Anong plano mo?

When the lights have shut down and all the people have left, there are many things that remain - but only one: MEMORIES.

Memories of people you've talked to, hold hands with, embraced, set your eyes into, laughed with, wept with, shared stories with. At the end of each working day, when all the laughter have subsided and all the jokes have dissipated into thin air, what's left of me - aside from memories - is a query I always ask myself.

Anong plano mo?

I've been in talks with colleague-friends for days now, and all we've been talking about are our present (what's happening, how do we get by, how will we deal with this) and the future (what will we do, what's our next step, what's your plan). The last item have been sending chill to my spine since yesterday.

Anong plano mo?

Yesterday, Jodey muttered, "Bakit ganon, tuwing aalis ka, ang tanong agad sa'yo ng mga tao, anong plano mo? Hindi ba pwedeng wala? Wala lang, gusto mo lang umalis." I told her that questions as such - more often than not - pertain to one's capacity to sustain finances. We work to earn money, we earn money to sustain our needs, we need to sustain our needs to grow. It's a simple logic, yet at the same time, a complex system of thought.

Yet it dawned on me that those questions aren't only asked to those who are leaving. THAT question is also directed to those who are staying.

Anong plano ko?

Clearly, I have plans. I have A PLAN. But I still have to muster courage to explicitly express my intention to take my life to a higher level.

Or maybe, I will be able to do so when I'm prompted by chance.

No more thinking. Just saying.