Colors of dream

In December 1986, I dreamed to raise my own family. Marrying my wife was the best decision I ever made in my life. The love I felt for her was my strength. We were blessed to have three children, all girls ages 33, 31, and 30. I married my wife with a ten-peso bill in my wallet. It happened in 1986. The Philippines has elected a new president named Corazon C. Aquino.

My beloved family...

In 1994, again I had dreamed to go abroad. I was lucky though because I did not experience much difficulty in acquiring an overseas job. My uncle-in-law who at that time was the chief accountant of the company Kawasaki Helicopter Saudi Arabia – Finance Department helped me get my current job by recommending me to the administrator of the company.

A Philippine-based recruitment agency, FB Allan processed my papers and I was able to go out of the country as a documented OFW. Aside from working, also I devote myself sometimes to my other interests. While employed, I took up a creative writing course by mail with the Writer’s Bureau in Manchester London during the years 1998-1999. From 2000-to 2001, I took up Journalism and short story writing course with the ICS, PA, the USA by mail.

As I remember, already it is more than 4 decades have passed since I started to visualize becoming an accountant and a writer. I knew my parents could not afford to send me to school to finish those courses I had wished for. However, I did not give up dreaming. In 1974, I was about fourteen years old and had just finished elementary; I decided to leave my parents.

Exactly, I believe that dreams are about the expression and visualization of solid thoughts, emotions, and ideas that signal what I want and what I need for my physical life. For me, dreams need physical work and effort. They can help me develop my future. I believe that dreams and the desires of my heart give me the strength to face the natural world of my choice to reach success in life.

Now contrary to the will of my parents, I still had left them and lived the way I could have. Living away from my family was not easy and productive. I had slept under pine trees robustly standing around our town plaza. I had used some old scrap cardboard and old newspapers as my gasket and bedding.

Sometimes, I slept at the height of the tower of our town church. Other times inside the waiting shades and fish market along with other deserted children. I had become immune from the mosquitoes' bites, salty smells, and the freezing darkness at night.

There were nights I was weeping, remembering my family but the homesickness for them did not change my decision. I made friends with those children who were also my age. I mingled with them like a family with the same fate. Thus, it became easier for me to be with them. The fish market was our source of living: The money we earned from working with market vendors was divided equally among ourselves.

Until I found another job. At that time I worked with a construction group, located in front of Felipe Abrigo National Memorial School of Arts and Trades (FANMSAT) then changed it to Southern Samar National School of Arts and Trades (SSNSAT) from SSNSAT it was changed to ESSU (Eastern Samar State University) in the town of Guiuan, Eastern Samar. At first, I felt intense pain in my body, prickly fingers, and feet but despite heavy and hard work, I was happy to receive the 15 pesos for a day's work.

So many nights I was anxious too. I could not sleep in the barracks due to chronic fatigue and pains. I wept and wanted to go home but the advent of the future surpassed what I felt – especially when daytime came I was watching hundreds of young students entering the school gate, I pretended I was one of them carrying books and notebooks. And the difficulty and fatigue from hard work eventually disappeared.

Six months later, the constructions of the five units of apartments were constructed. And we moved to another project which was a three-story building owned by a Chinese businessman, the place was located in the business center of the town of Guiuan. But before leaving the place, I stood up in front of FANMCAT with my promise that shall return to study high school.