A New Chapter, A New Purpose

 

Eddie and I are building a life together, and part of that journey is bringing our blogs together, too. Our separate stories are now merging into one, and we've found a new home for them. For all our shared adventures and projects, please join us at [https://eddielovesashley.blogspot.com/].

This isn't a goodbye, but a beginning.

I wanted this post to be a tribute to our new chapter, and to the person who helped me find it. The poem below is a heartfelt welcome to this new path.

After this post, this blog will become a dedicated space for my personal work—a place for me to continue sharing my poetry and songs.

The pages here, once filled with just my voice, now whisper songs of you, our shared rejoice. My world of one, a quiet, single room, is now a house where two hearts find their bloom.

You came and found the words I couldn't write, and filled my future with a brand new light. So this old book, so dear, so full of grace, will now be home to memories of this place.

Our new story waits, its pages fresh and wide, a world of "us" where all our dreams collide. So please, come join us, read our journey’s start, where two blogs now become a single art.

Thank you for being part of this incredible adventure. I hope you'll come find us on our new blog and continue to be a part of my creative journey right here.

Closer

As the flight left Oman, heading towards Manila, it was only a matter of time before I was finally going to meet Ashley in person. Instead of feeling scared or anxious... The feeling of excitement was becoming more and more real! But... There was still that lingering feeling of how I was going to be accepted into the country? Why the UK government website didn't state, that you needed to download this app is beyond me. Either way, I wanted to find out a way to make this happen unless... Well... That's the thing I didn't know what could happen! Would they send me back on the next flight to London? Could they accept that I did register on the app and not deport me?

Once coming off the flight, I was then given a helping hand by someone who wheeled me around the airport. Thankfully this person did the app for me and was able to get all the details done. Cue Hallelujah been sung on the airport speakers with a huge beam of light shining behind him Using his phone, he took my details and told me to take a picture of the QR code. Once done, I wouldn't have to worry and I'll be able to enter the country without any worry. Sweet potato fries.... Did that make me feel so much better! And once again, Hallelujah was playing on the Airport speakers! The worry of not been able to see Ashley, been told you can't enter the country... Everything wrong was finally out of my head!

The next thing I did was tell Ashley that I was here but just waiting for my suitcase. Watching on the screen, I was seeing how all the suitcases were coming down with a few going a different direction. Luckily I didn't carry anything to cause issues so I was fine. Still, my suitcase did take a while to get to me. Once it finally did, the man who was pushing me alone in the wheelchair, was taking me outside. My final text to Ashley was that I was heading outside... Unfortunately... I was outside of the WiFi signal. When I realised that the text didn't go through I felt despair again, thinking... What if she leaves me here thinking this was a hoax of me saying I was here. Before Robin could say Holy Signal Issues Batman, I ask the guy can he please text or call her to let her know I'm here! Panicking is probably the best word for this since he could easily say no and if he did... Well let's just say there be this huge hole in the ground that swallowed me up in one go. Picture a tiny bite size thing to eat and gone in someone's mouth... That would be me. Sweating away for his answer in slow motion, he said yes he could!

As the minutes rolled on, I patiently waited for Ashley to turn up. The guy who have been wheeling me saw the car, which is when I noticed, a beautiful lady popping out while coming towards me! Wait... Not a lady, am angel with glowing purple wings behind her back! Holding my stick in my hand, I gave her the biggest hug I could but she had no idea that deep down I was crying inside! Relief is one word for how I felt at that moment, but I prefer to say dreamy instead. We walked towards the car, loading the suitcase and sports carrier bag in the boot. I sat next to Ashley at long last. Finally... Finally!!! The Roc- I mean... I have come home. Yep, home! What some people don't realise is the home doesn't always have to be the place you're born, but where you feel safe. After so long of dreaming about this... It was a reality. Dreams do come true and this was the first step towards it!

