Dreams Within Us

Chapter 3

Everything is set. Okay na 'yung tickets and requirements. Tapos na rin 'yung initial assessment. Na-brief na rin kami regarding the actual interview and 'yung exam. Parehas kaming kabado ni Aly. Nandito siya ngayon sa bahay to help me finalize all the requirements that I need.

"Excited?" Aly asked.
"Sort of. But also nervous."
"It's okay, love. Everything will be fine." and he just hold my hands.
With that simple gesture, I can't help but smile and feel relieved.
To be honest, hindi ko alam kung anong mangyayari. I'm trying my best to be optimist just like Aly pero ewan ko ba kung bakit hindi ko magawa. Bahala na lang talaga. Flight na namin to Singapore tomorrow so mas lalo akong kinakabahan.

The next day, full force pa ang parents namin na nag-hatid samin sa airport.

"Ingat kayo dun ha and good luck!" Tita Carol said.
"'Wag ka-kalimutan ang bilin namin sayo ha, Sammy?"
Ito namang tatay ko, wala naman kaming gagawing masama.

"Of course, noted po lahat ng bilin n'yo."

My mom embraced me,
"Always do your best, anak. Kayang-kaya mo 'yan."

Biglang na-uplift 'yung self-esteem ko dahil sa sinabi ng nanay ko.

"Oo naman, ma. Kaya ko ito."
"Tita, tito. Ma. We have to go. Kailangan po namin makapila agad." bigla namang nagsalita si Aly.

We parted ways and nakapasok na kaming dalawa sa airport and got our boarding pass.

While waiting for our departure, nag-check muna kami ng mga places to visit in Singapore. Hindi lang naman job interview ang agenda namin dun so we decided to make the most of our trip. Mage-enjoy lang din kami since it's our first time to visit this country. Good thing makakatipid kami sa accomodation since sabi nina Tita Judith na dun na lang kami sa kanila mag-stay.

Hours later and we safely arrived in Singapore! Nakita namin agad si Tita Judith na may hawak pang poster na may pangalan namin.

"Hi, lovebirds. Welcome to Singapore!"

Sabay pa kami ni Aly na yakapin siya.

Resident na dito si Tita Judith dahil matagal na siyang nagta-trabaho dito as a nurse. Kaya niya kami na-recommend sa isang company dito since 'yung partner n'ya ay nagta-trabaho dun.

" How are you, tita? " Aly asked.
" Ito okay naman. Paganda nang paganda."

Nakapunta na kami sa bahay nila Tita. And nilapag na rin namin 'yung gamit namin. Late afternoon na rin kami nakarating dito.

"Aly and Sam, take some rest first. I'm sure pagod kayo sa biyahe. I'll just prepare our dinner."

"Thank you po tita." sabay naming sabi.

"Aly, hindi ka ba kinakabahan bukas?" I asked him since bukas na 'yung scheduled interview namin.

"Tama lang naman. Sammy, relax. We can do this. Makakapasa tayo." he assured me.

Nag-ready lang kami ng mga su-suotin namin and also' yung requirements. Nag-review na rin kami ng konti for the exam.

D-Day of the interview,

Pagpunta namin sa company ang dami na agad ibang applicants. I'm really nervous.
After waiting for an hour, a lady approached us.
"All applicants, please proceed to the examination room."

Bukod sa IQ test, we were asked to come up a brief ad campaign. Then after that isa-isa na kaming tinawag for the panel interview. Naunang tawagin si Aly and medyo matagal 'yung interview n'ya.

"Ms. Sammy Lim, please proceed to the conference room."

And now it's my turn. I keep on reminding myself, "kaya mo 'yan Sam. Kaya mo 'yan."

The usual questions naman 'yung tinanong nila. My strengths, weakness, why you decided to work for this company.

Medyo confident naman ako sa interview. Nag-meet na lang kami ni Aly sa may lobby.

