Batch 2022 Class Prophecy

It was 6 in the morning of May 30, 2037. I was walking in the hallway of the
hospital where I worked as a nurse, eager to go to the cafeteria and have my daily
dose of morning coffee, when I came across this beautiful woman in white, who
was not a white lady by the way, that I was very familiar with. She was one of the
best anesthesiologists in our hospital and also one of my good friends. It was no
other than Dr. Sharry Nicole Miñano, MD. We smiled, greeted each other good
morning and continued on our respective ways. When I reached the hospital
cafeteria, i immediately ordered my favorite coffee and some snacks. As I looked
for a place to sit, i noticed a familiar tall guy waving at me, as if trying to catch my
attention and at the same time inviting me to sit with him. It was my cousin, Josh
Gadacho. I almost forgot that he was also working in this hospital as a Radiologic
Technologist. I smiled and made my way towards his table. That's when i noticed
that he's not alone at all, because sitting in front of him was another tall guy in a
white coat that I'm pretty sure I've seen before. I looked at the name embroidered
on his coat, and why of course! It was Loveneo Mallorca, or should I say Dr.
Loveneo Mallorca, RMT. I couldn’t believe that he was one of the medical
technologists here in our hospital. He was also Josh's bestfriend since high school
and its amazing how they managed to keep in touch despite their busy schedule.
The three of us exchanged pleasantries before i prayed and started eating. Josh
then started talking, and we listened to him as he babbled about so many things.
He told me that Justin Lordan, who was now a Licensed Therapist, had just arrived
from abroad and was planning to build his own office. Loveneo added that Engr.
Andvan Abao, the handsome and the most in demand engineer in our country, will
lead the construction of Justin’s office. I expressed my excitement for them and I
promised myself that I will visit Justin’s office once it was done. A few minutes
later, the three of us decided to bid our goodbyes and resumed to our usual
schedule, for being in the medical field is quite hectic. But since my shift was
already done, I went to gather my things and left the hospital building.
On my way out, I massaged my nape because I felt a slight headache. So I decided
to walk to the nearest pharmacy first, to buy the medicine that I needed so it
wouldn’t get worse. I immediately noticed how big and really well-built the
pharmacy was. When I went to the counter to ask for what I needed, I did not
expect at all to see the most beautiful woman that I once knew in high school. It
was Thea Punzalan. She really did pursue her dream to become a Pharmacist. I
asked her if she remembered me, and she said that she did, and that it was a silly
question for me to ask. She called for a familiar name inside to get the medicine
that I need and another beautiful woman appeared before me. It was Jelyn
Lorenzo! I did not recognize her at all, and I certainly couldn’t believe that she was
also working here as a pharmacist with Thea. The three of us expressed our
excitement of seeing each other again and we talked for a while about our jobs.
They told me that their pharmacy was built in coordination with our hospital and I
was amazed by the coincidence. I also mentioned how impressed I was with how
well built the pharmacy was, and Jelyn proudly declared that it was all thanks to
the head of its construction, her best friend, Engr. Charilyn Fernando. Our
conversation was then cut short when my phone rang. I bade them goodbye and
we promised to see each other again some other time.
As I went out, I looked at my ringing phone and smiled when I recognized the
caller’s ID. It was a row of three siopao emojis but I knew it was my best friend
since highschool, Ryza Marcelo. We stayed in touch after all these years, even if
she was based in Cebu City living with her husband, and was currently working as a
computer programmer in one of the country’s biggest IT companies. I answered
her call and she told me with delight that she was currently on leave and had
decided to book a flight to come visit me. I squealed in excitement and offered to
fetch her at the airport. She immediately agreed and we ended the call after a few
minutes of catching up. Since her flight was still in the afternoon, I decided to drive
first to the salon for my weekly appointment.
On my way there, I was caught in traffic, for there was a slight commotion on the
other side of the road. A small store had caught on fire but was promptly
extinguished, thanks to the immediate response of the fire fighters and the police.