One thing I did notice a little different, Ashley's accent. And despite hearing it multiple times... It had an American twang to it. This wasn't a bad thing, but made me enjoy listening to her voice more. How strange is it though, you hear someone's voice over the phone for so long, but then in person... It's a bit different! Maybe she felt I was taller than what she saw on camera or maybe more chubby... I was just happy to be there.

This is an alternative version of the song "Yakap tayo, mahal ko!" Hope you enjoy it!

Eddie

#LDR #LongDistanceRelationship #LoveStory #Reunited #Reunion #FirstTimeMeeting #CoupleGoals #DreamsDoComeTrue #HappyTears #Emotional #LoveWins  #Travel #TravelReunion #AirportReunion #AirportLove #Manila #Philippines #ManilaBound #TravelBlog #TravelGoals #ComingHome #ColorPurple #Hug #LDRGoals #ReunitedAndItFeelsSoGood

Family Matters

Meeting the family was going to be the next day after I landed in Manila. Too soon? Well... I guess so, but to be honest, I was looking forward to it. The first person I spoke to directly was Ben, her brother. But before I knew Ben, I sent a message to her mum saying hello and saying how great her daughter was.

Ashley had been completely open with me from the start. She shared her blog and her YouTube channel, where she uploaded her favorite songs—including Hall & Oates's "Wait for Me (Live + String Version)." Her openness made me feel like there was more to our connection. Early on in our conversations, she confided that she didn't want to live anymore, and the truth is, I understood that feeling all too well. I felt it, too. But at the same time, I could sense her hidden beauty. Maybe I was the key to unlocking it? 

When the time came where Ashley had to go meet the family for Ben's birthday, I encouraged her to go enjoy herself! Of course, I was going to miss talking to her. But at the same time, I wanted her to enjoy the moments with her family. That for me was important because from my understanding, she hardly sees and spends time with them. She took videos of her in the car with her family, with some of the songs reminding me of the music I used to listen to back in the day.

Ben is a joyful person who loves to enjoy himself and make everyone else happy. For me, this felt like it could help Ashley realize the good times ahead! Eventually, around the holiday seasons, Ben stayed over, and I was finally given the opportunity to speak with him one on one! He expressed his love and the times he came to London with Ashley and their other brother. Ben mentioned the horrible Christmas tree, and from there, I started to make it my job to show them around London. Sure, I could make a video, but... I wanted them to see it in real time so they could see around or ask me to go back so they didn't miss anything.

The horrible Christmas tree was there, and it was as disappointing as they said it was. London is meant to be a place where people look forward to things, but this... This... Was an absolute sad joke. Regardless, I took pictures and videos whenever I had a moment to share videos or pictures of various stores. Both Ashley and Ben were concerned that I might be too tired holding the phone while video calling them.

Various places were shown to them and even some of the stores had special Christmas displays. But one thing I always made sure to ask was, did Ben take his medication? Maybe I shouldn't have worried so much, but that was always my way of showing concern. In time, I felt that I made a good friendship with Ben and appreciated his support of me being with Ashley.

What I didn't know was something huge was going on. During this time before the family meeting, Ashley's family wasn't too sure about me, Ben was the one to defend my honor to everyone. In my mind, I feel like Ben was sitting there in the room, like a kettle that's about to start whistling and blow off some steam! 

For me, this meant a whole lot because I can never thank Ben enough for defending me. Knowing that I meant no harm to anyone, he really drove home that I was a good person. Without him, I don't know how much more grief Ashley would have had to handle. Like I said, I'm eternally grateful for him! In return for his kindness, I bought a fridge magnet of London to give him something to remind him, of his time here. 

