It was 1998, I had a green Alcatel phone that was shaped like a soap. It rang with Ma’am Yoli on the opposite line. It was 9 am and she said she had donuts.

I, on the other hand, had nothing. I had nothing going on. I was 20, and I felt like I was running out of opportunities. Out of college, I tried to work in hopes of getting to a college with a course I like. It didn’t happen.

At that moment I had donuts. It was a bait. A lure to get me back in Bulacan State. I don’t know much about Ma’am Yoli, except for that genuine interest for my stories.