I’m not going back. Natural disaster hit the pause button and I am in tropical limbo with a volcano spewing ash over metro manila. Hold up Little Heroine. The learnings aren’t done yet. This morning I went to our local church for the first of my daily rosaries and when I returned my domestic flight […]

There is a church in our neighbourhood that both my mother and grandmother swear by for the power of the Virgin Mary. Many women have knelt on the polished stone floor and prayed to be freed from their unhappy marriages. The Virgin Mary loves retribution, supplicate enough and your husband will die. Start at the […]

My Uncle told me if I’m idle in Australia, I may as well come home. It’s not a bad offer. The time’s coming. At ten days I thought it would never end, at five I’m scared that it is. My grandmother (the formidable heroine of our piece) is daring the Lord to kill her. Same […]

Today, my phone went black. It’s hotter than the surface of a thousand burning suns and won’t turn on. It’s been having tantrums these last few days, probably warning me of its intention to quit. You always see the red flags Little Heroine. Swim between them. Talk about a digital cleanse. I’ve been lying to […]

How many rosaries does it take to clean a soul? This is not a blonde joke. Please God, tell me. It’s been 10 days. I don’t think I came with any grand expectations. I just really wanted to be able to write. This year, I have refused all New Year’s resolutions because I cannot even […]

Last night, I went to a family reunion dressed in red. We roll six-generations deep. So that’s the bloodline starting from my grandfather’s grandfather. I’m gen 5 which is the inferior iphone and the superior internet. The turn out was pretty good, maybe not in relation to how big it should have been given the […]

I’m still thinking about New Year. I assign all this cathartic meaning to this day that I think can cleanse me. Duh, it’s probably the Catholicism. What is the resurrection? I have low grade anxiety humming beneath my skin, this is something new here. I’m trying to ride the wave by immersing myself in religion. […]

Hello dear readership, we are back in the tropics. I was delivered to my grandmother’s door on Christmas day at 5am. I chose the word “deliver” because  I don’t feel I’ve arrived. This has been the first Christmas we have spent together in over 10 years. I don’t know why it was decided last time […]