3 min read There was a time in my youth when my hopes for the future were uncomplicated. My world chiefly revolved around my hometown and the towns and cities in its vicinity. I never imagined leaving Marbel for good, much less leave the country altogether. Marbel did not become a city until the turn of the millenium…
Category: Personal Stories
Parting
< 1 min read A microstory. I spent the better part of the week bidding farewell to friends and discarding memories of old lovers. How many goodbyes does one have to make in a lifetime? I thought. When they said people come and go, I did not really think I am people. I scanned the room wistfully for the…
Keep Calm and Don’t Let Work Kill Your Vibe
3 min read “Thanks Trisha for being with us in all hard times.” the email read. It was the concluding message sent by an ex-colleague after several exchanges of how are you’s and whatnot. All I did was write him some encouraging remarks about not stressing too much and taking care of themselves (addressed to him and another…
Open
< 1 min read A microstory. “Give me a kiss.” I looked up to him perplexed thinking I misunderstood. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “Give me a kiss.” He said another time. An instant later, he leaned in to close the gap between his lips and mine. In the middle of a lively…
Motions
< 1 min read A microstory. The alarm goes off at 8:30. It’s your last snooze for the day. You have no choice but to get moving. You slap shut the alarm and switch on the radio for inspiration. You strip yourself naked and stand in the shower to wash away the nightmares that plagued you in your sleep….
Cheonggyecheon
< 1 min read A micro story. It was the beginning of fall, the leaves were starting to turn amber. A familiar autumn breeze enveloped the surroundings. They were sat by the banks of Cheonggyecheon stream locked in a tight embrace, oblivious to the flow of passersby eager to reach one point from another. For a moment, they allowed…
Chance Encounter
3 min read Four years ago, on a red-eye flight from Manila to Sydney, I sat next to an elderly lady whom I will later get to know as Mrs. Reyes. Her seat was to my right, separated by an aisle. I couldn’t help but notice that she had difficulties with mobility, perhaps on account of old age….
Ice Cream Parlour
< 1 min read This is a micro story, a story of no more than 100 words. What about all these years? I don’t know. What are we doing here then? I don’t know. It’s complicated. We don’t need to decide now. Let’s take a couple of weeks to clear our heads. She remained quiet. Steadfast in her resolve….
Love Game
2 min read It was summer of ’02 when, bored out of our wits at home, my uncle commissioned one of his friends to train me and two other cousins to play tennis. I cannot remember exactly what gave him the push, maybe he was secretly hoping to make Federers and Williamses out of us, to no avail….
I am Not a Terrorist
2 min read On my bi-weekly quiz night with friends prepared this time by a lawyer classmate, one of the rounds was about half-witted statements made by certain government officials whose unquestioning support for the president of the republic is preposterous at best and alarming at worst. I felt overcome with and debilitated by rage, blood rushing to…