We met before, I swear, perhaps long before the 2 am drives to get a pack of cigarettes and sneaky, short kisses whenever we caught a red light and I was checking my work email; Long before that April afternoon when your palm was sweating, I know because I was holding your hand, and it’s… Continue reading This wasn’t it

Metro Manila was in strict lockdown when I met Mateo. At the height of a deadly pandemic none of us could’ve imagined happening in our lifetime, you drove from the south, evaded half a dozen military checkpoints, and, perhaps to some exaggeration, in a way, risked your own life, just to see me. On a… Continue reading Lockdown Litanies

The sky was on fire in Antipolo the night I realized what I wanted in life. It had just turned six when you caught me staring blankly at the sunset covering the Metro Manila skyline. Still too early to be already in deep with emotion. “Enjoying your fifteen minutes of nothing?” you asked. Your face… Continue reading On city skylines and boundaries

The modus operandi starts like this. During one of those nights when you feel lonely and alone, he would come barging in and ask you, “Hey, are you okay?” You thought no one was paying attention and nobody cared enough to ask what’s going on in that little head of yours. Like welcoming an uninvited… Continue reading To the boys whose hearts he will break tomorrow