YOUNG VOICE
Of jumbo-sized crayons and pancit canton
I smiled at the simple photograph that lie between the pages of my Chemistry book. I have an exam to prepare for, but I did not pay too much attention to how chemical reactions were formed or how to calculate the moles of a substance. My thoughts were rushing along the river of cheer; a charming discovery was made just that morning. That simple photograph was taken some years ago. I was innocently projecting in a white puffed blouse and blue overalls, my kindergarten school uniform.
There's a charming little girl peeking from behind. She was my classmate and seatmate during English class, Christin Hope.
I felt a sudden rush and tingling when I met her again in college. Time has aged the childhood memories we once had. Both of us couldn't even remember much, but fate had drawn us closer, weaving the loom of a deeper friendship.
I realized that it wasn't just the two of us who shared some childish giggles and precious playtimes. Kathryn and Janus shared their first singing of ABCs. Rose Anne and Marinel did finger paintings together.
I couldn't help but widen the already stretched grin on my face, when I pondered on certain sweet dumplings. We once got to know each other in ways of playtime, yet, now we got to know each other once more in ways of buko juice and pancit canton. That's our regular remedy after a nose bleeding subject of Chemistry 201. The course of interactions may be different but the same objective of seeking a friend and a confidante is something common to us. We once shared jumbo-sized crayons when we drew our first stars. Now, we share key answers while cramming in assignments and beating deadlines. The journey of symbiosis may be growing mature but the same desire to help and to be helped reigned in our hearts.
We may be in college but we still play chase and hide and seek when no instructor is watching. We all still clamor and runt like babies, when we were to study a dozen chapters for the final exams. We still crack jokes and put out tongues at each other when a conversation is starting to get impenetrable. We still remain friends after many years of not seeing each other.
I was zapped back to reality, my smile is still engraved on my face, my focus gently fading away from the picture.
I had to review my notes for the exam. Honestly, I am not certain if I'll get a decent grade in the test. But one thing remains clear, I will still have those friends I had long ago, taking the exam with me. After destiny has done its part of bringing us together, we'll hold each other's hands tight and never let go.
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