Liyab

The curved edges intertwine, tightly embracing at once. Their merry meeting brings beauty to the chaos as fragments descend to its destiny.   One by one, the spaces fill to blend the Christmas colors. The lights enchant me and I, an eager captive, reach for the last piece: this season’s…

I’ve never been a fan of Paskuhan. It heightens my dislike for Christmas— the only time my religious father visits me in hopes to “convert” me. Not acting the way God has created me, I shrink like the sinner that I am, under the magnifying glass of my scrutinizing family.…

Every Christmas season, I feel empty from the missing member of our family picture. It is only a reminder of the times my mother missed the joys of the holiday.  As I stretch my body, I released myself from the confines of comfort. My heart beats loudly with excitement. I…

Christmas is a holiday for children. One may see this in the way the holiday season would move from being a magical time to merely a tradition people are expected to go through every year as they grow older. As a child, all the troublesome notions of the holiday were…

She rubbed her right eye with her thumb before blinking rapidly. Her eyes were starting to hurt from staring at her computer all day.   It was a familiar photo of a girl that caught her attention. Squinting, she leaned closer to the computer’s blinding screen.  The girl in the photo…

Raging storms have never dispelled the silence and desolation in this amusement park— until today.  An odd shadow arrived with a frozen, troubled gaze. I cared less of its expression and more of how it saved me from forlornness, giving me the chance to finally exhibit my bright colors. I…

Matindi ang tirik ng araw, nang napatigil ako sa lilim ng puno. Ramdam ang pagkapawi ng uhaw sa maginhawang simoy ng hangin. Nang nabatid ang futbol, biglang sumagi sa aking isipan si Rosa. Siya ang maginhawang sinag sa aking umaga. Napapasakit ang tiyan sa mga kwentong pabaon niya. Nababahagian ng…

Calm.   the sea is never treacherous. it is without a doubt, a treasure to behold. its secrets are not for all to see. it lies beyond the sunlight’s touch, with the truth not  appearing as something atrocious. the crystalline horizon would never be a sight one should miss. the…

photo by MARLOU JOSEPH B. BON-AO/The Flame Do you hear them come? The rustling of withered leaves, And the marching feet of headless priests? The sullen song of a weeping woman, Or was that of the fallen soldier, Lurking within the thread of hedges? Watching you shiver, from the sinister…

photo by RAINIEL ANGELYN BUENAVISTA FIGUEROA/THE FLAME I know death does not make the world go away. After papa died, mama brought in a new world of her own. There was nothing too obscure to the things she had begun to do: her eyes gleamed at the sight of a…