Another January 1 Without You

It’s New Year’s Day again. The world feels loud… fireworks, resolutions, celebrations. But for me, this day is quieter now. It’s heavy. It’s your birthday, Nanay. And you’re not here. I’ve been thinking about you all month. December always brings…

Looking Back, Moving Forward

December always catches me off guard. It’s like you blink, and suddenly the year is over. All those plans and resolutions from January feel like a distant memory, buried under the weight of everything that’s happened in between. It’s funny…

When Love Is Silent, Does It Count?

Sometimes, I think back to the way I loved, and the question lingers: Did they know? Did they feel the care I carried for them, the quiet kind of love that I thought was enough? I didn’t shout it from…

The Quiet Way I Loved—and Lost

There’s a question I’ve been sitting with for a while now: Did I love wrong? It’s not something I say out loud. Not to friends, not to myself when the lights are off and it’s just me and the ceiling.…

Love Doesn’t Leave Enough

It’s just me now. Me and this silence I didn’t ask for, but here it is anyway. I’ve been thinking about how everything used to feel so easy… how we’d just talk, say whatever came to mind, no effort, no…

The Uncertainty That Follows

Sometimes, the hardest thing isn’t the goodbye. It’s everything that comes after. The silence. The things left unsaid. The space that used to be filled with laughter or quiet moments now echoes with questions. What happened? Why did it stop?…

Old Receipts

What am I supposed to dowith these thoughts of you?They stack up like old receipts,faded,yet I can’t bring myselfto throw them away. I tuck them into corners,forget about them for a while,until they spill out again,crinkled memoriesof things that were…

Subtext

I conceal my heartin gestures that mean lessthan they should—a glance, a half-smile,words that never reveal too much. You’ll never knowthe full weight of what I hide,for I’ve learned to wrap itin layers of space,to cloak it in distance. It’s…

Anchor

I grip my feelings tightly,fingers clenched around the edges,as if letting gowould unravel somethingI can’t take back. It’s safer like this—to keep them bound,to hold them stillso I don’t fall too far. But sometimes,late at night,I loosen my graspjust enoughto…

Interlude

I keep my love muted,a hum beneath the noiseof day-to-day life. It doesn’t demand attentionor make itself known,but it’s always there,buzzing through my mind,like a song stuck on repeat. I wonder if you hear it, too—the muted way I carry…