“Wag Na Lang Kaya” is one of True Faith’s songs that they released in 1994. For someone like me who is fortunate to live through the 80s, 90s, and the present generation, I can vouch for how some guys tend to be coward when it comes to courtship. The 90s is an era in between conservatism and liberalism. Then, of course, the Philippines was adjusting to globalization, so we had more access to information about how the rest of the world was doing in terms of love, dating, and related matters.
Nais ko ay magpakilala sa iyo.
At ipahiwatig ang nilalaman ng puso ko.
In college, I had this board mate who had a secret crush on a girl who happened to be our board mate, too. The girl was one of my closest board mates, and he used to ask me a lot of questions about her. Ironically, they’ve known each other since high school but it was only in college when he felt that intense attraction. He wanted her to know that things had changed after high school. Therefore, he thought that maybe introducing himself to her again would be a good move to break the ice.
Maunawaan mo kaya
O baka sampalin mo lang ang aking mukha?
Nagdadal’wang isip na
He knew that she had a reputation for dumping suitors. He didn’t want to suffer the same fate. He asked me one time, “Iris, why don’t you ask her what she thinks about me?” Being a newbie at that time, I did! I asked her what she thought of him–all I got was a small frown not out of irritation but out of confusion. In short, she was clueless about what I was talking about.
Huwag na lang kaya?
Huwag na lang kaya?
Assuming the role of Cupid, I told him that she seemed to be not interested in answering my question. Oh, I remember how his facial expressions shifted from excitement to loneliness. The foggy Sunday afternoon must have added to his aching heart. He blurted out that maybe the best thing to do was just to pretend that he didn’t care about her. He wanted to stop talking to her. I told him that she might take it negatively and she would never speak to him again.
Nais ko ay i-alay sa iyo
Ang puso ko na umiibig sa iyo
Like a story from the book, he pretended that he was still the same old boy that she knew from way back. He wanted to get her trust by acting like she was nothing to him. But of course, I knew how much he wanted her because I was the one-sided Cupid.
Ngunit ‘di mo na yata kailangan ng gan’yan
Mayro’n ka na yatang kasintahan
Naninikip ang tiyan
Then one day, he brought me some donuts because according to him, it was going to be a long night of conversation about his secret crush (Sunday night was my only free time).He asked me if I knew about her frequent dates with another guy that we both knew. I told him that yes, I knew that they were going out for dinner but I did not make a big deal out of it. In between Bavarians and coffee, we argued whether her going out with the other guy was something that he should worry about. A month later, I told him about the bad news.
Huwag na lang kaya?
Huwag na lang kaya?
Ngunit ‘di mo na yata kailangan ng gan’yan…
“Being torpe saved me.”
He said that if he were brave enough to tell her about his feelings, he would lose her friendship. Her relationship with another man marked the closure of his secret desire to be with her.
I wonder if he would have done the same thing had it happened today because most men are no longer torpe when it comes to dating. Perhaps he would send her good morning and good night emojis to let her feel that he cared for her. Maybe he would make a tiktok video about her reactions to his struggles.
The World of Second Chances 