Being Poor is Not Easy

CHAPTER 6: LEARNING TO MOVE FORWARD

After Bebe rejected him, Lester slowly began to distance himself from her.

At first, it was difficult.

For years, she had been part of his daily life. They had exchanged countless letters, shared conversations, and created memories together. But now, every interaction reminded him of the feelings he could no longer hold on to.

As time passed, they stopped talking.

Eventually, they no longer greeted each other.

It was as if two people who had once been close had become strangers again.

Instead of dwelling on his heartbreak, Lester decided to focus on something else—his studies and his own improvement.

He told himself that if he could not change the past, he could at least work on his future.

To help distract himself from thinking about Bebe, he started helping in a catering business owned by his aunt, Nanay Heidie.

Even though he was still in high school, he was already earning a small amount of money.

The work was not easy.

He spent weekends and free time helping prepare and serve food at different events. Sometimes he came home tired, but receiving his own earnings gave him a sense of pride.

For the first time, he felt that he was contributing something through his own hard work.

Not long after, he managed to save enough money to buy bicycle parts.

His father's old bicycle had become his transportation to school, and little by little, he upgraded it whenever he could afford new parts.

Watching the bicycle improve piece by piece brought him a simple kind of happiness.

Around that time, one of his classmates, Raymond, invited him to help sell ice cream pops.

Lester accepted the opportunity.

The extra income from catering and selling ice cream pops became another source of savings.

Most of the money he earned went straight into improving his bicycle.

Looking back, Lester realized how difficult it was to balance work and school at such a young age.

There were days when he felt exhausted.

Days when he barely had enough time to rest.

Many people praised him for being hardworking.

But deep inside, Lester often felt that he was still not doing enough.

Despite all his efforts, he believed he was not yet able to give much back to his parents.

That thought pushed him to work even harder.

Life at home remained simple.

During those years, televisions were becoming more common, but Lester's family could not afford one.

Whenever there was a popular show, they would often watch through the window of a neighbor's house.

Sometimes the neighbors were kind.

Sometimes they would close their windows, leaving Lester and the other children disappointed outside.

Those moments stayed with him.

Because of that, Lester made a promise to himself.

One day, he would buy a television for his family.

It took a long time before that dream became possible.

But fortune eventually smiled on him.

One day, he won money through a local numbers game.

It was enough for him to finally buy a television.

The day the television arrived at their house became one of the happiest moments of his youth.

For many families, a television was just an ordinary appliance.

But for Lester, it represented something much more.

It was proof that hard work, patience, and hope could eventually bring small dreams to life.

That night, as his family gathered around the television, smiling and excited to watch their favorite programs, Lester felt a joy he had not felt in a long time.

For the first time since his heartbreak, he realized that life still had many reasons to make him smile.

And perhaps moving forward did not mean forgetting the past.

Perhaps it simply meant creating new dreams worth chasing.