Ink and Prints

Chapter 34: Willows of the Past I

Willow trees are magnificent in their rite
How graceful are their serene threads
And some remind the past that's quaint
And turns the willows to things that haunt

-

"Oh, so you're Dr. Yu, another rising scientist," I said to her in a neutral manner as I reached my hand out to gesture a handshake. "Yes, you must be Dr. Del Pilar? I'm a huge fan of your work," she excitedly told me as she took my hand to fulfill my gestures. "I enjoyed reading your papers on Electrochemistry, I believe that those may be a breakthrough if the results were duplicated," I complimented her while I pulled my hand back. "Oh, you. I made those when I was new to grad school." The initial uneasiness died down from hearing her name.

"The President will see you now," the secretary said in a somewhat annoyed manner. We might've been a little noisy. This is it, Luna, it's time to fulfill your destiny. I entered the room and a man in a formal suit greeted me a good day. It's quite obvious that he was the university president. He set his sights on Soleil, Juano, and Yumi; he also greeted them. Everything is just amazing right now, and I'm still in shock. I have met a lot of university presidents when I was young, but this feels different.

"Have a seat, ladies and gentlemen," he said and we sat at the available seats. "Today is August 22, and the Conference will be held  from September 3 to September 6. I will e-mail you your schedules later for the presentations that you will hold." He took some wine and filled the glasses in front of us. "You will also stay at our dormitories within the university, my secretary will lead you to them later so that you will not be lost," he gently said. "I will have lunch delivered, but I must talk to you individually. Why don't we begin with Dr. Del Pilar?" he said and he looked at me. We stood up and went to his table to talk.

"You're really the real deal, eh, Professor?" he said with a humorous tone as he checked some papers. "Is my name really that noisy, President?" I said to him with the same manner of speech that he has directed towards me. "Some of your papers have shaken the Physics community here in the United States, and the other universities must be jealous that MIT was the one to accomodate you during this endeavor," he snidely said. "So what do you want to talk about, President?" I left the question hanging. "Reif, President Reif." He extended his hand and shook mine. "So what do you want to talk about, President Reif?" I calmly asked him. "There is a vacant talk for the symposium, Professor Del Pilar. It revolves around getting women to the STEM field. Our resource speaker for that recently got int a car accident, so she couldn't come. I was thinking if you would be happy to deliver that talk?" he said.

A talk about women in STEM fields, huh? To be honest, women in STEM fields have been belittled in history; Madame Curie was even doubted and deprived of opportunities if it wasn't for her husband. This is really an advocacy that I believe in. "I would love to, President Reif," I excitedly said to him. "Thank you, Dr. Del Pilar. I was quite nervous that you wouldn't like the job," he said to me. "I don't really mind. Plus, it's an advocacy I believe in, so I really appreciate its existence," I happily replied to him. "Alright, here's a schedule, a flash drive containing the presentation, and the keys to your dormitory. I also had lunch delivered here so please wait for everything to finish. If you want to do something outside, please return in 15 minutes for the meal and some final instructions." He stood up, shook my hand, and I stood up to go to the waiting area.

President Reif called for Yumi next to talk to her. I received a phone call while they were talking.

Hmm. Why are you still up, darling? "Bakit gising ka pa, Lumi?" I asked him in a blank tone. "Nagising lang ako bigla, moonlight. Kumusta pala diyan sa US?" he asked me while he let out a yawn. "Nandito ako right now sa president's office ng MIT. Got my instructions. How are you holding up there?" I asked him. "I kinda already miss you, Luna," Lumi replied with a gentle tone. I teared up inside, it didn't have to be like this, why did I choose this so soon? I'm starting to have regrets. "I miss you, too, my dear." I'm trying to hold my tears back. Call me shallow, but not having him by my side at any time feels awful. "You okay there ba?" he said to me with his usual caring voice. "Yeah," I simply replied. "Call me if you need me, okay?" he reassured me, "I'm always here for you, Luna, now and forever. I'll be here, wherever you are." Lumiere is usually caring, some people might be even bored by people like him, but I don't know. I can't invalidate what they feel, but for me if security and assurance is what you want, go with the nice ones. "Why don't you try to sleep again? You might be tired from your birthday," I said to him with care. "Okay, moonlight. Good night, I love you so much," he said to me, I can feel his love with every word of that sentence. "Good night, Lumi. I love you, too," I said to him and I ended he call.