" How was the interview?"
"Okay naman. Feeling ko nasagot ko naman sila ng maayos."
"Great!" Then he holds my hand.

Sinundo kami ni Tita Judith then siya na rin ang nag-treat samin ng dinner.

"Bukas be ready. We're going to explore Singapore!" nae-excite na sabi ni tita.

Yes, my favorite part of this trip. Strolling to different places.

Mayroon na lang kaming 3 days dito sa Singapore so talagang siksik 'yung itinerary namin.

Syempre Tita Judith toured us sa mga famous travel spots here like Marina Bay Sands, Universal Studios, Gardens by the bay, and many more.

And just like that, natapos 'yung trip namin. HR told us na magbi-bigay na lang sila ng e-mail if we passed the final interview and exam.

Nakauwi na rin kami ni Aly. Days passed, pero ito refresh pa rin kami ng refresh ng emails namin.

Suddenly, I received a call from Aly.

"Love, natanggap ako!" tuwang-tuwang bungad n'ya sakin.

"Omg, love! Congratulations! I'm so proud of you."
"Nakapag-email na rin ba sayo?"
"Hindi pa nga e."
"Don't worry, let's wait baka mag email na rin sila. Don't lose hope."
"Thanks, love. "

Nag-refresh na ako ng ilang beses pero wala pa rin. I'm starting to lose hope and just accepted the fact na hindi ako natanggap. But I'm very happy and proud for Aly. Sabi ko na matatanggap talaga siya. Pero syempre malungkot din ako, if ever na hindi ko makuha 'yung work I don't have a choice but to let Aly pursue his career in Singapore at maiiwan ako dito.

The next day, ang una ko agad ginawa pagka-gising ko is to check my e-mail. And I almost jump out of my bed when I saw an email from the company saying that I passed the interview. However, they offer me another job position which is production assistant. It's too different from the copywriter position pero kung 'yun ang match sa capabilities ko as of the moment, tatanggapin ko na rin. Sinabi ko agad kay Aly and in-explain ko rin sa kanya 'yung offer sakin.

"Is that okay with you?"

"I guess so. Okay na rin 'yun. At least I got accepted. Pwede naman siguro akong maging copywriter kapag tumagal ako dun."

"Sure?" he really wants to know if I'm hundred percent sure about my decision.

Uhm yes or maybe no. Pero job offer na rin 'yun, palalagpasin ko pa ba?

"Of course. I'm freakin' sure." I assured him so that hindi na rin siya masyadong mag-alala.

"Okay. But I'm so proud of you! Sabi ko naman sayo mata-tanggap tayo. And I'm sure we will have a wonderful journey in Singapore."

I'm really hoping na maging masaya at maayos ang buhay naming dalawa dun.

Nasabihan ko na rin ang parents ko about the good news and they're so happy for me. Nauna pa ngang balitaan ni mommy 'yung mga amiga n'ya bago ko sabihan 'yung ibang kaibigan ko.

We have less than a month to enjoy our stay here in Manila since urgent na kaming kailangan ng company. The inseparable bff, Tita Carol and my mom, decided to throw a despedida party for Aly and me. Ayaw na nga talaga namin since we're both introverts. And you know, we hate parties! Pero wala nag-insist talaga sila so pagbigyan na lang.

While they're so busy preparing all the things para sa party nakaupo lang kami ni Aly sa may veranda namin.

"Grabe no, highschool, college, and hanggang sa work magkasama pa rin tayo." Aly said while still looking from a far.
"Aba, ayaw mo?" kinurot ko siya sa braso dahil parang nagre-reklamo pa siya.
"No, actually I'm very happy. At first, may hesitation pa akong tanggapin 'yung offer kasi maiiwan kita dito but now that we're going there together sobrang masaya ako. And I feel better as long as I'm with you, Sam." nakatingin lang talaga siya sakin while saying those words. Sa mga ganyan ako natutunaw e. Pero totoo naman, regardless of any obstacles na haharapin namin dun I know I'll be okay as long as I have him.