April 2012
2 posts
The Pact
I didn’t know how to deal with loss. Especially when it was someone else’s. My cousin was crumpled on the ground, beating on the tombstone of his recently buried girlfriend. It was all too much for me. All I could tell him was that I will be there for him, that I’ll stand by him—
But what use are those words? How can being there really help, really? And that’s when...
March 2012
1 post
Mi Corazon
As Corazon watched her grandson board the ferry, she knew it was the last time she would see him. He left for Manila to die. She knew about his condition, knew it before he was even aware of it. What kind of a grandmother would she be if she didn’t know? But still she had let him go. He was too young, and as he only had a few months left to live, she didn’t have the will to hold him...
December 2011
3 posts
Firecracker
Sally was a sweet girl who got tired of waiting for her happily ever after.
Ever since she was little, her mother would always tell her that anything she wanted in life, she only needed to pray for. So she prayed for good grades when she had school trouble; she prayed for good health whenever she got sick. And when her stepfather crept into her bed for the fourth straight night, she prayed for...
Look Before You Cross
The sun was at its highest. People hurried from destination to destination. No one wanted to loiter too long under the sweltering heat.
It was funny, the weather. It’s supposed to be cool—cooler—during the -ber months. It’s never been hotter. Well, not completely true. It was at par with the heat of the summer we had just experienced. As well as the heat during the...
He's Checking His List
Ace thought no one would see. That was his main reason for doing it. For stealing from his own company. He didn’t count on his own employees having enough initiative to do their own investigating. That they would be able to trace the theft to him.
But that’s over and done with. Ace was able to salvage his reputation, feeding his vice president to the wolves. As for the too-curious...
November 2011
2 posts
A Usual Morning in Zombie Days' Metro Manila
When the zombie epidemic broke, everything changed. Or so that’s what people said happened. For Nathan, things were pretty much the same. He still had to wake up at five in the morning to beat the morning rush, he still had to toil in front of a computer for twelve hours a day (with no overtime pay), and he still had to court death every night as he traversed the length of the EDSA highway.
...
There Once Was a Girl
Her name was Glenda.
If there was anyone you would look over. If there was anyone you could forget. It would be her. Quiet, mousy Glenda. And she never complained. Never raised her voice. Never called attention to herself.
There once was a girl named Glenda. And people took no notice of her. She was passed over. She blended into the background.
She was ignored over and over: at home, at...
August 2011
1 post
6 tags
July 2011
2 posts
A Door That Led to Nowhere
There was a story I wanted to tell. And I’m hoping that by writing it down, I would remember what it was.
It had something to do with opening a door, inside a monastery. It wasn’t a normal door—aside from the fact that it was situated in between landings, it was a very small door. I thought it led to a storage room. Except for the fact that beyond the wall was nothing.
Going...
The Foggy Bend in the Road
It was a still night, and it was hot. That part wasn’t uncommon—even during the rainy season. But the fog was. Uncommon, I mean. Especially in that place. Our subdivision has never been a particularly foggy place. Zero visibility only usually happens when there’s a typhoon in the area.
But there it was.
The fog covered a bend, and a few meters of road. That was the other weird...
June 2011
2 posts
Why you need to sleep with a teddy bear.
deadsunsanddyingstars:
May 2011
1 post
March 2011
1 post
January 2011
3 posts
Cinderella in Rubber Shoes: Philippine Folklore... →
cinderellainrubbershoes:
MANANANGGAL. Literally means “one that removes”. This creature is usually an attractive woman by day. At night, especially when there is a full moon, her upper body detaches from her lower body; it utters a special demonic prayer and applies some kind of oil on all of its body parts before…
peer pressure
“isawsaw mo na,” peter cajoled. “matagal ka nang curious, ‘di ba? dali na! isawsaw mo na!” noel didn’t know what to do. he could back out, but that would make him look like a wuss. on the other hand, going through with what his friends were asking of him—it could wreck him. well, not literally. but— noel squared off his shoulders, took a deep breath,...
it happened one night
zaldy was hurrying home when he heard the noise. it sounded like a mix between an elevator closing and a very loud turbine of a plane. it was a very unnatural sound. naturally, he went to investigate. amidst the hustle bustle of recto, he found it weird that no one else heard the sound. then again, he wasn’t in the heart of recto, just one of those small roads that lead to bigger roads. an...
December 2010
2 posts
happy new year
it’s the last day of the year, and i’m spending it with edward. just a bit of a backgrounder: edward has been a friend since high school. we were classmates then. college came and took us to different paths. he went on to the study political science and criminology. i went and tried my hand at a vocational course. he’s a big-shot journalist now, reporting on crimes in the city. i...
