Liyab

The Time Traveler

Today, a memory of my lover Resurfaces, breathes. Her soul awakens, alive within the corners Of a picture. I hold its edges, pinched Between my wrinkled fingertips, I used to touch hers with.   At the sight of her image, I hear my heart Its raucous beating piercing through the…
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Tale’s Peak

  I pinch one edge and turn it  for the hundredth time.  It lingers like dust on my fingers:  the skyward roller coaster rush  of the plot, building butterflies,  then coiling my gut into tangles.    This tale's peak was chapters ago but the calm descent—  perhaps the next page. …
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Losing Hope

Losing Hope

FRANCES MARIE G. IGNALAGA/ The Flame She laid on her bed as the monotonous voice from the recorded lecture filled her silent room. At this point, she could no longer make sense of her professor's words as exhaustion began to weigh her down. She stared blankly at the ceiling, letting…
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False Victory

False Victory

The summer heat urged me to steal as it continuously made sweat trickle down my back. As the raging ball of fire governed the skies, its rays hit the enticing bottle of Sprite that was perched on the counter of the sari-sari store across the street. I could not help…
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Paper Mirrors

  At first  it bleeds so stridently— the ink in steady flow, unfettering the hushed blooming pain,  extricating uncertain masked breaths. I guess enormous blades can carve  the most imperceptible scars  but through smudged sentence edges  and uncarefully spun words,  my paper mirrors perceive  even ill-lit depths.    Then time…
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The Last One

The Last One

Behind the stack of boxed action figures and bright-colored balls was a small-framed woman, not the kind that you would pity at first glance, but the kind you would not notice at all. Old Marites sat patiently on a small stool, fanning herself with her clammy hands. She tucked the…
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Shopping Cart

Shopping Cart

Hirap na hirap si Aida sa pagtulak ng kaniyang shopping cart patungo sa Aisle #5. Kalahating oras na lamang ang natitira bago matapos ang kaniyang shift at naatasan siyang mag-restock ng ilang produkto. Nagpaparamdam na ang sakit ng katawan ngunit pinapaalala na lamang niya ang oras sa sarili upang siya…
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Reconnection

Reconnection

Ravaged by the touch of a scarring plague, the sickness pulled me in idle. Needles pierced through my skull, numbing my senses for freedom, Gasping for someone to cope with the pain.   Loneliness lurked deep in the corners of the dark room. Menacing eyes threatened my sanity, Labeled as…
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An Adventure’s Cost

An Adventure’s Cost

“The mundane affairs of humans must always have boundaries.”  Disapproving my love for adventures, mother always repeated those words as she told the tale of a  venturesome princess who disrespected the sacred Tawhay River. Angered by her recklessness, the gods cursed her to balance eternally on top of a stone…
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Black Saturday

Black Saturday

The lights flickered off at sunset, just as his prayers began. He was hoping for a delay; that the electric distribution company would be lenient. Darkness pervaded just in time for Black Saturday. Still, he remained in solemn posture. “...he was crucified, died…” As he prayed, a door opened. They…
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