I was so sure that I saw Angel Gabat in a BFP uniform and in action, her beautiful
curls made her stand out even from afar. There were 5 police officers scattered in
the vicinity to try and keep the people in place and the traffic at bay. I recognized
three of them: the one trying to manage the vehicles was SPO3 John Carlo
Saturnino, standing tall and stoic in the middle of the road while shouting
instructions. And 2 of the police officers were women, who I then realized was
Sarah Jean Andres and Monique Tamboong, who were trying to calm and keep the
people at bay with gentleness but also with firmness. I was amazed and proud of
them for pursuing their dreams to become the heroes of our country. When the
traffic eased, I continued to drive to my appointment.
I stopped at my favorite salon called “Perlishua’s Boutique and Salon”, which is
obviously both a boutique and a salon. The first time I came here, I discovered that
the owners of this salon was 3 of my former high school classmates namely, Pearl
Mejos, Charlie Geronimo, and Joshua Moreno, who combined their names and
used it to call their business. I was impressed by their creativity and it made me
love their salon even more. I went inside and sat at the waiting lounge. A tall
woman in a corporate attire sat beside me and we both sighed at the same time,
causimg us to look at each other and laugh. I knew at that moment that we
recognized one another. It was Beverly An Agoilo. She never really changed, well,
except for the CPA title added to the end of her name. We talked and she told me
that she was currently working as an accountant on a private company two blocks
away from this salon and that she was now happily married. While we were
catching up, a car parked in front of the salon and a man in a black suit went out.
When he removed his sunglasses, Beverly and I audibly gasped in recognition. It
was Jirou Tonari, the chinito from highschool! It turned out, he was fetching his
wife who just got out from the salon. I heard that he was a successful businessman
in Japan and was currently here in the Philippines for a short vacation with his
family. When they drove away, one of the salon employees approached me and
said that it was finally my turn.
I entertained myself by watching the TV while my nails was being manicured. The
channel was on GMA news and I was so sure that I was seeing familiar faces on the
screen. The reporter looked so much like Mycah Ramo, and I was right when her
name appeared on the screen. I was so proud of her for pursuing her dream to
become a journalist slash reporter. She was interviewing the head of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines, whose name was Danray Aguirre and I was once again
left in awe. I could still hardly believe what I saw, even when the flash report was
long over. My manicure finally done, I immediately changed my work clothes into
a more casual ones. When I was all set, I checked my watch and it was nearly time
for Ryza’s plane to land. I immediately paid my bills, thanked the employees, and
bade Beverly and everyone goodbye.
I went to my car and drove to the airport. When I was almost there, I noticed that
the other side of the International Airport was still under construction. I saw a tall
man in a white hard hat at the side, supervising and instructing. He was holding a
blueprint, and I was pretty sure that he was one of the civil engineers in charge.
When he looked my way, I cannot believe that it was Seth Marcelo, one of my
smartest classmates in high school. I always knew that he would make it this far. I
stepped out of my car and went to the glass window of the airport and saw that
Ryza’s plane hadn’t landed yet. So I sat on one of the chairs outside and waited. I
was scrolling through my phone when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked up
and to my surprise, standing in front of me was Steven Atwel looking all mature
and professional! Its hard not to recognize the human pillow back in high school.
On his hand was my handkerchief that probably slipped down from my lap. I
thanked him and I asked if he recognized me. He was skeptical at first but then a
look of recognition washed over his face. He sat beside me and I asked how he was
doing. He told me that he was at here at the airport with his co-teachers to attend
a seminar in another city. I was amazed that he became a teacher, just like his
mom. I then asked him if he was still best friends with Nephtalie Javier, and he said
yes. He added that Nepthalie became a certified RMT and was currently working in
a public hospital. I was surprised to hear that Nepnep was also in the medical
field, because we always thought that he would become a priest. But I was even
more surprised when a man who I recognized as Timothy Torres approached us,
the “oppa” in highschool, and told Steven that it was time for them to go inside
the airport. It turns out that he was one of the co-teachers Steven mentioned
earlier. I congratulated both of them and wished them a safe travel. A few minutes
later, I got distracted when I saw a group of beautiful flight attendants graced the
airport with their small identical suitcases. I immediately recognized three of
them: it was Kristina Leite, Hermione De Guia, and Allyson Lorenzo looking tall and
beautiful as ever. I couldn’t help but stare at them and think how their profession
suits them so well. Then all of a sudden, the intercom loudly announced the
smooth and successful landing of an airplane. I realized that it was finally the flight
of Ryza and I immediately got up from my seat and waited for her.