November 2010
14 posts
s.m-a: Rebranding the Philippines. →
sarahmeier:
A poster created by Philippine design and apparel house Team Manila upon hearing from tourism experts that “nobody even knows where the Philippines is on the map”.
—-
Shouts to Team Manila, co-conspirators in an initiative to rebrand our country and give the Philippine Department of…
mother's stories
lilly watched her younger sister sleep. she had just finished retelling their mother’s favorite story, about a woman who made a leap to the stars—and caught one to give to her youngest daughter. it was her younger sister’s favorite story too. the night was still. it’s been days since their mother’s funeral, and lilly still missed her badly. but tomorrow is a new day....
road trip
this was suicide. i stared at the rear view mirror. maybe i was hoping this was all a dream. but it was like watching a car crash. you just can’t look away. and i couldn’t look away as yet another person was devoured by a horde of the undead. enough. i turned the key on the ignition. the sputtering sound my car makes was gone—thank goodness for small favors. but steady hum of...
for whom the bell tolls
the night was young. the air was still. and someone rung the bell. frederico vergara looked up to bell tower. it should be empty. it was empty, when he checked less than thirty minutes ago. so why was the bell ringing now? he pumped his shotgun. their church was a refuge for the people. and unlike other nearby churches that had been overrun by the dead, they’ve yet to encounter a horde that...
refuge
“sir, we’re lost. can you help us?” angelo told the first man who opened his barricaded door for them. angelo was with his best friend romina, and his sister jackie. the three of them had been looking for a refuge since the dead started rising from their grave. “of course, son. of course.” the man ushered the three of them inside his house. bolting the door shut, as...
deck the wall
jeff dizon shook the can of spray paint. red. he didn’t know if it would even show. almost everything was splattered with red nowadays. behind him, carla jimenez coughed. his girlfriend wanted him to get a move on. they were on a mission from the refugee camp to mark the campus. to warn people not to enter. university of the philippines: los baños was, for all intents and purposes, overrun....
in the line of duty
john arnold florentino was a good man. so he didn’t know what he had done to deserve this kind of crappy life. “florentino,” his companion whispered. “ayos ka lang ba? (are you okay?)” florentino looked at his bleeding arm. one of the undead had bit him. undead. that was the term used by mark jimenez, just before running out on them. the first time he saw the...
z-heads
barry santos was chewing a gum when the alarm sounded. he, along with a dozen other survivors, grabbed arms as they settled on their tried-and-tested positions in front of the theater doors. only one of them had a gun. that meant twelve of them must rely on other kinds of weapons. barry had fashioned a bludgeoning stick from a set piece he found back stage. his friend and co-actor felix yuzon had...
the street of ongpin
paul, henry and elisa stood together, each one of them holding a weapon of some sorts. it’s been five days since the outbreak, and the three of them survived through sheer will power. and now, they were about to face their toughest challenge: saving henry’s brother in an apartment in ongpin. paul surveyed the street, looking for movement. cars had jammed the roads, and the buildings...
shot through the heart
spo2 matthew reyes was heartbroken. his girlfriend of four years, fiancee of two months, just broke up with him. and now he is on his way to her apartment to ask for her forgiveness. and to ask her to take him back. truth be told, his friends had advised against this. but matthew was drunk, and the only thing he wanted to do right now was to get back with analise. that after everything that was...
liar, liar
“and what’s that supposed to be?” jessica asked me as i put the finishing touches on my latest sculpture. “and don’t say it’s a symbol of your feelings, or i will hurt you again.” i rolled my eyes. jessica wanted a label for everything. though, even if i wanted to answer her, i wouldn’t have been able to. i looked at the sculpture. i had no idea what...
and then there were six
“—and in other news, terrorist leader macario jimenez is still at large after escaping the security outfit sent by the united nations—” someone turned the radio off, before the radio announcer could expound on his news report. marissa turned towards the direction of the radio. the freshman they rescued yesterday had her hand still pressed on the radio’s power button....
in the eyes of a child
kyle custoya held on tightly to his teddy bear. he watched from the window as his father zigzagged on the street, making his way home. night was approaching, and his father was drunk again. kyle knew it was not going to be a good night. his mother entered his bedroom and tried to pry the teddy bear off his hands. his father hated seeing the teddy bear. he kept telling kyle that he was old enough...
a string of bad luck
disclaimer: in-story iwa moto is a work of fiction; meaning she’s not the real iwa moto, and she doesn’t talk and act like the real iwa moto. it just so happens that they have the same name and they are both actresses who are always handed sexy roles. now, on to the story: A STRING OF BAD LUCK. karl tan was having the worst day of his life. he was just fired from his job at the...
