“Laban lang, Sir,” the barista told me.

"Thanks," I said. When he handed me my espresso—which I always take in the afternoons when I resume my studying after a post-lunch nap—I checked my hair and realized I'd just gotten out of bed, and my hair looked like it could use some combing. I've grown my hair for more than two years, but I still keep forgetting all about it. I haven't spent this long in Koronadal for a very long time; I was hardly ever home when I started studying and training for Medicine. It's good to have comforts of home.