SHAMYRA

Ilang stars ba mayroon ang universe?

Infinite. Walang katapusan. Kahit saan ka lumingon puro bituin. Bituin sa langit. Bituin sa lupa. Hinding hindi ka mauubusan ng hiling. Humiling ka man sa wishing well o sa isang dreamcatcher, hindi nito matutumbasan ang kayang ibigay ng mga bituin.

I have always believed in dreams. Like a little girl I was, I believed in magical fairies and unicorns and pixie dusts. I believed that if you can just think of happy thoughts, you can fly. I believed in stars, of course. In the anonymity of them. Kung kailan sila lalabas. And it's not the same star that shows up every night. Iba-iba. Pabago bago. Parang cycle lang.

It's fun to talk about stars kahit na alam naman nating lahat na they're just a scrap of the past. A reminder that a star's light has reached our planet. We don't even know if that star's still alive or not.

Almost everything talked about stars. Pero masaya akong nakikipag-usap sa kanila gabi-gabi. Lalo na pagsapit na ng 11:11. It was my routine to always talk to them every night. Hindi ako natutulog hangga't hindi ako nakakapag-usap sa kanila. And even now that I can feel them so near and we're almost a part of the clouds. I'm almost a part of their world.

Nagcamping kami ni Anjo sa kung saan kami huminto kanina. We built a campfire to keep us warm and we assembled a tent. Just like we always do.

It's already 10:59. Anjo is sleeping beside me, snoring a little. He's so cute when he does that. I don't even know if snores can actually be cute.

I know, I know. Hindi pwede magtabi ang babae at lalaki. Off-limits dapat. Pero this is our normal. We both understand naman. We're just friends. Best friends. Wala nang ilangan. Walang awkwardness. We were practically with each other for 17 years. We were practically raised together. We took baths together when we were younger. Heck! Our parents maybe changed our diapers together. Why would I feel awkward all of a sudden?

I looked again at my wristwatch. It's 11:11. Finally.

Hi stars. Sorry hindi ako makapagsalita ngayon ng direkta sa inyo. Katabi ko kasi ngayon si Anjo. Alam niyo na, off-limits sa kaniya itong mga pinagsasabi ko sa inyo.

Siguro hihiling na naman ako ng panibagong hiling. Hindi ko alam. Magkwentuhan nalang tayo. Tutal ang lapit lapit ko na sa inyo o. Naririnig ko pa nga kayong humihilik eh. Haha.

Pero seriously speaking. Gusto ko lang magtanong. Will things still remain the same for Anjo and me? Isang taon na akong naghihintay na may mangyari pero still, wala. Isang taon na akong patuloy na humihiling sa inyo pero walang nangyayari. But it's okay. I'm willing to wait. I know he's worth the wait.

Will he still be my best friend even in College? I heard some people drift apart through their college days. Please don't let that happen to me and Anjo. I really beg of you. I hope we'll stay being each other's shoulder to cry on or more correctly, being each other's shoulder to punch on.

I hope we'll stay together as best friends. Even if we'll stay like that forever.