clouds now
because those words that language to me will always mean family.
csk
1/10/19
