Strange/ Beautiful

She will always be a little strange, this girl named Mariel. We are not biologically related but even now, even after seven years of separation, we remain connected by an umbilical cord far stronger than biological.

As freshmen at university, we had lots of fun tearing away at each other.

Her: Your bucktooth makes you look like a rabbit.
I: It’s my lucky charm. Don’t start. I might start describing how your odd facial shape makes you look like a mango.

Her: You shouldn’t have tagged along. You’d only disgrace yourself. You can’t carry a tune.
I: I don’t force myself to, like you do.

Her: Why is Arthur Y. walking you to class?
I: He, like many others, worships me. Why shouldn’t he walk me to class?
Her: Of course he worships you! You’re the only one who gives him hope he looks normal, aside from his mother, naturally.

I: (after seeing her new hairdo) Congratulations! You now look like a little boy.
Her: Do not pretend to be an authority on good taste. You are from Bohol.

Mariel and I, we still verbally cut each other up these days, but it’s no longer as enjoyable. We’re older now; we’ve come to realize what a truly wonderful person the other is, so our insults ring hollow even to our ears. Whenever we swap insults, they’re always half-meant. So, they don’t sting at all, and some days, they’re not even fun.

How do I describe Mariel? She would sooner perform self-mutilation than admit she loves me. But she didn’t talk for years to a girl she’s been friends with since kindergarten, after this girl dated my first boyfriend while the guy and I are still together.

Mariel works for a bank now. On weekends, she teaches Business English at a university in Davao. She gloatingly told me the male demographic of her classes has registered a hundred percent attendance since summer classes started. Just recently, she signed up for mixed martial arts. She placed third in a local tournament. "Not bad," her sensei said, "for someone who’s only been doing it for three weeks."

Ah yes, I have always suspected she has a natural talent for beating people up. I look forward to seeing this strange girl again tomorrow. We will have our feet and hands french-tipped, and should the attendant ever scrape on a cuticle too roughly, I promise to stop Mariel from beating the girl up to a pulp.