Liyab

Beach Vacation

Beach Vacation

CALLOUSED BY urban concrete every day, there is nothing my feet want more than to sink into pristine Cebu sand. The sea never fails to bring repose. The salty breeze unclogs noses used to constantly filtering dust, and the sight of docking ships resets brains desensitized by overstimulation. My family…
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The New Streets

The New Streets

ONLY THE faint rustles of wheels on asphalt can be heard this morning. None of the usual plastic cracklings nor clamoring chatters among vendors and customers alike. The streets are clean, save for the residual water from rain. At this time of the day, the place is usually packed; cardboard…
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Dry Season

Dry Season

I USED to think of summer as an illusion of rest and revival; a hazy season stitched together by slow mornings and days so mundane they blur into each other, only to be racked with busy weekends and blistering outdoor plans.  And yet, I find myself on neither end.  As…
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Love, Unspoken

Love, Unspoken

Morning leans in, unfolding by a crumbling wall where whispering white blossoms spill. He, bare-footed, wears yesterday’s tired shrug and reading glasses that hide everything unsaid.   Wares made of pretend gold lie on faded velvet trays, a kingdom of tin and tinsel for passing eyes and careless fingers. Each…
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Collateral

Collateral

WE WERE victims of early morning shifts and late night duties. We would wake up before everyone else and arrive home when everyone was asleep. We were at war with the duality of our bodies, confused about which consciousness to follow. A piece of paper was plastered on the wall…
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Sanctuary

Sanctuary

FOR THE last two of my almost six-year-long stay at the University, I have lived more or less the same routine.  The routine is as follows: wake up, prepare myself, and make an early arrival at our office, maybe catch some coffee along the way, spend the rest of the…
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Ang Natitigatig

Ang Natitigatig

Dadapo ang mga mata sa kisameng puti at dilaw, Uhaw sa atensiyon ng pusong sa baba dumudungaw. Pasukin ang bahay mong sinimulan, Sa ibabaw ng marmol, doon huling dadasalan. Binuhusan ng tubig na nagpalamig sa ugat, Iyak ng mga anak sa dasalan ang maghuhudyat, ng dugong hindi na mahanap ang…
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I could never fold paper cranes right

I could never fold paper cranes right

you looked at every little paper square with the eyes of an imagining child. images ravaged inside your head, your hands fidgeted with excitement to transform those four perfect corners into a geometric animal I can't comprehend. you reached for them without hesitation and you created a crane, a hummingbird,…
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Heart-Shaped Box

Heart-Shaped Box

THE HOUR-LONG ride to Bulacan was grueling. I stood the entire time, my knees aching, begging to crouch. Crushed between people as exhausted as I was, I couldn’t help but worry about the box inside my backpack. It was probably just as battered. Today had been my busiest yet—a seven-to-nine…
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Aphrodite’s cruel endowment

Aphrodite’s cruel endowment

I do not usually ask the heavens to grant me answers to prayers whispered in desperation, with eyes shut closed in quiet devotion. I have no need to pine for a life that is not mine. Yet, he came waltzing in as if the Fates gave Aphrodite a moment away…
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