In Time With You

NINE: SHIFT

"Sunrise!" Tawag ni Sangria sa bunsong kapatid as she sprang from the sofa bed. It was a Wednesday, one week and three days after the Zambales trip. She kept herself busy looking for a new career opportunity. And just in time was a job offer as a University Researcher sa isang kilalang institution sa Iloilo.

"I got the job!" She squealed when her sister appeared.

"The one in UP Visayas, ate? Eh so paano pala? Lalayas ka na naman?" Her sister probed.

"Yup, the research job. Ehhh, it's not as far as Europe. Sayang din, o, maganda kasi yung project. Plus, alam mo ba na UPV is in a beachfront? And there are a lot of other beautiful beaches in the south." Pangangatwiran niya.

"Nyek, beach lang pala habol mo ate, ehh. Lapit-lapit ng Bataan at Zambales." After she told her the whole narrative, her mischievous sister always finds an apportunity to inject the place and a piece of the incident in their supposed harmless conversations. But for a while, she learned to brush it off. "Hay nako, Ate. Sigurado ka bang yan lang ag dahilan kung bakit ka na naman aalis? Or another takas tactic?"

She jokingly pulled her sister's hair, "Alam mo, if I learned something from that trip, it's to be more matured and look for stability. It sounds awful, Sunrise, pero alam mo ba nahihiya ako sa sarili ko everytime I hear how my classmates talk about their lives... of how they seem to get everything together already? And yet, here I am, still trying to figure shit out."

"Ate, stop that. Stop comparing yourself to others, okay? Life's not a race." Sunrise reminded her. And she can't help but recall Del as he said something similar.

She sighed, "Sorry, you're right, love.... Naisip ko lang, this opportunity in the University might be the new start I need so that I can plant myself somewhere and build roots to stay. The offer is initially project-based pero may posibilidad ng regularization at tenure. O, para hindi na ako takas nang takas, di 'ba?"

"ATE? You mean, you plan to stay in UPV for good...? Ano ka?! It's a plane ride away. So layo!"

"Arte, arte. It's JUST a plane ride away, okay? And besides as if naman mami-miss mo ko."

"Of course! Baliw ka talaga. Pero ate ha, kapag nagsawa ka na dyan you're welcome to stay here." Her sister assured.

But she was uncomfortable with her words, "Magsawa? Sunrise, I'm already thirty. And I still don't have a place of my own. Konting adversity, I take flight. If our parents are still here, I can imagine their disappointment."

Lumamlam ang mga mata ni Sunrise and her sister gave her a hug, "Ate, please, stop pressuring yourself okay? So what if you're thirty?! You're witty, spontaneous and free-spirited. You're not taking flight, but you're actually taking risks."

"Time will come that we ought to grow up, sis. And that's what I'm trying to do now."

Her sister heaved a sigh of concede. "Okay, ate. Alam mo naman na I'm always rooting for your happy. But also, I've been getting messages from Ate Chit at iba mo pang high school friends. Pwede bang i-activate mo na ulit yung mga social media accounts mo? Kausapin mo na sila, oh. Ate Anj also messaged me, let them explain."

Sangria felt a squeeze in her gut, dalawang linggo na siyang walang kinakausap na kahit sino sa mga kaibigan niya. Mas mahaba pa kaysa sa noong nasa ibang bansa siya. But she knew has to face this one way or another. "Wag muna ngayon, ha? I still have to sort a lot of things by myself. But, I promise I will talk to them. And besides, I have a contact — si Raq."

Sunrise was puzzled, "Si Ate Raq? I didn't know you were close? Ergo, I didn't know you were friends after high school?"

"Okay kami. Roommates kami sa Zambales, I gave her my number during my stay tapos nung kinamusta niya ako last week, I replied to her kasi okay naman kami. I gave her my new number so were still talking now. And it's good that she did not gave it away dun sa iba." Ria informed her sister.