Author: Don Normantico
Romesmary Palisoc
Ecorampa 2014
Scared of falling
You were so good at showing your feelings before, why not now? You’re scared. Scared of falling into a pit that can easily shatter your heart right away, like last time. You lost everything and gained nothing at all. That’s defeat, you see, and everything in you was affected by that mistake. One mistake. You’ve lost faith and become doubtful, so unsure.
Okay, fine, you did your best last time, and almost every time you got away with no baggage at all but not this time, not with her. You can try to love again once more like before, or you can bury yourself in that feeling; and something tells me it’s the latter you’ll choose. Don’t get me wrong, but just let it go, no explanations, just let it fade away. Don’t ask me how. You’re better than this and you know it.
I know you caught everything I just said, as you usually do. But I can see your distrust. It wasn’t really your fault. You merely assumed.
Reality
The reality of the situation struck him like a personal nightmare he might never wake up from. He was too scared to act or react, knowing he didn’t have any say in the matter and that his feelings wouldn’t help either. He regretted all the time he had wasted, and his lost thoughts clouded even more with every tick of the clock. He was simply caught off guard.
He had long yearned for her, and the next hour would deliberately teach him what long distance really meant. He was happy seeing her every few weeks, but tomorrow, tomorrow would start a new phase in her life, effectively ending his. The remaining time was not enough to gather his thoughts and say all the things he wanted. And extending that time was, of course, impossible. Her plane leaves in two hours, and he still doesn’t know what to do. He is willing to wait forever, but today was consumed by goodbyes and nervous distractions.
Pasekretong umiibig
Pasekretong umiibig,
Sa kaniya ay ‘di masambit
Ang tunay na nadarama
Puro sulyap sa tuwina.
‘Di mapigilan ang pagtingin,
Sana’y mapasaakin.
Naakit sa kaniyang ngiti,
Pag-ibig na ‘di na maikubli.
Manila Auto Salon 2013
Ilocos Tour
Photographs
Painfully, some photographs are flat, lifeless, cold reminders of times that will never return, holding memories that are too painful to revisit. Yet we still keep them because we fear that something so great won’t happen twice won’t happen again. Paradoxically, we feel pain and greatness at the same time, depending on our perspective when we look at that picture-perfect moment.
Though sometimes we discover unpleasant truths along the way, and whenever we do, we look at that picture with curiosity, wondering how life could easily ruin an irreplaceable experience and feeling. We could try to destroy that picture out of sadness and bitterness in our hearts, but we simply can’t. I know; it’s not that simple.








































































































