The Second Summer Never See You Again

We had one rule in college:
"Second summer, same place, same us."

Sunflowers. All-nighters. Coffee at the overpass.
Me, Saint, and the promise we thought would last forever.

Then Second Summer came.
Not everyone showed up.

Two years after graduation, life didn't get easier.
It just got quieter.

Saint is Atty. Zephion Reyes now.
Barely passed. 12-hour days. Still scared before every hearing.
He calls at 6:09 AM anyway: "Still showing up?"

I'm Aie Nishemara Zapanta, RPm.
HR Manager at NU Manila.
Still rejected. Still fixing mental health proposals that get torn apart.

No hug. No kiss. No closure.
Just two best friends who survived Second Summer
and kept the rule: show up.

This isn't romance.
This is about friendship that outlives college,
fear that doesn't go away,
and choosing to show up anyway.

Second Summer starts here.