I remember it clearly. I was at the Milky Way counter at the first ever Shopwise branch in Alabang. I know, that dates this whole thing, because that counter no longer exists - and that supermarket has changed significantly since this happened, the biggest change being the loss of the second floor and, with it, the "walkalators" that was such a cool thing when they introduced it the first time. But anyway.

It was Father's Day. I'm pretty sure we were out for dinner, but there was also a grocery stop. This was a different time, after all; we only had one car and we had to do everything in one go - or at least I think that's the mindset my parents had at the time.

It was a Nokia 7110. The guy waiting for his lunch in the counter had a Nokia 7110. Remember that phone? It was a slider, but more importantly, it had a scroll wheel instead of up and down buttons. I didn't even have a mobile phone back then, which makes sense, because it's 1999, and the 7110 was a new thing, and if you saw someone with it then they must be pretty rich because it was an advanced phone. I mean, it had WAP! But also, it had that scroll wheel!

That fascination meant I ended up watching a little too intently as the guy waiting for his lunch sent a text message. "Happy Father's Day!" it said, in an interface different to that on my dad's phone. It had the letters on the right side and it kept on changing as he texted with the number keypad. I assume that's where the scroll wheel comes in, but isn't that a bit too cumbersome?

"Huwag ka nga tumingin diyan!" my dad said. "Bastos 'yan!"

That... that is also why I remember it all clearly.

Fast forward 24 years later. Of course things are very much different. That supermarket aside, a phone with a scroll wheel is archaic, an antique. And I say this as I use a phone that's five, almost six years old, but was genuinely revolutionary when it was first released.

Also, I am no longer a ten-year-old, although I bet some would insist that I haven't really grown up and am still... anyway, I was at the newly-opened Muji coffee counter at the Shang, having an an-donut - a doughnut with a red bean filling, or to put it even simpler for us, munggo - with my matcha latte. I watched someone enter the space and go to the counter, and I found myself staring at her for an uncomfortably long period.

Is that Abby?

Abby. She was a classmate of mine in college. I'd talk about how pretty she is, but frankly that's incidental, because she wasn't just a pretty face I stared at in between classes. We were classmates, and we sat next to each other, because our sociology teacher - it was sociology, right? - insisted that everyone sit in alphabetical order by our last names. (That always meant I sat in front many times, but then, I did not dislike the idea. I liked sitting in front.) You know what seatmates do. They make small talk about lessons. They add each other up on social media. They exchange pleasantries years after graduation, and then, nothing. That's just how it goes.

Thirteen weeks as seatmates (and many years as close enough friends) meant I'm pretty sure I can tell her from afar, but I have learned to not trust my eyes anymore. I'm sure those are her eyes. But the woman had a face mask on, and frankly, since we haven't met since when we were still students, I don't remember much else. Photos online don't really say much, after all.

And then I realize I've been thinking this through for way too long. We're still friends on Facebook. I'll just message her. Besides, it's almost one in the afternoon and I don't want to pay an extra fifty bucks for parking.

"Abby! Hello! Sorry, random. Akala ko kasi nakita kita sa mall kanina. Ayun lang."

"Hi Niko. What mall?"

"Shang. Muji, actually."

"OMG, ikaw 'yun?"

You mean I was right?

"Thought it looked like you, but last time we saw each other was, like, ten years ago."

I thought it was fifteen years ago, unless there's something in between all that time that failed to sear itself in my head because the circumstances did not click into place. You know, like that time with the guy with a Nokia 7110.

"Ikaw nga 'yun! Sabi na, eh."

Message seen. That was the end of the conversation.