Literary

Where the Queer Birds Sing

The first time Kate saw it was on a sunny June afternoon. She ascended the ten-step staircase to her room, ears burning red from her mother’s relentless criticism of her “reckless behavior,” yet the wooden floorboards barely creaked under the…

Money is Honey

Each day blends into the next; a never-ending cycle of deadlines and quiet resignation to the system when survival means two steps away from one’s purpose. What are dreams if not a fool’s currency when a paycheck is what keeps…

no return(?)

here lies the hope of a bleeding nation  where blood, sweat, and tears are spent to stay alive.  power sits on golden thrones seeping with grandiose delusion,  poverty-stricken citizens given just enough to survive.    and where blood, sweat, and…

1461 Tears

Originally published in Heraldo Filipino Volume 38, Double Issue   On the 3rd of November, Xander’s chest pounded like tomorrow did not exist. As he stood before the cafe’s pane of glass, he gazed upon his own reflection—a series of…

They Without God’s Print

Originally published in Heraldo Filipino Volume 38, Double Issue   In a distant desert above the Middle Seas stood a godly town bounded by giant walls. It braved the sands alone; to anywhere the eyes would wander atop the village…

Kasabihang Kutsero, Ibuking!

Mula sa labas ay payak kung mailalarawan ang aming tahanan; pinagtagpi-tagping bato at yero ang tanging pundasyon, at nakapaskil na ukit ng umula’t umaraw na panahon sa dingding naming tila kwadro ng kalikasan. Gayunpaman, bagamat kulang sa palamuti, ay napupunan…

Yellow Tape

Tales of the most dire encounters with the unknown come to life amidst the muteness of a November night. Such sessions oftentimes transpire under the curtains through which came light and breeze from without; it is of somberness.   In…