Those days are over.

It was like in the movies. This someone, whose hair had gone silver, reluctantly making his first footstep on the grounds of his past after several years of solace and seclusion. It is as if flashes of bits of memories hit the very core of his humanity. It is wherein the present and the past merge resulting to an earsplitting sound.

I heard that sound as I enter the elementary school I was studying at many years ago. It was a seven-year experience, memorable experience, for emphasis’ sake.

I became preoccupied with the past. I saw myself riding on the bicycle my grandfather had been driving. I was then a small boy with a smile as big as his. Each school day, he drives me to school. After my classes, he fetches me on going home. He is known among my classmates as a good old man. My classmates oftentimes mano to him as a sign of respect. During weekends, we go to the city library and after borrowing books, I happily put them on the basket placed on the front of his bike. At home, we read it and that’s how my fondness on reading intensified.

Seven years is a very long period of time. Seven years of awards, recognitions, victories and losses. Most of them did a good part in my life. A lot of memories are associated with my involvement on competitions during elementary. Spelling bees, Math contests, various quiz bees, essay writing contest, scouting, journalism and others my memory forgot to share with me at the time being, you name it.

I was reminiscing those things when I heard the drone of the Graduation song. I saw small figures from afar marching towards the environs of the school ground. I saw myself leading the long queue of graduates. For seven years, I had been a part of the stage everytime I have to receive a medal. From Kindergarten to the sixth Grade, I am the Top 1 of the whole Grade Level. I know how much my grandfather, who, together with my grandmother, became my guardian since my dumb parents left me for their lustful needs of having their own separate inane families. Only my grandfather died a few months before my graduation.

I will never forget those days. Especially the people who touched my life during my stay there. My classmates who had been there as my friends and who showed me the true meaning of being a kid. My teachers who loved me as a bright boy who has a wide perspective when it comes to life. And I alike, who was there to be myself to prove my worth.

Those days may be over by now, but the lessons in life I got a hold of will remain in my heart forever.