Summer’s.

“Sabi nila, sa buhay na mayroon tayo, may three kinds of love na nag-eexist. Different kinds of love that we have for different kinds of people. I was skeptical at first; lahat ba talaga tayo ma-eexperience ang ganong karaming type ng pagmamahal? Hindi ba iisa lang ‘yon? Kung minahal mo, minahal mo. No in betweens, no reading between the lines, no messages hidden underneath. Pero hindi pala. As I progressed through my journey in life, as I met new people and connected with them, doon ko napagtanto. Hindi nga pare-pareho ang pagmamahal. Hindi lang basta-basta, hindi lang iisa. Pinatunayan nila sa akin eh, they proved me wrong. So, ano nga ba ‘to?

Hi, ako si Winter Kim. And this is my take on the three kinds of love in life. Whoever found these tapes, makinig ka ng mabuti. Because things are about to go down.”

Huh. It’s mama’s voice. So, sa kanya ‘tong mga ‘to? These are her tapes, pero what are these for? I rummaged through the old dusty bag na nahanap ko sa likuran ng mga gamit dito sa bodega. It’s full of tapes and the walkman that I used to play the first one. Each tape had a label. 

FTL 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

INL 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

UCL 1, 2, 3, 4

Wait, nawawala yung last tape for UCL (whatever that meant). Or baka hanggang 4 lang talaga? I carefully dropped the bag and put it back where I found it bago ako lumabas ng bodega. One thing that they taught me is that I should never touch things that aren’t mine. So maybe I’ll ask her about it na lang. 

“Mama?”, I called out to her nang makita ko siyang nakaupo sa may backyard with mommy.

“Yes, Sum?”, tinawag niya ako para umupo sa gitna nila ni mommy. “Mama. May nahanap po kasi ako sa bodega kanina, parang ano, they were voice tapes po. It was you talking sa tapes.”, I said as I watched her forehead crease in confusion.

“Ako? Nagsasalita sa voice tapes? Why can’t I remember that?”, she said. “It was clearly you po, mama.”

“Huh.. Voice tapes. Voice tapes. Voice tapes?”, tanong ni mama sa kanyang sarili habang nag-iisip. Nakalimutan ba talaga niya? Akala ko pa naman memorable yung three kinds of love na tinutukoy niya. 

“Win, mahal. I think she’s talking about your love tapes.”, mommy said. And once mommy said that, mama had that “Ah okay” look on her face. 

“So you found the love tapes, my daughter?”, tumawa si mama ng mahina. “Opo. Galit po ba kayo?”

“Ay hindi naman, anak. Ginawa ko ‘yon nung dalaga pa ako, memories of my youth kumbaga. That was my time, anak. I was at my prime.”, mama chuckled. “It’s nice to reminisce again. It’s been so long.”

Silence filled the air as the three of us looked at the setting sun in the sky. “Hon.”, mama called mommy. “Do you think it's time?” 

“She’s old enough, hon. Go for it.”, mommy smiled gently at mama as she held her hand.

“Summer anak.”, mama turned to look at me. “For years, we’ve been waiting for you to find those tapes. I think it's time you learn about love, anak ko. Learn about love from your mama’s youth.”