ROOM 301, “Hi ate!”
ate
/ ä-te /
( Filipino )
= older sister; a woman who is older than you
I don’t have many ates in my life, but I have an ate I consider to be an important part of my life. I met her in a corner room on the third floor of a white concrete building many, many years ago.
She was the girl in Bed B, and she was the only second year in our room, and I and the other four freshmen were curious about her.
On the first night after all of us moved in, she didn’t come home until after we all went to bed. The next morning, she was there, sleeping under the sheet, so I didn’t really see anything except black hair. 😆 That night, it was the same – she came back when we were all asleep and the next morning she was there, sleeping.
It was quite mysterious, and she became something like a celebrity to us. 😆
We wondered about where she went, what she was doing, and why. We talked about what she was like and what she looked like and whether she didn’t like us.
For some reason, I thought that maybe she felt left out about because she was the only second year in our room, so I suggested that we write notes for her and leave them on her desk.
The next day, we received a reply. 🌟
What happened after that?
Well, it’s a long story.
But a few years later she would introduce her boyfriend (who would eventually become her husband) to me.
Many years later I would be a guest at their wedding.
Many, many more years later we would have game nights while talking about my life in Japan and her life in Canada.
And one month later on this day, I will see her again, for the first time in many years, in Canada.
I cannot wait. 🤩🤩🤩