DESTINATION

EPILOGUE

"this is the ending

and this is the beginning

of a voice singing

heart and mind that are living

and feet walking towards dreams"

-010519

"So, why do we have to hire you?"

"Hold that thought, based on the recommendations, you are outstanding Mr. Alcantara."

"But, as we take a look on your grades back in college and a year hiatus, we have to make sure that you're fit for this job. We need the best out of every teacher that will work in this school. Can you give that to us?"

"Mr. Alcantara, we have more than ten applicants today, and we only need two. So, what can you offer to the table that the others haven't?"

"Well, sir, ma'am. If we're going to look at the accomplishments of all the applicants and rank them, I'll probably be at the end of the line. Also, I only have two years of experience in teaching in the field, and that hiatus that I had was one of the toughest years of my life. I alienated myself, I could barely do something right and take care of myself. I even had a thought of ending it all, but I realized that I have been looking at life in a wrong perspective. It's not about what happened in the past, whether I accomplished this or failed to do that. Life is not about the past, Life is about now, and what will happen in the future. It's about who I am now, and who I will be tomorrow. To be an educator, the most important thing besides educating the students, is educating oneself."

"And for months of just laying in my room, writing endless amount of poems, getting lost in my own thoughts, an impulse suddenly woke me up. It showed the truth, that there are chances that only appear once, but there are chances that will always remain. And that is the chance to live again, for every second is a chance to begin again."

"And here I am, getting myself back on track, step by step. I want to do what I have always wanted to do, and that is sharing what I have and touching people's lives in a manner that it will help them be a better person."

"So, what can I offer to this school? I will offer everything that I am, not as a perfect educator, but a real educator. I will put my skills in writing and my realizations while teaching Mathematics. For I have realized that this subject is beyond what is, that it is a way of life. I'm offering myself as an educator who learned from his past, solved his problems, and will not be defined by his mistakes, but by his artistic view of life."

-------

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm visiting you for the first time homie."

"Well, respect for that."

"Respect indeed."

"How did the interview go? You didn't go poetic on it, right?"

"Well."

"Okay, you have more interviews to come right?"

"Yeah. And its fine, I didn't really want to be accepted that fast. I just wanted to express myself. And it feels good."

"That's good to hear bro. What will you order eh?"

"What's the best one here in your opinion? I'll have that my man."

"Okay, I'll write white nibba on your caramel macchiato as promised."

"Hahahaha you still remembered that deal. Okay, here's the payment."

I took a seat at the far edge of the establishment. I decided to sit near the windows, just so I could see the beauty of the view outside. The cafe is pretty full, and there's no sign in stopping in terms of customers. I brought out the book that I just bought earlier before I went to see my brother. It was "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho.

After a few minutes, I heard a voice that is quite familiar.

"Is this seat taken?"

"No, go ahead"

I smiled and when I looked at the person who asked for the seat, our eyes met just like it did in a distant reality that I once travelled to.