Hello, December!

The absentminded waiter deftly placed on our table three bottles of San Mig Strong Ice and a plate of tasty, hot calamares sticks—the last order we were allowed for the night as the restaurant anticipated closing before the witching hour.

Sting’s music filled the air. I gently run my fingertips down the sides of the ice-cold beer bottle, disrupting the innocent droplets’ merry flow to the table top. Satisfied, I took a sip then reached for the calamares. Just as I tilted my head to catch the dripping sauce in my mouth, I saw it.

Stars! Probably a hundred of them twinkling in changing hues -- blue, green, red and silver -- against the wide, purplish blanket. Too engrossed with Henryl’s latest story, I almost forgot they were there. Mesmerized, I munched on the squid and stared for a few moments. I grinned at the fat tree playing hide and seek with them. Where’s the moon? Where’s the moon?

A movement caught my eye. “Hey look, a shooting star!”

“Quick, wish me a new job,” my news-editor-soon-to-be-bum buddy said.

“Hey, that’s supposed to be my line. I resigned way before you, remember?” I retorted.

Then for the first time – after two consecutive midnights discussing Henryl’s stressful resignation from Cebu Daily News, we burst out laughing. Who would have thought, after all those focus, training and education, we’d find ourselves in the middle of December both clueless about the future?

“Are you sure? Did you really want to do it? Are you happy?” I asked him.

“What I know is that the work no longer makes me happy. I’m not sure about the future but I know I don’t want to go back. I know I have a good shot at bigger things in this field but this is not the life I want. Basta, it really felt good resigning. I’m ready to give my other dreams a shot.”

That stopped my questions. How could I not understand when I echoed exactly the same words a few months ago?

I looked up at the sky and felt the cool breeze run through my hair. Amazing isn’t it, how peaceful it can be even in the midst of uncertainty?

I remember how during my tumultuous teenage years, I learned to talk to God. Whenever things start to overwhelm me, I’d simply look up and seek out the moon, the stars, the skies, or the sunset. More than anything, they remind me my God is bigger than I am and whatever else I may be facing for that matter. They tell me that life’s beauty goes on and that chaos is only in the mind. It’s humbling and it helps put things in perspective.

This cool December night, I looked at the stars and felt their magic once more. I winked at the three stars I personally call the Tres Marias. No matter where I go, I always find them up there. So how can you feel lost when you see something that constant?

“You’ll be okay, ryl,” I told him.

Taking a detour or facing a crossroad, I guess, is just like a rollercoaster ride – exciting and a cause for indigestion. It’s a freedom few people can afford. Without courage, you’ll never find it. Without faith, you’ll get lost. Without purpose, it becomes useless.

“So, ey, what do you say we start looking for new jobs already?” he asked.

“Hmm…why don’t we leave that for next year? It’s December after all. Let’s celebrate and enjoy it while we still can.”

December…. aahh, divine, delicious December. There’s nothing like December to remind me what a blessed life we live.

Years ago, a single star in Bethlehem signaled something great was coming. Now, another night, with the heavens still aglow, I smell endless possibilities around the corner.