Dear Future Husband

I will never forget when my eldest brother told me sel kusiik ra mo bechik ea kusiik ra chad el di uai ngii. I will never ever forget when my dad told me sel kusiik ra bechik eng kirel chad el meduch el ngara chei meng sechel “take care” ra rengelekel, bechil, mar chedal. Seeing my sister’s husband stay up late nights watching Arirang with my mom, seeing my dad tease my mom on the daily, seeing my brothers bond with their children, seeing how fun my uncles can be (drunk and sober hehe), I start to wonder what my future husband would be like. There’s no perfect man out there, but a man who reminds me of the “sechal buiks” in my life, I would say is a prospective candidate hehe.

WARNING: This was not written in the beat of “Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor so I suggest you do not attempt to read it in that manner hehehehe.

Dear Future Husband,

I’m not in a rush nor do I expect you to step forward from the crowd. Allow me to first paint the canvas of my identity, to discover the hidden treasures within myself. I think of it foolish hoping for a man when I myself am a girl still making sense of womanhood. In a father’s eye, no one will be good enough for his daughter. In a mother’s eye, no man can hold her daughter’s heart as carefully as her father and brother. Intimidated yet? Hehe. So, future husband, if you and I know we’re truly deserving of each other, you’d be brave enough to be yourself not just around me, but my family as well. And… “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends” [Sorry I just had to add this in here, I mean, it’s an iconic song]. Nonetheless, this is not a list of expectations or of getting to know me. To learn and to love another lies in experiencing one’s existence, living in each other’s reality and dreams. This letter is simply a letter of hope and to make known that you exist. And honestly, hopefully you’re Palauan cause soak al betok ar cousins ra rengeleked. I [not yet] love you.

Ma laters,

Yumi

It’s easy to feel discouraged and to lose hope in finding the right one or even just getting into a relationship, especially when [reality check] cheating is constant news in Palau. However, all of the unpleasant banishes when thinking of my nephews having the sweetest and sensitive of hearts, growing into gentlemen and being pretty damn good at spear fishing. Naturally, a smile of hope appears on my face.