Diary game|| I went to sign out my senior colleague in school

Today I step out of bed and the sun was already pushing through my window like it couldn’t wait, I drag myself but my heart was light. I keep telling myself this is not normal day, something was waiting in campus. My senior colleague was signing out and I knew inside me that one journey ended and another one about to open. The road felt longer than usual but my steps fast like the earth wanted me there on time.

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When I reached Uniuyo gate I could already hear noise, real human noise, not like regular class sound. People were shouting, some laughing so much that even strangers smiled. My eyes catch shirts full of writing, names everywhere, markers working like crazy. I keep looking at one shirt that was so full that even the buttons carried signatures. It make me laugh, but also think deep—life is short, we put our stories even on cloth.

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I found him standing tall, even though his shirt was already messy, his smile neat and wide. I said “congrats” but the word felt too small. He hug me like I was part of his victory and maybe I was. Someone poured water on his head, another threw powder, the smell of sweat and perfume mixing together like a festival. The whole place like carnival without ticket.

I watch him, his eyes said relief, also joy, also something I can’t explain. Maybe he was remembering nights with candles, power failure, lectures that stretch too long, exam papers that almost broke him. But now none of that matter. Finis coronat opus, that Latin sit in my mind, the end crowns the work, and it fit this moment perfectly.

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I wanted to write on his shirt but I was too busy staring. Still I find a space near his sleeve and draw a tiny word: Respondeo, like an answer to his struggle. He looked and nodded, nothing big, but the small gesture stay in my chest. Around us people danced like rain was falling though the sky dry. Drums and bottles beating rhythm, some shouting “sign out, sign out,” their voices scratching the air.

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I sit on the low fence for a while, just observing. Water splashing everywhere, ink running down fabric, girls chasing boys with powder bags. My shoes dirty, my shirt carrying stains, but I didn’t care. It was more than fun, it was seeing future in someone else’s today. I whispered to myself tempus fugit, time flies, and my breath shake when I realized one day it will be me.

My stomach empty but my spirit full. I remembered lectures where I nearly gave up, the tired nights I almost slept in class. Watching my colleague laugh with no burden in his chest gave me strength. If he can finish, then I can too. His joy became mine without him knowing.

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Later, when the sun started falling behind hostel roofs, the crowd slowed. People leaving, carrying their noise with them, but the ground still kept their footprints. He wave at me, simple wave but full of meaning. I walked out slowly, every step like carrying part of his celebration home.

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The campus silent now compared to before, yet inside me music still playing. I thought of words memento vivere, "remember to live", and I smile. Today was not just about him, it was also about me, about everyone who still walking that long road. Signing out was his chapter, but it wrote hope inside mine.

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And as I reached home, shoes muddy, shirt smelling like powder, laughter still stuck in my head, I realized this day will stay with me longer than many lectures. Because it was not only celebration, it was a lesson written in sound, sweat, water, and Latin words floating around my thoughts.

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