Start Here

by Brigitte Bautista

I try to imagine what growing up would have been like if I or someone like me had seen themselves on television, on the big screen, on the page. Not as comedic relief, not as a special episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya, but as someone who gets a happy ending.

The endings aren’t always happy; the encounters not always worth remembering.

Hope in the heart is a powerful thing.

“To loving ourselves,” Ezra repeated with a smile, holding up his glass of water that by now, Caleb knew was all he ever drank. “I hear it’s the greatest love story ever.”

But he already knew what he wanted. Guarantees without the risk. Happiness without the pain. Love without the betrayal.

Left or right? Up or down? Advance or retreat? Fight or flee? My answer is always the path that leads to you.

We fight We hurt We cry But I choose you Again and again.

Every choice gives me definition I choose you. I am me because of us.

Caleb could still save himself from a lifetime of embarrassment. But could he handle a lifetime of regret?

And with every word and every note, I meant everything.

You smiled at me, and I felt like swooning again. You were right. I didn’t falter, and you were right there with me. But when the curtain closed, you were back to your original persona.

should have kissed you then and there to make you realize that love was love regardless of gender.

I realized that I could be gorgeous to myself, wrapped myself with the confidence that came with that revelation. But, I would always be ugly to certain others no matter what I did. That was a certainty that would, in my mind, never change.

you let me... I can love you long enough for you to forget there was anything to be afraid of."

“Excuse me, kuya! What line is this for?” “What line po?” “Kuya, anong pila ito?” “Kuya, what time magpapapasok?”

I remember so many concerts!!!

At that moment, Gabrielle was the perfect kind of tousled. The kind that made you skip dinner and involved getting your breakfast coffee in unfamiliar mugs.

Sometimes revelations are made clear by massive events and ear-shattering explosions. Sometimes they can be as whisper-quiet as the languid, dream-laden breathing of someone you love, and the silence of two clasped hands.

flowers don’t just represent beauty, they’re a symbol for resilience and strength. Because even in the harshest conditions, a flower blooms.”

How could she just make an utter fool of herself, have the time of her life, and still look good?

Damn this woman—she had this natural capacity to just have fun without a care in the world. I missed being able to do that. Did I ever feel that kind of abandon?