KABANATA 9

7 YEARS LATER…

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE PACIFIC AIRLINE WELCOMES YOU TO MANILA. THE LOCAL TIME IS 12:04 P.M., PLEASE REMAIN SEATED WITH YOUR SEAT BELT FASTENED AND KEEP THE AISLE CLEAR UNTIL WE PARKED AT THE GATE. THANK YOU.”

This is it. Totoo nga 'yung sinasabi nila na ibang-iba ang pakiramdam nang pag-alis sa lugar na pinagmulan mo sa pakiramdam nang pagbabalik mo rito. Now, I can finally conclude that that was indeed true. Paano ko nalaman? Simple. Damang-dama ko na kasi. Right here, right now.

I couldn't say that I don't miss a bit of my life here in the Philippines. In fact, maraming bagay akong na-miss na gustung-gusto ko nang balikan at gawin ulit. But that doesn't include my past stupidity and dumb behavior.

Bahagya akong napakunot ng noo nang maramdaman ko ang isang kamay na biglang humawi sa buhok ko. When I look at who was it, I saw Jelai. Siya ang bigla na lang humawak sa buhok ko at walang sabi-sabing binawi-hawi iyon. So basically, yes, she's still my "assistant". At