October 2010
3 posts
the duwendes that guard our garden
i call them puti and itim, two duwendes that guard our garden since i was a kid. i don’t know why they still guard our garden—what’s left of it. it’s nothing special. not anymore. i remember first seeing them when i was 7 years old. itim was playing a prank on puti. i thought it was hilarious, until puti chastised me. he said it was impolite to laugh at other people’s...
corner of your eye
you’re alone, but it isn’t dark. nothing to worry about. except that thing on the corner of your eye. with its wings spread. you look again. there’s nothing there. but you could have sworn that you saw something unfolding. something big. black. leathery. but it must be your imagination, right? you watched something scary. read something spine-tingling. it’s just your...
scandal
what would you do for fifteen-minutes of fame? for penelope, there was nothing she wouldn’t. the sixth daughter of an impoverished has-been celebrity, penelope knew that thirst for limelight was in her blood. it was just too bad that the limelight doesn’t seem to want anything to do with her. but no matter. nowadays, people become infamous all the time. infamous. what’s the...
September 2010
1 post
take the leap
she whispered to him: “watch me fly.” and there was nothing he can do but watch her. for twelve years, juan loved one woman. a woman who meant the world to him. a woman who jumped off the top of a fifteen-storey office building in makati. it wasn’t a day juan would soon forget. he was there with her when she took that leap. he was the number one suspect for the murder of nicole...
August 2010
2 posts
July 2010
1 post
watch what you eat
bartolome entered the canteen with trepidation. it looked dingy. then again, what did he expect? he was in some backwards town in god-knows-where, and this is the only food establishment he could see for miles. he was hungry, it was no time to be picky. that, of course, doesn’t mean he can’t let a few comments fly. “what died in here?” he cracked, hoping to elicit a few...
June 2010
1 post
"i'm alive."
Robert woke up with a start. The date was September 26, 2009 and Robert had a deadline to meet. Rain was falling outside, but Robert didn’t mind. He found that the sound of rain calms him when he’s feeling pressured. Like he was feeling at the moment. His deadline was make-or-break. It would mean getting out of the call center industry finally. It would mean that he is one step closer...
May 2010
1 post
the door-opening agreement
my sister is a tourism graduate, and back in school they had to travel to all sorts of places—as part of their curriculum. it was quite an adventure for a homebody like my sister. their class had gone all over the philippines, and some other countries in asia. they’ve gone to beaches, they’ve gone camping—they’ve done all sorts of things. but from all the stories she...
April 2010
3 posts
best friend
valerie was by no means the most popular girl on school, but she was very well known. that’s because valerie was nice. while the in-crowd in her school tend to be very mean, or very snubbish, valerie was different. she treated everyone with kindness. which made her the best friend of the not-so-popular. kimberly was the same as valerie. she treated everyone with kindness, and was generally...
the stairs at the back
students love to make up stories about their school; scary stories that some of those in position let circulate. after all, what better way to get a school to clear out after hours than a scary story that talks about how students get abducted by vengeful ghosts and such, right? johnson loved these scary stories. in fact, he couldn’t get enough of them. with his group of friends, they sought...
don't answer the knocking
in the philippines, it was still cool to disco in the 90’s. and george’s older brother was one of those who liked to go out and have a good time once in a while. his favorite disco house? ozone. it wasn’t very big. george hasn’t been inside, so he actually doesn’t know if it expands from the door; but from the outside, george isn’t impressed with the place. but...
March 2010
5 posts
tamara's eyes: the soul-eater
it’s been one month exactly since tamara found out from her dead grandmother that she was a seer, a person who can converse with the dead. and it has been twenty-nine days since her grandmother left her a warning: that demons will be coming after her because of her ability. the old woman’s spirit didn’t say why, but tamara didn’t think it’s because demons were in a...
i remember when: my days at sacred heart
in college, i was part of a literary organization that had its own writing workshop once a year. that’s putting it very simply, but since i’m not actually writing about the literary organization, i’ll leave it at that. the writing workshop, during the year i was involved in its execution, was held at a local monastery: sacred heart; a place full of ghost stories from different...
i remember when: this used to be my playground
one of the favorite past times of children, back when i was one, was hide-and-seek. and in lazy afternoons, after classes end, my friends and i would play hide-and-seek until our respective guardians came to fetch us. the year before i moved schools, a new building was constructed to address the growing population of students in my old school. it was a novel things for us kids. we saw the building...
tamara's eyes
tamara reyes is a seer, a person gifted with the ability to see the dead. of course, for tamara, this is not actually a gift. not that she considers it as a curse, but the ability to see the dead did not exactly come to her gift-wrapped with matching bow. it came to her on the day her grandmother, lola ising, died. looking back, tamara always found her grandmother weird. ever since she was a...