When love lasts

POV

        I woke up early today. Around five o'clock I already prepared the foods for my family. I looked for some ingredients in the kitchen and luckily saw some raw eggs. I fried them all and cooked the rice. When my mother saw me cooking, she insisted on doing it for me. I washed all the dishes after dining and prepared to start a new chapter in my life.

        Today I was clueless of what to do while staying at home. I called my friends but all of them already spend their vacation in different places before they go to college. Me, on the other hand, will look for some summer job to gather some money for college expenses.  

        I remembered something from my graduation celebration while I was browsing through my pile of pertinent documents. I looked at my phone, sat on our bamboo chair, and began scrolling through previous texts.

"There it is.", I said to myself.

    I opened the message. 

“Congratulations, love. I love you so much.”

I blushed as I read this message. I have no idea who sent this message to me. Is it possible that I have a secret admirer? Was this delivered to me in error? or do I know who is the person behind this?

    These are the thoughts that are going through my head right now. But then I realized that it was possible that this had been delivered to me in error. Maybe they acquired my phone number from somewhere and they are simply playing with me.  I don't want to expect anything.

As the family's breadwinner, I believe it is critical to never allow your heart govern your decisions. Of course, you adore your family, but when it comes to romantic relationships, it's difficult to focus on them since you'll lose sight of your ambitions if you do. It is really difficult to maintain control while also not letting others know what you're feeling. Life's complexity taught me to fight my battles on my own. Everyone is going through a tough time, and I don't want to add to their misery.

I remembered when I was in my first year high school, I met this guy whom I find adorable. He has lovely features and attractive eyes. At the time, we were classmates. He was also bashful and reserved. He refuses to speak to anyone. And one day, I invited him to do a presentation with our group. AI was overjoyed when he said yes. I did that because no other group will do so and so I extended a hand to help him. After how many days,  one  of my classmates began to tease us with each other, which somehow established barriers between us.

"You know, I don't like you," he told me bluntly after everyone had gone home from our practice.

I was completely taken aback. I wasn't expecting him to be that forthright with me.

"What?" I said, as if I hadn't heard what he was saying.

"I said I don't like you," he continued, "because you're not the sort of girl I prefer. I know that you like me. I can see and feel it based on how you look at me and treat me inside the classroom."

"Hahahaa. You know, with your personality , I didn't think you were so straightforward with your words. But just to be clear, I don't like you at all! " I replied to his statement. 

       From that point forward, I learned that people may misinterpret what you are showing to them. Not everyone thinks the same way about you. That particular occurrence in my life instilled in me the belief that you should not let others know how you feel. It may sound strange, but there are moments when you must act like a stone. Do not respond to anything unless it is absolutely necessary, and never go too far because others may not perceive things the same way you do.

"Avi! Come down here!" yelled a familiar voice from the downstairs. It was my mother who had called.

I hastily repaired everything and walked downstairs to see what the commotion was all about.

I said, "Yes, mom? I'm here!"

"Come over here, my daughter," my mother said, "I noticed this advertisement plastered on the walls on my way home. Our barangay is opening a summer job next week, and I think this would assist you and our costs at home."