The untrained eye sees vast amounts of greenery—green that extends endlessly on and on, the same unimpressive flat colour in perpetuity. The shape of the foliage varies, adding much-needed texture to the scene. Leaves—spikey, rotund, short, and spindly—define the surroundings. The plants, stacking and co-mingling with each other, are unruly and tenaciously plump, climbing over […]

First, there was too much water raining out Neustra Virgin de Pilar’s special day, then there was drought. We are now approaching the twenty-four-hour mark of no water. Ever prepared for the lack of City planning our house is equipped with tank water (for the toilet and shower) and solar panels (to combat the blackout […]

My eyes open and I hear the sound of the sea in a shell. The garbled static of water in my ears. There is no dream to remember this morning. I reach for my phone to to turn down the volume of the Spotify rain playlist. The pattering of water on roofs is coming from […]

Power tools grind in the distance, over the fenceline a three-storey house is being repaired or torn down. I’m not sure, the scaffolding seems suspicious, but at least my countrymen are slight. It’ll hold. The small house by the way is blaring TV or radio in a language I don’t understand. It’s loud white noise. […]

I come with a humble heart. I think. It’s definitely not broken which is a novelty. The right wing of the aeroplane dips, the pilot manoeuvring us around the Peninsula- Zamboanga del Sur. The pilot is better at flying than landing. But, still capable. The passengers, flight crew and your brave petite heroine have not […]