I was in the terminal waiting for my ride when I saw a high school classmate I haven’t seen for a long time. While I was with my backpack, she was with her big luggage suggesting a travel that is far and possibly a long stay in her destination.
We talked like old times, smiled like school children as we chatted about our own lives and the lives of our other high school classmates. She is still the same the way I have known her since two decades ago. Only this time, she is now married with two children all boys ages 7 and 5 and her husband is in Manila looking for a job. She left her two boys with her mother. She is now bound for Manila to rejoin her husband while waiting for a call from an agency for a possible job deployment in the Middle East.
I heaved a deep sigh and remembered my friend who is now languishing in jail somewhere in Kuwait.
She did all the talking for the rest of our conversation while I constrained myself to monosyllabic words to keep her going. To sum it all up, all she wants is a comfortable life for her family. And she was all too convinced that it is worth all the risks. Before we ended, I told her that if she thinks that they can live here although not comfortably but together, maybe she can reconsider her decision to go abroad. I thought I saw some tears slowly gathering in the corner of her eyes. She looked down and scraped off some dirt under her fingernails and said, “ You know Yam, last night I was thinking maybe I should apply for a job in the City Hall and forget this silly idea about going abroad. My boys begged me not to go but all I can do is write them a letter so that they can read it anytime they want when I will be far away.”
On the bus, I kept thinking about her invitation for me to seek employment abroad. She was not the first and I’m sure there will be more who will try to convince me to "jump in" on the bandwagon. I’m not really closing my doors about the idea, but for a person who wants her hands dirty, a job somewhere outside the country is unnecessary.
As I unboarded, I was thinking of the seeds of the passion fruits I planted weeks ago. They are already sprouting and I want to see them grow every step of the way.
The sun is already up and my granny is waiting and her farm is not so far away.
We talked like old times, smiled like school children as we chatted about our own lives and the lives of our other high school classmates. She is still the same the way I have known her since two decades ago. Only this time, she is now married with two children all boys ages 7 and 5 and her husband is in Manila looking for a job. She left her two boys with her mother. She is now bound for Manila to rejoin her husband while waiting for a call from an agency for a possible job deployment in the Middle East.
I heaved a deep sigh and remembered my friend who is now languishing in jail somewhere in Kuwait.
She did all the talking for the rest of our conversation while I constrained myself to monosyllabic words to keep her going. To sum it all up, all she wants is a comfortable life for her family. And she was all too convinced that it is worth all the risks. Before we ended, I told her that if she thinks that they can live here although not comfortably but together, maybe she can reconsider her decision to go abroad. I thought I saw some tears slowly gathering in the corner of her eyes. She looked down and scraped off some dirt under her fingernails and said, “ You know Yam, last night I was thinking maybe I should apply for a job in the City Hall and forget this silly idea about going abroad. My boys begged me not to go but all I can do is write them a letter so that they can read it anytime they want when I will be far away.”
On the bus, I kept thinking about her invitation for me to seek employment abroad. She was not the first and I’m sure there will be more who will try to convince me to "jump in" on the bandwagon. I’m not really closing my doors about the idea, but for a person who wants her hands dirty, a job somewhere outside the country is unnecessary.
As I unboarded, I was thinking of the seeds of the passion fruits I planted weeks ago. They are already sprouting and I want to see them grow every step of the way.
The sun is already up and my granny is waiting and her farm is not so far away.
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