Chapter Two

After the short meeting with Greg Porter, Adam took a little more time rediscovering the campus grounds. He walked across the open field and looked at the entire surrounding once again. He never realized how much he missed the place.

He found a wooden bench and sat down to rest for a bit. The wind made another whisper across the field, waving through the trees. No press, no meetings, no deadlines. Just him. He loved that moment.

Then a few minutes later while embracing the solitude,  Adam looked to see who it was as the sound of feet running through the grass drew nearer. It was another student carrying a stack of books, struggling to keep her balance. Because of the soft grass, her pace became uneven, and her footing got lost along the way. She tripped, and the books scattered across the ground. Adam rushed towards her to help her up.

"Are you okay?" He asked her as he helped her stand up. The student sighed and pulled herself up. She frantically looked around and rushed to pick up the books scattered on the ground. Adam followed and helped her gather her belongings.

As he reached for the third book that he saw spread open on the ground, he noticed that the book was somehow familiar to him as he looked at the spine. He slowly picked it up. He looked closer at what was written along the spine, then it started to pull him back again to the memories twenty-one years ago.

"Is this your favorite book?" He asked the student. The young girl stopped to look at him after she picked up the last book on the ground. She spent a few seconds to realize that she was being addressed by the famous painter.

"You're Adam Ocampo!" She replied with a shock and embarrassment on her face. "I-I'm sorry for causing you trouble. I'm in a hurry for my literature class." Her eyes landed at the book Adam was holding. "Yeah, that's my favorite. I love reading Pablo Neruda's poems."

Adam smiled. "I also read this very book when I was still studying here. It's the only reason why I always go back to the library." He opened the backside of the book and pulled out the borrower's card and showed the girl his name and date signed across one of the spaces in it.

"Wow, that's amazing." the girl said, as she looked over the card. "Well, nobody ever cared anymore about how wonderful it is. You're the only other person that I know who loves it too."

"What's your name?" Adam asked.

       "I'm Keira." She replied. Then she turned to look at the direction where she was supposed to head towards. "Well, I have to go now. Can I have my book back?"

        Adam stopped short and hesitated for a second. "Oh. Uh, sure." He gave the book back to her.

        "Thank you. I just hope that my professor will approve my proposal to have a literary analysis of this. I want to write about Sonnet XVII."

        Things just made Adam wonder even more. Why did the events of that day kept on reminding him of things of the past?

        "That's my favorite poem." He said. "One of my latest paintings was inspired by that one."

        Keira was amazed by what she heard. "That's amazing! I haven't seen your recent set of paintings. Will it be displayed during the Alumni Awards tomorrow?"

        "You know, I haven't thought of that. I'll see to it that I do." He smiled. "Well, good luck with your project. I'm pretty sure your professor will approve."

        "Thanks," Keira smiled. "I look forward to seeing your painting tomorrow. Thanks for the help today, Mr. Ocampo."

        "You're welcome, see you then." He replied. Keira then rushed off to the Arts building.

        Adam sat back down at the bench and let out a deep sigh. Flashbacks have started to surface in his mind and the scene entered into twenty-one years ago. He pulled out his phone and called his agent.

        "Amara, I changed my mind. Send it to the university for the Alumni Awards tomorrow."