"YEARBOOK"

"I'm okay here, Dad; don't worry about me," Erik replied, laughing as he talked on the other line to his father, Fidel, who was with his mother, Aurora, still in Canada.

"Come on, give me the phone, and I'll talk to that son of yours," Fidel said, hearing Aurora's voice, which caused Erik to chuckle softly.

"Mom, don't argue with Dad. It's just the two of you left there," he joked as he continued to sort the white and colored clothes he was going to wash.

"What are you doing there, and why is it taking you so long to come back? It's been a year since you left. When will you come back? Your grandfather keeps asking us questions about when his favorite grandson will return. Neither I nor your dad know how to answer him," Aurora's lengthy speech caused Erik to laugh weakly again.

"Mom," but his mother quickly cut him off.

"Why are you laughing? Hey, Enrique, have you forgotten your obligations here? In your grandfather's business, your cousin is having a hard time shouldering all the work. Be thankful that you're not like other people out there who need to go job hunting. All you have to do is work hard and have a good life. You have everything, and yet they seem like nothing to you!" his mother's sermon continued.

Erik bit his bottom lip to suppress another soft laugh. He knew that if his laughter reached his mother's ears, her sermon would only grow longer.

Well, he was used to it. His mother had been like that since he was a child. And when she wasn't angry or scolding him, he knew something was different.

What he said was true. It had been a year since he left Canada and returned to the Philippines. He had gone to court and married Keira, his best friend, who was now happily married to a wealthy businessman, Charles Salveron.

The plan was formed for the benefit of Nadine, his former girlfriend, who was left in Canada. Like him, she was also a Canadian citizen. But his family, especially his grandfather Solomon, did not approve of what he did. Nadine was the ex-girlfriend of his cousin Albert, who had committed suicide after their breakup.

He knew that Nadine wasn't to blame for his cousin's decision, but he also couldn't blame his family, who were deeply hurt by the loss of their loved one. He planned to marry Keira to secure a portion of the property that his grandfather would soon give him as his inheritance. The money he would get would be used to pay off Nadine's father's debt to his friend, who owed him a lot.

Did he really love Nadine that much? Was he ready to do something unethical for her? Erik shook his head at the thought. He even planned to disrupt his own best friend's quiet life due to his greed.

Erik once again felt a strong pang of guilt that seemed to linger in his chest, awakening only when he thought about the plan he had been harboring for the past year. He hadn't yet personally asked Keira for forgiveness about it. But to the Lord God? There hadn’t been a night when he didn't mention it in his prayers.

"Enrique!" his mother yelled again from the other side of the line. "Are you listening to me? What are you doing? You don't seem interested in what I'm saying?" Aurora continued in the same tone.

"Mom, I'm sorting my laundry. I'm sorry if I can't give you my full attention," he answered and then chuckled. "Please tell Grandpa that I'll return at the right time. Right now, I'm busy here and enjoying being an architect," he added.

He heard his mother let out a deep sigh from the other end of the line. Then she spoke again, this time in a kinder tone.

"Alright, I'm sorry if I scolded you again. I know that ever since you were a child, this is what you've wanted. Your father and I are just feeling regretful that you're not here to enjoy the good life that awaits you. Because of your profession, you can practice whenever you want. But your grandfather's business is what you need to focus on right now, what you need to study more," his mother continued.

Erik smiled at what he heard. "I know that, Mom. And don't worry, even though I'm here, I can find a way to help Robert in running the business and the farm."

That was true. Using the internet, he was still able to communicate with his cousin Robert about running their grandfather's dairy factory and the farm where they sourced the milk for their dairy products like cheese, yogurt, butter, and many others.

"Mom, I have to hang up now. I need to do laundry and later I also need to clean the house. I don't have any free days except Saturdays," he informed his mother.

"Okay, well, it's better if you can find someone who can clean and do your laundry, son, so you don't have to do those things anymore. You're already tired from working all week, and you're still doing chores like that?" Now he could sense the concern in his mother's tone.

"Hey, Mom, thank you for that. That's why I love you so much, and maybe that's the reason why Dad loves you so much too." That sentiment was genuine.

"Flatter me more, go ahead. Take care of yourself, alright?" she instructed before the line was disconnected.

Shaking his head with a smile, Erik placed his phone on his bed and resumed what he was doing. After a few more moments, he decided to load his white clothes into his automatic washing machine.

He had actually bought the washing machine, even though the old one they used before they migrated to Canada was still functional. He found it more convenient with an automatic machine, as he could cook and clean while it washed his clothes. He saved more time that way.

Just like before, he preferred multitasking by cleaning the house and cooking while doing his laundry. When the machine beeped, all he needed to do was hang up the clothes.

As he started sweeping his room, he noticed the old cabinet in the corner. He remembered that his mother used to store all his old belongings there, including his old books and his high school yearbook.

At that thought, Erik's heart was suddenly filled with a strange emotion. He approached the cabinet and opened it. Inside were books, old notebooks, and posters that used to hang on the walls of his room. But his focus was different, so he didn't pay attention to the first things he saw.

He immediately picked up a thick book with a hardcover. It was his high school yearbook. Erik opened it and found the page where he was listed along with his salutatory speech.

He laughed softly as he looked at the younger version of himself as if it were the first time he'd seen an old photo from high school. As expected, his ambition was listed as becoming an architect. There were no regrets since he had fulfilled that ambition in life.

His gaze moved to where a beautiful face greeted him, and Erik smiled. Mia Licerio, their class valedictorian. The girl whom he couldn't beat in any

 subject, no matter how hard he tried, because she was truly brilliant.

Her ambition was to become a veterinarian. Erik couldn't help but wonder, Where is Mia now? Where was the only girl who didn't seem to even slightly acknowledge his charm whenever he looked at her?

That was true. She was the only girl who seemed immune to his charisma, and that intrigued him.