Summer came.
It felt different.
I don't know anything about her anymore.
I often think about her.
Did she sleep well?
Did she eat regularly?
Does she like the same things?
Does she think about me?
I remember a summer long time ago. I used to work odd jobs, here and there, just to earn money for my family.
She used to spend time at the park, which was unusual, given her dislike of outdoors, even though she loves to be surrounded by nature .
She listens to music while doodling on her notebook, often accompanied by her pet dog .
She loves animals, particularly dogs, though years later, she admitted that she is too lazy to take care of one. But she never neglects them though .
How fun it would be if I could sit down beside her, just listening to her talk about anything, even if we don't have anything to talk about.
But my family needed more money to survive so I just resumed my work.
....
Every summer was different.
There was a summer when she took swimming lessons. She looked adorable when her skin turned red from the sun.
Another summer, she took up art lessons.
After a week of those lessons, she quit.
But a particular precious memory of mine was when there was a summer where I worked at the library. She spent her time reading, doodling or just napping. I always leave books that I knew she would enjoy at her favorite table. She would look delighted when she read those books. Sometimes, she would give some treats to the librarian, who was a friend of hers, telling her that it's for everybody who was working at the library. The librarian was a dear old grandmotherly type and she would always give me at least two. I surely missed that woman.
Sometimes I wonder why she doesn't have friends to spend time with her. But eventually I learned that a lot of people doesn't particularly enjoy most of the things she loves, and when during conversations, she would eventually learned that a lot of people wasn't interested which led to her being more and more alone.
I like to hear her talk. How I want to talk to her about anything,
History,
Geography,
Books,
Food,
Even topics that I may not know much about but I'm willing to learn more. Just for her.
....
I still kept the high school graduation photograph of us together.
I also read at my spare time.
I learned how to cook. Particularly without peanuts.
I tried to work and study hard so the next time I would see her, I would be more confident,
Confident to approach her,
Talking to her,
Laughing with her,
And
Apologizing to her for not maintaining our friendship.
For always giving excuses.
For not trying hard.
For wasting opportunities.
I will work hard on improving myself .
I will not waste opportunities.