Category: Fiction

The Old Lady at the Bus Terminal

Fiction by | February 5, 2012

The last trip was at 10 pm and I was already having a problem with my stomach. It was aching. Must have been from the water I drank earlier. I asked for it at a carenderia near the terminal. I had never drunk tap water before. But the long wait at the terminal made me thirsty and clammy, and I only had enough money for the bus ticket and a few coins to pay for my jeepney ride once I arrived in Davao.

It was always like this at terminals in provinces. The benches were made of varnished lumber, and only two fluorescent would be lit. The sidewalk vendors had all gone home, and the stores nearby started closing. I sat uneasily on the bench, flipped my long hair from side to side, and fanned my neck with my hand.

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Purple Coffee

Fiction by | January 22, 2012

The alarm clock rings at 5 o’clock in the morning. Jasmine lazily stretches her arms out to the side table, and turn off the alarm. Once again, she hugs her pillow and folds her legs. She’s still sleepy from last night’s dinner date with her friends. She doesn’t want to get up but she has to. She has made herself a promise. She slowly forces herself to move; she gets up, washes her face and brushes her teeth. Then, she pulls her running clothes from the closet. She combs her hair and pulls it up, and wears her socks and slips her feet into her running shoes. It’s the first day of September and this day will be different for Jasmine. Today, she will not be reporting to the architectural firm which has stressed her out for almost 5 years; she won’t be seeing Paul, and she will be living her life in such a way that she has never lived before. She closes their front door and looks at the purple hue of the peaceful sky. A mild breeze plays with her ponytail. It’s still quite dark and she’s a little scared because she has never done this alone before. Nevertheless, she takes the last step on the porch, gets into her car and leaves.

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Lag-Ok's Papayas

Fiction by | December 25, 2011

Once there was a man named Lag-ok who owned a beautiful orchard. He had all kinds of fruit trees. There were mangoes, bananas, durian, rambutan, lanzones and others. But his favorite of all was papaya.

Lag-ok loved his orchard very much that he built a tall bamboo fence around it. That way, no one could take any of the ripe fruits from his trees. He wanted all of them for himself. He would sell the big ones in the market and get plenty of money. He would keep the medium ones for eating, and the small ones, he would allow to rot away on the ground to serve as fertilizer. He shared with no one and he gave nothing away.

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Sa Kalsada, Part 2

Fiction by | December 18, 2011

Miabot ang grupo didto sa usa ka abandonadong bilyaran sa Jacinto. Mao kadto’y giila nilang hideout. Sa dihang nakasulod na tanang Spiders, mipaduol si Stella sa bilyaran. Pagsilip niya sa gamay nga bangag, nakita niya nga nanaka ang mga lalaki sa second floor. Sa kagustuhan ni Stella nga makahibalo, misulod siya ug gibilin iyang bag sa usa ka lamesa sa silong. Mikamang siya pasaka ug gisilip ang gihimo sa mga Spiders. Nakita niya ang iyang kuya Lucas nga dunay taptap sa mga mata ug nakaluhod samtang nagpalibot kaniya ang ubang myembro. Sa atubangan ni Lucas nagtindog si Louie ug dunay mga gipangyawyaw. Nakadungog si Stella sa mga pulong apan wala na niya gipaminaw. Ang iyang tuyo mao ang masayran kung unsaon ang iyang kuya.

Taud-taud, gitunol ni Ben kang Louie ang usa ka injection nga puno og berde nga likidong. Gituruk ang maong droga kang Lucas. Mipiyong lang ang mata ni Lucas samtang ginapaak ang iyang ngabil. Gikuha dayon ni Louie ang usa ka baseball bat. Gihalok-halokan kini ni Louie, dayon gimandoan si Lucas nga motindog.

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Sa Kalsada, Part 1

Fiction by | December 11, 2011

Wala na gihurot ni Stella ang iyang kape.

“Lagi, kuya. Padulong na ko. Apurado man kaayo ka uy,” maoy sulti ni Stella samtang ginataktak ang toothbrush sa gripo. Mga alas sais y media kadto ug padulong sila ni kuya Lucas niya sa eskwelahan.

