Maldives (Day 11)

The last day was a daze. We still did everything as if all was well. We ate breakfast, went to our favorite beach hut to lounge, swam for a bit in the cool early morning waters, lounged some more on the deck of our water villa, then we had to do something we dreaded and the mere thought of it sent knots tangling in our guts…pack.
It was painful. I struggled a bit with it, resisting like a spoiled child. I’ve never been on such a perfect holiday, so letting go was understandably stressful. It didn’t help that I was reading “A Dog’s Purpose”, which is heart-wrenching, so I was alternately weeping at the story, then bawling at the fact that we were leaving. We got a few hours reprieve, when our Filipino island host Charles gave us late check out, but we could only delay the inevitable so much.
We were trudging around the island as if we had leaden feet – paying our bills (which made it EXTRA painful on a different level altogether 😱) and saying goodbye to the staff – that was really rough. I hardly knew these people but I was inconsolable in our farewells. When we were finally on board the sea plane, I was watching the island shrink from view, until it became a mere tiny speck, finally disappearing into the horizon.
From Male, we took a flight to Kuala Lumpur, then back to Manila. Everything was a blur. It’s like one moment we were on the beach, and the next we were along EDSA. It’s as if we were teleported while we were in a stupor. On the bright side, we got to see the dogs again, a beacon of joy on a desolate sea of abysmal sadness (sorry for the melancholy, but that’s really how bad my post-holiday doom and gloom syndrome feels like).
So we’re back. I don’t know if we can even top this vacation, or if we should even try. Maybe we should leave it at that, the golden standard by which we measure all others. I’m sure we’ll have other incredible holidays, and who knows, maybe even unqualified better ones, but Maldives 2013 will always have a special place in our hearts, entrenched forever in our pantheon of awesome memories. But my promise to myself is this: no matter how amazing, instead of lamenting past memories, I’ll go out and make brand new ones.