WHAT A STRANGE COINCIDENCE!
Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat.
- Kipling, The Ballad of East and West
About two weeks before I left for London on December 1, I accidentally came across a certain Mark Layson on a signature book I was updating at work. As it was a case of an amendment for a deletion, I hesitated for some time whether or not to make a call because I was not so sure if he were still working in the same company. In the end, I decided to give it a try. I couldn't remember how many times my heart missed a beat when I heard him talk for the first time. He has a genuine English voice without any trace of foreign accent that I could recognize easily. Even though I was breathless and speechless for a few seconds, I was able to make myself understood on the purpose of my call. Then, I inquired if I could visit him at his office in the course of my forthcoming visit. He was too kind to oblige to meet me and even gave me his e-mail address.
On the next day after my arrival, I went to meet a colleague from our London office for lunch at the Barbican Centre. Afterwards, I proceeded directly to Mark's office. The receptionist told me to wait at the lounge while he called him up to come down. At first, I thought I'd be meeting somebody who'd be of mixed European and Asian blood. On top of that, I was somewhat surprised by his rather warm and outgoing personality when he saw me. As he must have just returned from his lunch break, he invited me for a few minutes walk to the nearby park so that we could have a heart-to-heart talk concerning the question of our ancestry. We're both surprised when we discovered that we were born on the same day, but with 29 years apart. What a strange coincidence, isn't it? Before the end of our meeting that afternoon, he invited me for a drink the following Thursday.
On Wednesday morning, I passed by the Philippine Embassy in order to investigate on the dates when the British came to the Philippines during the Spanish regime. The cultural attaché was too kind enough to oblige and furnished me the necessary data that the British troops under the command of a certain Admiral Draper occupied the country for two years between 1642 and 1644. From this information, I wouldn't be surprised at all that one of the sailors could be my ancestor who must have left his imprint after a wild goose chase in the islands before returning and settling down in his native soil when their ship sailed back to England.
Mark and I had a good laugh when I told him about this the second time we met that it's very likely we share the same ancestor. I was so happy and proud that I finally found out the origin of my name. From the beginning of my search, I was of the opinion that it was Scandinavian, instead. After my visit to the Museum of London on December 5, however, I discovered that England was invaded by the Vikings in the 9th century. Who knows what's next?
I wish somehow Kipling were alive today so that Mark and I could invite him for a toast on the occasion of our meeting!