When I finally saw a familiar woman come out, I waved incessantly for her to
notice me. When she did, she smiled and waved back. We both squealed and ran
to hug each other. I scrambled for words, trying to tell her all at once the people I
just saw earlier. She was amazed and she also told me how surprised she was in
the airplane when she heard the pilot speak. She said that the female voice was so
familiar and she couldn’t believe that it was really Roberine Reyes, our former
classmate in high school! The two of us laughed both in amazement and
amusement from all the coincidences. Ryza and I then decided to bring our other
chikas over the nearest restaurant since both of us were really hungry.
I drove to this diner called “Jonica’s” and I thought to myself that it was such a
familiar name. I had a hard time parking my car because there were a lot of cars in
the restaurant’s parking lot. We went inside and we immediately loved the chill
vibes of the restaurant. A group of guys were sitting at the biggest table at the
back their laughter could be heard even from the entrance of the restaurant. One
of the waiters warmly welcomed us and escorted us to a table for two. We gave
him our orders and we patiently waited for our food. When the food came, it
wasn’t the waiter from earlier who brought them, instead it was a woman with a
morena beauty that we instantly recognized. It was Kim Jonica Garachico! So that
was why the name of the diner was so familiar. Kim recognized us and we were
right that this was her restaurant. She told us that this was her main restaurant,
and she had 3 other branches in different cities. She was now a professional chef
and she personally brought us our food because they were short staffed from
having too many customers. We also asked about her cousins, Lorelyn and
Denmar. She told us that Lorelyn was now working as a psychologist abroad and
Denmar was currently the chief of police. We wanted to talk more with Kim but
chose not to keep her long because she was clearly busy. We thanked her for her
time and she went back to her kitchen. When we ate our food, Ryza and I both
groaned from how delicious it was. We are definitely going back to this restaurant.
We were almost done with our food when someone at the nearly table hesitantly
called our names. It was one of the loud guys at the back . When we turned to look
at them, we almost jumped out of our seats when they all cheered in relief and
recognition. Ryza and I were surprised as well when we saw that the group of loud
guys at the back were all familiar faces! They were all our classmates from
highschool, and we realized that it was Chief Denmar Galario who called us. He
was at the same table with Engr. Andvan Abao, Mcbyran Villaran, Joshua Maestro,
Carl Manoy, Ian Santiago, John Raine Bernardo, Xander Coronel and Kendrick
Esteban. They all looked mature but they were still the same energetic boys I knew
from high school. They invited us to their table and all of us were delighted to
recinnect with one another after so many years. Our table was filled with stories
and laughter. We learned that they were all gathered in Kim’s restaurant because
it was the christening of the youngest daughter of Chief Denmar Galario. Mcbryan
was now working on a large ship as a marine engineer, with Carl being the naval
architect of the same ship. Xander, Ian and John Raine were now Seafarers abroad.
While Joshua is now a professional chef with his own restaurant and catering
services. They also mentioned that some were absent because of their busy
schedule, but nonetheless, they were all godparents of Denmar’s children, well,
except for Reverent Father Kendrick Esteban who baptized Denmar’s child.
We all laughed and joked just like the old times. I listened to them as they
reminisce both good, bad, and embarrassing memories of our high school years. I
was so happy and contented of everything that I started to yawn and close my
eyes. But something wasn’t right, the laughter and the noise are slowly fading in
the background. Someone called my name and gently shook my shoulders. I
opened my eyes and I saw Ryza laughing at me, not the Ryza from 2037 no, but
Ryza from 2022 in baggy clothes and ripped jeans. She told me that I should get
enough sleep so I won’t doze off in the middle of our graduation practice. I realized
that everything I’ve seen was not real, but a dream. But at that moment, I hoped
and prayed that this was what our reality would look like in the future. So my dear
classmates, as our high school journey is about to end, may all of us continue to
dream big and work hard, and learn to never forget where we all started— where
we all came from. I’m looking forward to a future where all our successful and
happy selves will one day meet again. So let’s do out best. See you there!