I’m not sure kung may magbabasa nito pero mag-iiwan pa rin ako nito just in case na may mapadaan.
As We Meet is the first novel I completed after years of trying to write one. This is also personal to me because I wrote it during the pandemic, also the time I considered my dark age. I feel so lost and outcast that time, so ginawa kong coping mechanism na gumawa ng fictional character na kapareho ko ng feelings at sitwasyon. Even those people na nakapaligid sa kanya, naka-base din sa mga taong nakilala ko during my younger years. Sa kanya ko binigay lahat ng problema ko, gusto kong mangyari sa buhay, mga tao o bagay na gusto kong magkaroon, etc. In a way, Annelysse was me.
I decided to make it fast-paced as short as 21 chapters. Obviously, wala siyang ibang theme but friendship, which is the sole thing I want to focus on myself. It’s not that I don’t need romance in my life like the others. Pero kasi... alam niyo ’yon, one at a time muna. I believe you can’t maintain a romantic relationship if you can’t keep a platonic one. Sa friendship din dapat nagsisimula ang romantic relationship, e. How are you supposed to love someone if you don’t know them that much? How are you going to be a good partner if you can’t communicate? Ganoon. I want it to be slow. Annelysse fulfilled it at the end.
Whether someone finds this as a good story or not, still, I am proud. Dito ko nilabas lahat ng hindi ko kayang sabihin sa iba. 'Yong galit. 'Yong pain. 'Yong trauma na bigla na lang magpaparamdam sa'yo out of nowhere or kapag ang peaceful ng araw mo. I wrote it all here.
So, kung binabasa mo 'to until here?
Sana may words na much greater sa salitang “thank you”. I also hope you'll have the right friends kasi gaya ni Annelysse, deserve mo rin 'yon. Kung tingin mo nahanap mo na sila, I hope you keep them. They are so rare these days.
P.S.: I tried submitting an initial manuscript of this story. Kung hindi man siya makuha, I'm still happy kasi natapos ko siya. I'll update this part kung ano'ng nangyari.
— Aveleira
BINABASA MO ANG
As We Meet
JugendliteraturSix different individuals who have different ideas about friendship. "Friends are just burden. What's the purpose of having such friends if you can rely on yourself?" "Socializing isn't my thing. People come to me first. The grain itself comes near...
