Young Underpaid Professionals

To Which Devices Have You Descended?

I made a mistake once that I will never forget. Not only did I end up with the wrong person, I BECAME someone I never thought I’d become – insular, self-centered and, worst of all, initially blind to these flaws. No need to bother you with too many of the gory details (this is not a tabloid...

Natanga lang – The Memory Gap Special

So much of the stories you could get from a failed 4-year relationship are ugly, a little twisted and ultimately, sad. But sob stories are a dime a dozen nowadays, which is why once in a while it’s nice to have a break from all the drama and tell a nice story - albeit, culled from said failed relationship. In...

Ang Alamat ng Misery Day

Ang Alamat ng Misery Day [Written by Rio Siochi and Lei Velasco] May ikukwento ako, pero atin-atin lang ‘to ha? Nung unang panahon (2008), in a land far, far away (Makati), may magkaibigang itatago natin sa mga pangalang *ahem, ubo-ubo* Rosario at Lareina. Si Rosario ay isang manunulat, writer...

Fill in the blanks: His and Her Stories

His and Hers Part 1 Girl’s POV: Girl and guy are exchanging friendly text messages, talking about how their days are going, and what’s going to happen the next day during classes. They talk about unimportant things. Guy then tells girl that he’s exhausted after having attended his cadet...

noose

i never really knew her. she was just one of my many faceless classmates. all of our conversations were limited to heys and nods, except for that one time when i stayed in school to work on something for design class long after everybody else went home. she was a member of the volleyball varsity....

Cotton Candy Clouds and Orange-Flavored Skies

FICTION Posted by Mai It was a dream, but it didn't feel like a dream. She found herself walking a path that seemed like it stretched out to forever, but didn't feel like forever, yet it promised forever; the candy-clouds of the sky and the emerald blades of grass softening the edges of the gravel...

The Famous Writer (Part Three of Three)

FICTION by Rica Book signing. Queue. Bookworms with my work in hand. One smiling face approached me. "You always sign with a red marker." "It's my lucky charm." I wink. Besides, it's easier to refill with red "ink". "Oh, it dries out easily." I take a snapshot of him beaming; he smiles even wider. I...

The Famous Writer (Part Two of Three)

FICTION by Rica That's what you get for mocking me. He insulted me with a genuine smile at my book signing. But nobody's smiled after reading me, ever. Slit throat, gunshot, fall from an 8th floor balcony. Only deepest hatred appears in my work. But Nero smiled. Now I smile genuinely, ogling police...

The Famous Writer (Part One of Three)

FICTION posted by Rica She sits down, grabs pen and paper, reviews notes, pics about her plot. Nero. Wide smile. Lips sewn together with red marker. 23 New York, Cubao. Red gate. Noose? Hit-and-run. Hm. Asphyxiation. Yes. Gouged eyes. Perfect. She wipes the pen, starts writing another suspense novel...

Bother

FICTION posted by Rio I love you, said the SMS. My heart would have gone haywire right there and then, but I bit my lip and replied, "WTF. Wrong send, dude." "Ooooops! I'm sorry!" you quickly texted back. I had been writing when my phone beeped, and when I turned back to what I was doing, I suddenly...

Guniguni mo lang yun, ungas

FICTION posted by Rio Alam mo, naka mahigit sampung ulit na ata ako sa pagsusulat nito. Dun sa isang sulat, namutaktak ng salitang tanga. Dun naman sa isa, puro bwiset. Bakit nga ba kita naisipang sulatan? Naalala lang kita at naisip kong marami-rami na rin akong naipong mga sasabihin sa’yo. At...

SPLIT/SPILT

FICTION posted by Rica How does he do it? When I look him in the eyes, he glances right through me and walks past me, suddenly disappearing in the crowd. And when I chance upon him in the train heading home, he’s taking in all of me, and I see his lips curl at both ends upward, a sign of amusement...