Last Letter of Summer

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"Grade 12, wala pa ring pangarap, nabudol lang sa ABM. Pa'no na 'ko nito?"

Iyan ang buntong hininga ni Calliope bago niya ilagay ang gamit sa mesa. I laughed a little as a response to what she said. I also put my things on the table and our eyes met when I sit on the couch, next to her.

Kagagaling lang namin sa campus dahil nagbayad kami ng enrollment fee. Ayaw pang umuwi ni Calliope at tinatamad naman siyang pumunta sa mga pasyalan kaya nandito kami ngayon sa bahay.

"You still have a few months to choose between numerous courses related to the ABM strand. Simula pa lang naman, wala pa naman tayo doon sa haggard phase na nage-entrance exams na sa ibang university kasabay ng pagt-take ng finals. Take your time, process your mind to think so you won't have regrets in the end." I smiled as I tried to cheer her up.

Muli siyang bumuntong hininga matapos ay tinakpan niya ang mukha niya gamit ang dalawa niyang kamay. She appeared to be frustrated, I pat her back because that was only the thing that I could do as I tried to calm her.

"Pa'no kung wala talaga sa ABM? Baka nga naligaw lang ako rito e'." I could sense the anxiousness in the tone of her voice.

"Mismatch," I suggested.

She removed her hands from her face and she looked at me with her brows furrowed. "Negative naman no'n, hindi tugma 'yung strand sa course. Ano pang sense ng senior high kapag gano'n?"

"If may negative off course may positive." I tried to make the vibe positive. "One of my block mates turns mismatch as an opportunity rather than a drawback. He enrolled at the ABM strand to have knowledge regarding the fundamentals of accounting and the flow of organization and management because he wants to have a pastry shop someday. However, in college, he will take culinary arts as his course. Instead of TVL, nag-ABM siya para kung magkakaroon man siya ng shop, less expense kasi hindi na siya babayad ng tao para umintindi ng sales and kaya niyang patakbuhin 'yung sarili niyang business ng siya lang mag-isa."

Tumingin lang siya sa akin. At this time, I know she still has more questions in her mind because I still couldn't see the satisfaction in her eyes. To soothe her even more, I gave her a hug.

"Smile ka na, I know that everything right now feels uncertain, but there are tomorrows. There are possibilities that you might find the answers on one of those days." I looked at her with bright eyes.

"Ang galing mo talaga!" Dahan-dahan kong nakita ang ngiti mula sa labi niya. I made it, she's already wearing her smile again. "Thank you Kaiya, babae ka nga talaga kasi lagi kang tama. Totoo na ang sagot ay nasa bukas... Kaya bukas, lalandi na ulit ako! Ang sagot sa problema ko ay love dahil love is always the answer, love is always right."

I simply forced a smile, even though my head was swirling with question marks because of what she said. Even though I didn't fully comprehend what she was saying, I suddenly brimmed with joy since she had already regained her smile and positive demeanor.

"So dahil about love, kumusta naman yang love life mo?"

Napaawang lang ang labi ko sa pagkabigla dahil  sa sinabi niya. That was a nice segue, she's really great at topic shifting.

Umalis ako sa pagkakayakap mula sa kaniya. "Do I have that?" Kunot noo kong tanong.

"Sus," bahagya niya akong siniko. "Ano na bang level niyo?"