Handkerchief of the Star (Alimentation Series #1)

Epilogue: The Final Wipe

I silently watched every movement of her astute eyes. I was enticed to watch her while seriously reading the book. She had just finished her duty at the center and ate lunch for a little minutes to be able to read her books right after that. She still has class before 1PM and I know how tiring is that. The duty at the center was basically no joke, and she still had three or less class she needed to attend afterwards.

Sometimes, I wonder how strong Pumpkin is. I never once saw her rest, even just a couple of minutes. She was always unabridged when it comes to studying, like she's uncapable to get tired at laging buo. But underneath those pretension, I can sometimes feel how her body wants to give up already, yet she couldn't let that happen. Even though she already feels so tired from all the life duties she needs to face everyday, she could not just let herself give up. And I admire what she has become.

I can no longer see the careless student who loves to back off and cut class. I couldn't trace back the old Pumpkin, the one I first met. She was too far from that woman. She was indeed different now, and I am very pleased for her beautiful changes. I couldn't be proud more.

College didn't go easy on her. Well, it isn't really facile to everyone. Every course has its own struggles and hardship. It's just normal. And as a student yourself, it's your obligation to look forward to everything and how will you manage to surpass the persecution. Sa buhay wala naman talagang madali. And we should not expect that everything will literally go easy on us because life is not life without stress and struggles. You just have to think of a possible solution how would you be able to overcome every difficulty coming your way in order to achieve what you wanted to accede.

Honestly speaking, some might have been thinking that I'm an easy guy. I have encountered people who look at me like I am the most lucky person they had met, and that I was admirable inasmuch as I had everything other people would die for. They frequently think I don't have such called 'problem' because I am me. But they were all wrong about how they see me. Just like other typical people, I am also having a hard time in my life. I sometimes also find it difficult to study, and I was losing the confidence to keep going. And truth is... I am just a normal person who also had failure. Even if I give my realest best, it's still sometimes not enough. There are things I am weak on, and it's just normal. I was never perfect.

There are many lessons to be learned from life. You just have to be observant enough to see everything. I taught Pumpkin to change for the better, dream high and prove herself to everyone without getting helself into fight. In return, she taught me to see the hidden beauty in every life, that everyone is capable of changes, you just have to give them the trust they deserved.

She always tells others not to give up. She's often the light of each of us, which she probably is unaware of. Kahit sa sariling life duties ay pagod na, nakukuha niya pa rin pagaanin ang loob ng mga kaibigang gustong sumuko minsan. She likes to always give advice. She didn't want any of her friends to be left behind, that we should all finish school even most of the time, it's just really getting more harder for all of us. Ganoon siya sa iba, pero bakit sa sarili niya ay hindi niya masabi ang ganoon kapag nahihirapan na siya? 

Or maybe I didn't know.

Pumpkin is one of the most purest woman I know. She've grown perfectly with her ambitious version of self. Improved a lot dahil hindi na siya katulad ng dati na bigla-biglang nagpapakita ng dirty finger. She often appears suplada in front of others, and it was simply because she has no interest in men. Gusto kong matawa minsan kapag naririnig ang ganoon. Others may not know that she is one of those women with a beautiful and pure heart. They always say that Pumpkin screams dramatic aura whenever she walks. With almost no equal.

"Mukhang hindi naman ako papasa kay Pumpkin. Matalino raw iyon sabi ni Jennifer," isa sa blockmate na malapit sa inuupuan ko. "Pakiramdam ko hindi niya ako papansinin kapag inaya ko siyang lumabas."