Prodigal Steps

I started to hike from our town in my quest for nowhere: a place where nobody knows me. I didn’t know where to lead my sneakers but I was determined to be wherever my parents wouldn’t find me. The sun was up. But it wasn’t enough to make me stop walking. I forgot what halt meant that day.

My back ached and my limbs were bruised. I got them when some assholes snatched my guitar and hit me with it. And a storm of punches and kicks followed after the initial attack. Three men nearly killed me. I did not have the chance to fight back. I fell to the ground and passed out. They took my bag and all the money I had.

The Fruitful Harvest

The fruitful harvest

of the unripe and still young.

One lustful spirit

wanting to be picked tonight.

She went home, with a stained skirt.

-Max Sacala-

A Memory of a Bus Ride

For quite some time, I have been a traveler of the road that connected Surigao Del Sur and Davao City. I have lived most of my life in the city streets, but occasionally visit Surigao particularly on Christmas breaks, summer vacations, and on dates that the whole family decides to have a reunion. Sometimes, the death anniversary of my great grandmother was a reason enough to visit Surigao. These visits had become a habit of my family when we left Surigao during my early childhood.

Starless Nights

Meygan stood on top of that unfamiliar hill, staring at the last rays of the sun as they slowly faded and disappeared in the horizon. She could hardly believe that she was in that place, totally alone. The quaint little barrio nestled just below the hill seemed too different and unwelcoming. She had realized that the moment she cast a quick glance at her spaghetti-strapped dress and five inch heels.

She was about to leave when she remembered why she was there in the first place. A few months before her Grampy’s sudden death, Meygan had not turned to the old man to ask for his advice even once. It was surprising for she had always depended on her Grampy and his words since she was a child. Then she changed — believing that she had grown up and that her dear grandfather’s advice were mere words… mere lies…