On Love Letters and Bouquets

By Wilhelm Matthew A. Tan

Ah. When was the last time you received a long letter declaring love and the intent to do so until the clocks stop ticking and the Earth turning? Can you recall having a spray of freshly arranged red roses to your doorstep, much to the amusement of your family as you read the card from the sender? In a world where courtship has been knocked down to text messages and video calls, bouquets and love letters will never ever go out of fashion.

Nothing beats the sight of a girl’s cheeks flushing pink as she shyly looks away when you present her with a bouquet she’s sure to keep a flower from. Text messages cannot replace being able to read affectionate words on a piece of paper she’s sure to take out from a chest of treasures every night before going to bed. Classic and timeless, these will carry on in the love stories of people, fictional and real alike simply because of the romantic appeal it has. As long as people can remember, love letters have flooded the cities of the world from the streets of Venice to the bustling capital of Paris. These express what the sender can never tell his lady love verbally, so he resorts to writing them down, confident that he will not stumble over his words in this manner. Unfortunately, the advent of modern technology has become so mainstream that people have forgotten to return to the basics, relying instead on online communication to relay their feelings. It shocks me to know that there are actually websites containing instructions on how to write a love letter.

Is gifting the girl you’re madly in love with roses with a corresponding number a thing of the past? Nowadays, bouquets are associated with Valentine’s Day, graduations, or anniversaries. I happen to believe that giving your sweetheart a sprig of flowers just because you can is something that should be practiced more. A few hundred pesos spent on her favorite blossoms is a small price to pay for a smile of surprise, which in turn is priceless. There is no greater emotion in the world than the delight you take in seeing her glow in happiness when you show up with a dozen roses after she tells you she had a bad day. Every flower has their own meaning along with the number of it in the arrangement, a helpful indicator of what you want to tell her if you can’t spit the words out.

Write her a letter when you miss her. Get her a bouquet of roses to make her feel special. Let her think of you when she takes a whiff of the ones you’ve given her now sitting on her bedside table. Let her eyes sparkle as the letters remind her of shared cherished memories and assurances of creating new ones together.