The Adventures of Peter Valentine, Part 2

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BY PETER SOLIS NERY
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Wednesday, March 21, 2018
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FIRST published in Panay Balita under my column “Campeon sang Hiligaynon” as “Ang Mga Pagpasimpalad ni Peter Valentine”, The Adventures of Peter Valentine is a seven-part series of flash fiction that I wrote sometime in October 2017.

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The series was occasioned by my 10-day island-hopping trip to Greece. I thought it would be cool to write about Greek men. And my experience of them. Real and fictional.

What’s a fictional experience? I don’t know. Haha. Maybe I just meant fictionalized experience: I met these men; got to know them; with some of them, I had wonderful experiences; and with others, even more wonderful fantasies.

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I like Greek men. And I haven’t even been to Mykonos at that!

I like them so much that I wrote seven of these flash stories. Eight men, seven stories. So, you already have an idea that one of these stories involve a threesome. Or a love triangle. Or something like that.

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I have to tell you this though: There is a particular Greek guy I’ve met but haven’t written about… yet.

I am not obligated to tell you everything. And maybe, some things are better kept a secret.

Maybe!

Just maybe!

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Or maybe, someone asked me not to write about “us”.

I tend to honor such requests, you see.

But also, you see, I may not write about them, but in my stand up performances, I usually talk about them.

You see, I honor requests. I do. I do not write about us, but I did not say I will not talk about us.

That’s why my live shows are always so much fun. I have no problem saying the unprintables! Haha.

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Why seven stories of only eight men?

Time. So many men, so little time.

I’ve actually met (I’d like to say “dated”, but some were really just quickies) more than a dozen Greek dudes in my ten days in Greece. And then, there were some vacationers like me.

Someday soon, I promised myself, I will write about them.

It’s just that life, or daily living as we call it, happens.

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I’m pretty sure I’m going to write about the boys and men I met in my tour of Barcelona, Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Brussels, Bern, Geneva, Milan, Florence, Rome, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Dublin, London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Caernarfon, Athens, Santorini, Rythemno. That’s a lot of cities, I know, and I’m naming them so I do not forget.

But also to show off a little bit. Because, I may be as poor as a rat, but I am pretty well traveled.

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Now, here’s the second story in this series of seven:

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Aga pa nagbugtaw si Peter Valentine sa isla sang Crete. Nauna pa sia sa alarm clock nga iya ginset para sa alas cinco.

Madasig sia nga naghulag. Wala na sang sarang himuun sa iya hotel. Nakaempake na sia bag-u nagtulug kagab-i, kag wala sia sang gana nga magpungku agud mangafe.

Nagcheck out sia, kag nagpatawag sang taxi nga magadul-ung sa iya halin sa Rethymno pakadtu sa porto sang Heraklion.

Alas nueve y media pa man ang iya ferry boat pakadto sa Santorini, apang masobra man isa ka horas ang viaje padulung sa Heraklion.

Isa pa, indi niya sonado ang padulungan. Naglupad sia halin sa Manchester pakadtu sa Heraklion. Kag subung, magapanakayun sia sa Dagat Crete halin sa isla sang Crete pakadtu sa Santorini.

Nag-abut ang taxi. Guapo ang driver. Bataun. May manipis nga barbas kag bigote. Medio huluy ang mga mata. Dalagku ang ngipon kag daw tuman ka lum-uk sang pink nga mga bibig.

Nalove at first sight na naman si Peter Valentine.

Nagpanagitlun sia. Gindamgu sing makadali ang paghalukay nila sang bataun nga driver.

Nagpungku sia sa front seat, ingud sa driver.

Kon masobra isa ka horas ang viaje, luyag niya ang masobra isa ka horas nga pag-ingud sa guapo nga driver.

Wala pa isa ka kilometro ang dalagan sang salakyan, nakuha na niya ang ngalan sang driver: Dimitrios Hatzidakis.

Natukiban man niya nga estudiante ini sang Computer Engineering sa isa ka colegio sa Heraklion, apang nagapuyu gihapun sa Rethymno.

Sa ikaduha nga kilometro, nakuha na niya ang edad sini, ang mga huyog kag mga damgu.

Madamu sang silent moments sa tunga nila nga duha.

Madulum pa ang palibut, matugnaw, kag indi mapat-ud ni Valentine kon ano ang mangin reaccion ni Dimitrios kon magsugud sia palahidlahid nahanungud sa gugma, utug, o pagpalanggaanay sang duha ka lalaki.

Dayon, bangud ayhan nabatyagan ni Dimitrios nga masami nagabalikid kag nagahimutad si Peter sa iya, sia na mismo ang nagvoluntar: “I have a girlfriend. But I guess I’m a bisexual.”

Nagtumbutumbu si Peter Valentine sa sulud sang iya dughan kag hunahuna.

Liwat niya nga gintuluk si Dimitrios. “Great. I’m just gay. And I really like you.”

Makadali sia nga gintuluk ni Dimitrios. “You are a nice guy. I like you, too.” Dayon, ginbalik ni Dimitrios ang iya mga mata sa dalan kag namangkut, “And your boat does not leave until nine-thirty?”

Nagtangu si Peter. “Why do you ask?”

Ginbutang ni Dimitrios ang natuu niya nga kamut sa nawala nga tuhod ni Peter. “If you trust me, I’ll take you somewhere to see the sunrise first. Then, I will take you to the ferry terminal before nine.”

Nagtangutangu si Peter. “I like that. I like that very much.” Dayon, gindugang niya, “I also like to kiss you. I want to kiss you so bad.”

“We will have time for that,” nagayuhum nga sabat ni Dimitrios bag-u niya ginpaliku ang salakyan agud mag-exit sa highway.

Kag didto sa tungatunga sang Rethymno kag Heraklion sa isla sang Crete, sa isa ka barrio nga ayhan Panormo o Panormos gid man ang ngalan, nagwarasaag ang mga bituon, kag nagpamanagbanag sa mga lawas nanday Peter kag Dimitrios ang isa ka bag-u nga kaagahon./PN
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