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WHERE FLOWERS BLOOM

Today is the last Friday of March, and it is stifling hot over here on the island, its jungle mountains overlooking the Pacific seaboard. A dry spell is forecast to last until October. The heat drones heavy and dull and hangs like a...

Price of a Dream

“You’re free to dream,” is what’s often heard For wishful thinking seems to be done daily And nobody had to pay a dime to keep it in their minds Or really is it so? The price of a dream never comes cheap It has, and always has been,...

An Affair to Remember

Monsignor Sullivan was seated at his glass-topped desk, the letter from Vikings Cruise on a linen stationery before him. Should he take up the offer of a free cruise in exchange for serving as chaplain for two weeks on the ship? He was wearing...

Sometimes, I Am the Leaves

Aimless and astray—“I won’t go far”But most times, I am lost in the intricate streets and manmade blocks Not knowing the way back to your bosom I am the leaves, bloodless even with the stomping feet of menand most often I am the leaf that...

The Decision

Guido hands the large envelope to Bea. She accepts it with two hands, but he doesn’t let go of it, suddenly hesitant. She looks too young and frail to be entrusted with important documents, or with anything that could seriously affect his life....

Nautilus

I walked barefoot on the Pacific beach,the sand a chill, the sun a dying coal.Waves whispered secrets to the rocks,and there it was—a spiral waiting in the breath of the tide.Its surface shone,etched with lines curling inward,like a road curving toward a hidden...

Random Pickings

The Baby

Dr. Marta was seated on a stool in the Recovery Room writing her notes on a patient just transferred from the Delivery Room. Suddenly,...

The Shaman’s Wall

It was late in the afternoon when a knock on the door echoed throughout the abandoned tower. Cobwebs shivered, and dust fell off. I...

Don’t Follow Me, I Don’t Even Know Where I’m Going

“The past is not the past. The future doesn’t exist. It’s a made-up idea. Every mapping what we do of the future is a...

Labasero

The day Niko’s Mama got COVID, City Hall announced they needed to secure BIR permits and city health certificates to maintain their fish stalls....