Eddie

#FamilyMatters #FriendshipGoals #LondonLife #ManilaBound #RelationshipGoals #FindingFamily #LongDistanceLove #TravelStory #BenAndEddie

Catch The Sun

 

Day before I left London, I had a check list of things to get. Namely, the fridge magnets, which for me was one of the most important things to pick up. Whilst at Victoria, I thought this be a good chance to pick up some tea. Mainly because, it's joked about that the British love to drink tea! And no it doesn't rain as much as you thin- Okay it's raining right now... I stand corrected, it does rain a lot here. When I looked at the various flavours, there was one tea set that stood out the most. Containing 6 different teas with pictures of London, this made me decide, this is the best choice to go with!

This lead me to pack the suitcase again but this didn't bother me too much. I wanted to make sure everything was inside and secure, nothing left behind! Famous last words! Before I could go to Victoria, I had to go do my voice recording for a radio drama. I felt disappointed with the voice recording because I didn't feel I was doing enough or getting it correctly done. But knowing I would spoke to Ashley that night, helped me a ton and made me focus on the journey of finally meeting her in person! The excitement, the fact that I'm finally doing this and able to hold her at long last... It's everything I been waiting for! At this point, the song The Final Countdown was playing in my head.

When it closer to for me needing to leave, mum wanted to do a final check on the suitcase and carry on bag. This was to make sure everything was inside and packed away safely. Checking the clock again, I wanted to make sure I got to the airport without any major issues. Soon as an Uber driver accepted my request, I got my jacket on and made my way downstairs. Mum wanted to come with me and decided to hold the suitcase. This worried me a bit because mum always said about how she has issues with her arm. Despite this, she lifted up the suitcase with one arm and kept going forward.

The Uber driver was really nice and we joked about various things. One thing that did stand out for me, was when he was saying about his wife's family realizing the taste of cleaning the meat and how much better it was. As I said to him, imagine saying to them, how much better it taste by just washing their hands... Mind blowing! As he dropped me off, he wished me well and hope it all goes well on my new journey. I gave him a hug because I really appreciate him. He got me a trolley for the suitcase and just been a nice person in general. Nice people still exist, just rare to see them.

Once inside the airport, I was hit with something shocking... Lady at the desk perform some crazy Street Fighter combo move that I never seen before! "Sir have you downloaded the Philippines Government app?" ...The what now? Yep... The App. Not only this, but you need to have this done 3 days BEFORE you fly out! *Cue Mortal Kombat : FINISH HIM!* Well crap! If my eyes wasn't popping out with fear and worry, it finally was! Now I'm worried and thinking well I best to download it now! Unfortunately, the area I was in, the WiFi wouldn't let me download anything at all. In my mind, it felt that I was in a queue, waiting to pick up my delivery, only for the door to close on me. Rage...

Even if I disconnected from the WiFi, the signal there was awful, so I was limited on getting anywhere. Once I was moved to a different section, I finally got it downloaded. However, my phone had developer mode on so I was unable to continue. Not only this, but I also couldn't see the screen due to it been on an background that I couldn't read. Just give me a break now please! When I asked for help, no wanted to or was around to. Yep... There goes those tumbleweeds with the strong winds pushing them along... Sigh.

I bought something to eat, and in one bite, the actual item was stall as hell. Even Costa coffee wasn't happy with me today! Honestly, it was starting to feel like the dream was turning into a nightmare. I didn't get a chance to complain because by then, we was going to be wheeled in a different area, which was getting closer to the plane. Sitting by me was an Arabic guy who didn't speak any English at all. He started asking me questions and I kept saying I'm sorry I really don't know what you're saying. Eventually I said yeah sure they can help you at the desk!

I started to notice people were getting picked up and moved on to the flight with me just left. It was at this moment, I started to worry more. The assistant who helped me at the start, came to me and asked what flight I was on, while making sure assistance came by to get me on the flight. When I was finally board on the plane, I looked out the window, took a couple of pictures and said to myself... To my new beginnings and the next step in my new relationship.

Eddie

#TravelGoals #LondonToLove #NewBeginnings #LongDistanceLove #AdventureAwaits #AirportLife #FinallyMeetingYou #JourneyOfLove #CatchTheSun #BritishTea