False Phenomena

Mattheaus Hrodrich G. Immaculata @matttchoiii_51

Isatupon the bench near the playground inside the city park. Once I sat down, it immediately turned into a greyscale of reality.

Confused and scared but the feeling was exciting and comforting, an eerie environment with a touch of serenity, an unusual mix of both worlds, is this what I’ve been waiting for?

I quickly stood up but everything went back to normal, colorful and back to reality. “Wait, what happened?” I sat right back on the bench and it’s back again to this world of black and white.

“What is this crazy phenomenon I witnessed? I just sat at a normal bench but it led me right through this colorless world. Am I Alice in wonderland but not full of wonders, boring and a little bit peaceful I might say.” tiny tale

The cells and nerves in my brain weren't able to process every information and my heart was craving intense feelings, like an ecstasy of different emotions all at once in full mode. I learned just by sitting on that bench, how cruel the truth can be, how colorful it makes disarray, and why it is destined to happen.

Positive and negative repels each other but needs one another, how can this be possible if we need the pure, perfect, and genuine things can make the utopian paradise we hoped for, so the true world is just a grim of reality and within the dimension of this bench is the all of truth we know.

There is something that irritates me, a distorted frequency is what I hear, I don’t know and will not find it out. “Wake up, you are not allowed to sleep on the bench!” a security guard woke me up after I fell asleep on the bench.

I quickly apologized and left. I hurriedly tried to remember what I remember but it was just a dream. That’s why I felt so excited and having that warmth of comfort, it’s just a dream. A grayscale dream and the true reality is right here in front of me colorful and bright even though the world is not alright.

From that dream I learned there will be no ideal utopia, truth always prevail no matter how harsh, and it's up to us how to color this world. I was just sleeping then.

Trial Skin

Jomardel J. Constantino @thejomable

Tonight, I ‘m the most beautiful maiden in the whole town of Ethoria. But behind each stroke of this brush lies the secret I won’t tell to everyone. It’s my greatest desire to become the person whom I aspire to be. Sorry, I’m in a hurry.

There’s only three hours left before this trial skin expires.

Crazy, how the world works.

Paul Adrian K. Paraiso @paulygooon

Our encounter is like a mathematical formula, Theory of Limits, the ways of the universe, Evidences of fate that I cannot refute You linger in my dreams, My hand held out for you, might as well be destiny

Ed Angelo M. Dealola @edangelostyles

I took two board exams without them knowing.

After I graduated I told my family I'll skip that year’s board examination. But I did not, I took it and failed it. Nobody did know except my dearest friend— Emmanuel. It kills me that everyday I wake up, I eat with silence and carry the burden alone. People around me kept saying, review for the exam, take it, and pass it and all I kept saying was “not yet.”

Emmanuel comforted me and told me to take it again, and this time let the people around me know, but a part of me never wanted them to see my struggle but only my success. A year passed and I decided to take the board again, this time, nobody did know, even Emmanuel.

Results are out, I was in my room, 10pm, lights were out and the neighborhood's quiet.I screamed the joy out of me, I passed the exam for the second time. I went straight to my parent’s room in tears and excitement, but they were not there. All I saw was the ashes and remains of my dead family and I whispered “Ma, Pa, may Engineer ka na.” Leaving their room, I walked into the mirror and told myself “Emmanuel, proud na proud ako sa’yo.”