Fiction

The dawn had barely broken, the rooster was still asleep, and stillness enveloped the sleepy village of Casanayan. There was no moonbeam for now since it was a new moon, so the room, carrying the scent of aged wood and memories, was wrapped...

He arrived a couple of hours early before the appointed hour.  Earlier, he took the first plane to his province at five in the morning and was at the island airport an hour later. He rented a van to take him to his...

I sit ugly, like a duck waiting to exhale, in a crowded jeepney on the way to somewhere that seems like nowhere on a morning like this. The old car is at the shop undergoing check-up after wading (Inay, sinking) through floods the...

Eden Reyes Blanco sifted listlessly through the manila envelope of documents labeled Fairview House which her secretary had brought to her. She was having her glutathione drip in her dressing room. Although she co-owned the chain of La Eleganza Wellness and Enhancement Centers,...

I am Issa—the one and only. My parents named me Juan, which in English sounds like “one.” In Tagalog, “one” is isa, just like my name. Well, sort of—it’s Issa, pronounced, Ee-sah.     In my language, we don’t say “she” or “he,” we say...

Saturday. The afternoon’s stifling heat is rising in waves. Rogie crosses the road and pushes the gate of the compound of Dr Rieu’s residence. Rogie notices some village chiefs treating themselves with soft drinks. After the usual welcome by their candidate for town...