“Pasensya gyud, hud. Naa pa mi asaynment sa Araling Panlipunan. Mangopya pa ko sa akong klasmeyt, mao’ng dapat ta magdali. Tara na.”

Gibira ni Lucas ang iyang sling bag nga naa sa lamesita duol sa ilang TV. Nakalimot diay siya sa pagsirado sa zipper sa bag ug nangahulog ang iyang mga sinsilyo pati ang iyang cellphone.

“Na, na, na… paghinay pud, nak! Naunsa man ka nga mura man ka’g gigukod og manok? Wa man ka gaamping sa imong gamit uy! Huna-hunaa biya ha nga dili ta dato. Swerte na man gani mo kay napalitan pa mo’g cellphone, dili pa gyud ninyo ampingan? Hay nalang!” Mao’y sulti sa ilang inahan nga nagpugong-pugong nga mangasaba sa sayong oras sa buntag.

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Laksoy, Part 2

Fiction by | December 4, 2011

Tukma usa ka tuig kanhi, sa susamang adlaw karon nga kini nagsugod. Ulanon kadtong mga panahona nga inubanan sa gabonon nga palibot nga hinayhinay nga mipatius-os gikan sa kinatumyan sa lasangong bukid, ug milukop sa bungtod nga nahimutangan sa among kuta. Hinuon dili kaayo baga ang gabon tungod kay maaninag pa man ang porma sa tawo mga kawhaan ka metros gikan sa among nahimutangan. Tugnaw kaayo kadtong panahona ilabina didtong dapita nga taas ang elevation mao nga didto kami sa sulod sa among mga payag. Kulang kami sa usa ka squad kay nagkuha man sila’g mga supply gikan sa headquarters.

Nakaaninag ang akong mga sakop ug mga tawo nga nagtrabaho taliwala sa ulan ug sa gabonon nga palibot apan sa among pagtuo, mga mag-uuma kini nga nag-atiman sa ilang mga pananom. Bisan pa man niana, kanunay kami nga nagmaigmat sa among pagbantay tungod kay kung kami sulungon sa mga kaaway, mga duha ka oras pa ayha makaabot ang reinforcement niining panahona nga lapokon ang dalan tungod kay dili makaagi ang mga sakyanan.

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Laksoy, Part 1

Fiction by | November 27, 2011

Usa ka adlaw, miabot siya sa among dapit inubanan sa dili kasarangang kinaiyahan sa usa ka tawo nga hayan gisamok sa usa ka butang nga bisan ang usa ka mananambal maglisod sa pagsuta. Hilumon siya – mao kana ang akong gihunahuna sa kinauyokan sa akong pangisip. Daghan sa akong mga silingan ang misulay sa pagbuak sa iyang kahilom nga mapagarbuhon niyang gipakita, apan wala sila molampos.

Basin ug moambak kamo sa sayop nga paghukom nga dili gayod siya makigsulti kang bisan kinsa niadtong mga higayona nga siya dinhi pa sa among dapit. Ang tukma nga pagkasulti mao nga pipila lamang ka mga pulong ang mogawas sa iyang mga ngabil nga igo na nga makasugyot nga siya dili diay amang. Kadtong pipila ka mga pulong igo-igo na nga makasugyot nga anaa pa gayod siya sa tukmang pangisip. Usa lamang ka butang ang segurado kanako – ang iyang pagkatawo

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The Best Remedy

Fiction by | November 20, 2011

The sun was just beginning to set. Looking at the red orange glow of the sky from his kitchen window, Mike wanted to just go out there and jog to his heart’s content. It had been weeks now since he had jogged last. This was because of a number of murders that happened recently. Already there had been two killings near their otherwise peaceful town of Gusa.

He had been gardening for the last few hours and doing some chores. It was the weekend of a long tiring week selling fine watches. He had decided to take the day off to relax. The headaches were back. The only thing that he found that could make it go away was if he did something that he really liked to do to relax. Gardening was one of those.

But as he stooped to turn on the sink, he couldn’t help but wince slightly as the headache was still there as well as the shaking of his hands. Jogging was one thing he could do that would really clear his head. He wondered if the police had caught the killer already.

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