Invierno,

     Taglamig,

     Gyeo-ul,

     Or Winter.

     The reason kung bakit palagi akong nakangiti these days – maybe I missed the feeling of being friends with a whole new person pero I still think there’s something else as a reason for these smiles of mine.

     When I became friends with Giselle, it was over a homework we had back at senior high school.

     Grabe lang naman namin pinaglaban yung sagot namin sa isa’t isa kasi mas mataas ng 4 pesos yung akin kaysa sakanya.

     Clue, ako yung tama.

     She wasn’t palaban or anything, oo she is when you get to know her more pero during that small ‘fight’ between us over 4 hypothetical pesos, I was impressed at how stern she was with her answer.

     Maybe that’s the sole reason why I wanted to be friends with her, and look at us now, college na pero magkaklase pa rin kami.

     As funny as my friendship started with Giselle, of course magpapahuli ba si Ning?

     Ang aming Luningning.

     Initially, I knew Ning na since our houses are on the same street at yung service ko simula grade 6 to grade 8 is kapitbahay nila, si Kuya Bert.

     Sometimes we go to school at the same time due to that reason, though palagi siyang nakaupo dun likod ni Kuya.

     And it’s not like I didn’t want her to sit beside me, grabe lang din kasi, mas bata siya sa’kin pero as much as I looked masungit, parang triple pa yung sakanya pag di siya nakangiti- kakaba lang.

     Senior high happened and I was shocked to see her in the same building as ours.

     Dapat kasi grade 10 palang siya nun. Yun pala, dahil ang alam ko lang naman is mas bata siya sa’kin based sa mga kwento ni Kuya Bert, he didn’t say na accelerated by a year pala tong si Ning.

     Maybe I was too intimidated by her to sense na she was in the same grade as me pero the same day that I saw her in our building back at senior high, I toughened up and I asked her if I could sit with her during break time.

     I can still remember what she said to me dati, akala ata 'di ako nakakaintindi ng tagalog.

     ‘What? Me?’  

     May daliri pa siyang nakaturo nun sa sarili niya, cute cute talaga nitong si Ning kulit.

     What made me want to be really friends with her is yung small gesture niya ng pagsasalita in English over that day.

     Oo ansama ko kasi hindi ko agad sinabi na marunong at nakakaintindi naman ako kaya magulat gulat nalang siya nung may kumausap sa’kin na ka-strand ko pero in the end, mahampas hampas lang naman ako ni Ning nung malaman niya.

     At least I saved myself from a couple of slaps am I right?

     That’s Ning and Gi, ang aking soulmate at partner-in-crime.

     Pero does that end there?

     Is it dumb of me if I want to add Winter to those two na I count as my closest friends?

     Hindi ba ako nagmamarunong at gustong gusto ko nalang maging kaibigan si Winter bigla? Ay , Madrid pala. I like that name of hers more.

     I’m an extroverted kid oo, hindi siya halata pero I am. Sa aming magkapatid ni Ate, ako yung pala-usap sa mga bagong taong nakakasalamuha namin, just like Madrid when she entered the flower shop.

     I think ang advantage niya lang with me is yung nangyari a week or so before sa museum- which I confirmed na siya nga yun.

     We just kept laughing over it thru chat before I felt sleepy while talking to her.

     Hiyang hiya pa daw siya nun at kung sino sinong babae ang hinahawakan niya ang kamay, it was cute though. It was an unexpected thing to happen but it seems like even if it didn’t, the universe still had another shot for us to meet.

     Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba to sa extroverted ko wanting to make her my friend, or is it because I’m already getting fed up with Ning and Gi for all those years I’ve been friends with them (obviously this is a joke), o baka kasi I’m feeling vulnerable by the loss I just experien