The Agony of Us[ON-GOING]

Kabanata 5

Tuwang tuwa si Zhan maghapon dahil sa sinabi kong kahit dito ako sa Pilipinas magtatrabaho ay bibisitahin ko pa rin siya sa ibang bansa.

"May isang klase pa tayo bago mag uwian." paalala ko kay Zhan dahil baka sa sobrang saya niya, makalimutan niya bigla.

"Yes, I know!" nakangiting aniya kaya hinila ko na siya.

"Psychology class." wika ko habang umuupo sa likod na katabing bintana.

"Good afternoon!" bati ng nasa mid twenties na prof naming babae.

"Before we start our topic, I want to ask you a simple question." she stared at us for a few seconds before smiling.

Tinuro niya ang isa naming kaklase at tumayo naman iyon.

"Why do you wanna be a doctor?" our prof asked.

"I want to make my parents proud." kinakabahang sagot nito.

"You! Why?" tanong ulit ng prof.

"I want to prove something to myself." the other student answered.

Napadako ang tingin nito sa likuran at nahagip kaming dalawa ni Zhan kaya nagkatitigan kaming magkaibigan.

Una nitong tinanong si Zhan.

"I want to be a doctor because that's the dream I've always wanted." sagot naman niya kaya ako na ang tinanong.

"Senate President, Vicente Sotto III said, we already have a lot of lawyers but we lack doctors. I want to be a doctor because that's what our country needs, I want to help people." I simply answered.

"All of your answers are acceptable but this girl here, her answer is what I'm looking for. What's your name?" tanong nito sa akin.

"Crissellea Harmony Berkus, but you can call me Crisy, ma'am." wika ko at naupo na.

"Our topic for today is mental illness, we'll focus more on trauma survivors." paliwanag nito.

"A trauma survivor means a person seeking to escape overwhelming feelings, because there's no way to explore them safely. Trauma survivors learn to adapt. They develop responses like self-care, but actually coping mechanisms, the best self-care that can be done at that time." paliwanag pa nito.

"What do you think about trauma survivors, Ms.Berkus?" tawag na naman nito sa akin.

Ma'am, hindi lang po ako yung estudyante niyo.

"Trauma survivors often need as much information about a current situation as possible. This may seem intense to others, but we've lived with so much uncertainty around areas were out of control, that having facts about areas we can control helps us feel safe. That's trauma survivors for me, they need information." I politely answered.

"Very good!" puri nito sa akin.

"Hawaan mo naman ako ng sipag mo sa pagbabasa hanggang madaling araw, ang dami dami mong binabasa pero naisisingit mo pa kalandian mo kay Kit." bulong sa akin ni Zhan kaya natawa ako.

"Puro ka kasi kdrama, ako hanggang madaling araw nagbabasa tapos ikaw hanggang madaling araw nanonood!" singhal ko sa kaniya kaya siya naman ang natawa.

Natapos ang araw na iyon na hindi ko na ulit nakita si Kit dahil baka busy, ayos lang naman dahil sa iisang building lang ang condo namin. Kung seswertihin ay baka makasalubong ko pa siya.

Naglakad na kami papuntang parking lot para makauwi na.

"Take out nalang tayo ng food, tinatamad ako magluto." suggest ko sa kaniya at tumango naman siya.