Para kay Isla,

Cedric

2013, August

Nang i-announce ng School Principal after flag ceremony na ang host community para sa Annual Immersion Education Program ay nasa ibang isla, we signed up the second we heard. Months just flew by and before we knew it, we were already looking for our bags at the airport. Cedric was one of the many locals who volunteered for the program at nakilala natin siya on the first day. Personality wise, complete package. One of the friendliest and most approachable. He seemed to know everything about the island, and the people.

Physical-wise, hmm. Well, matangkad. Kayumanggi. Brown-haired. Though slightly gap-toothed smile, may dimples naman... Pu-pwede na. 

Over the course of three months, marami tayong natutunan sa kanya about the island - how people make a living through sustainable farming, fishing, and working on rice fields. Natutunan din natin sa kanya ang sitwasyon ng kanilang medical community. Kung gaano katagal ang dating ng mga gamot at medical fund para sa locals, at kung gaano ka-limited ang kanilang health education. 

To me, Cedric became a good and trusted friend. Parang kuya nga ang turing ko sa kanya. But to you, Isla, he became someone else.

As days passed by, you grew closer to him. Nakikita ko na iba na rin iyong pagtrato niya sayo. You would laugh with him at jokes I could not understand. You would share funny experiences through discussions I was no longer part of, and it felt as if everything was happening right in front of me. Like events occurring in a dream. You began to call him Ced, too.

One night while strolling by the beach, nakita ko kayo together sa loob ng Volunteers Hut, nagkukwentuhan. Nagtatawanan. Honestly, in our four years of friendship, I have never seen you so happy and so glowing as you did that night. Since then, you began to look at him differently- as if time stood still and Cedric was the only person left in the world.

That was the first time I learned about love, Isla. Through seeing you, my best friend, fall in love with Cedric.