Quituinan

Janelle Tanguin, Philippines

Maybe 

if we drive back up the slopes 

of Quituinan and sit by the brink of the bridge, 

I'd try to push you and pretend I'm not the one falling.  

When you notice the scars on my cheeks, I'll rehash ghost stories. 

How I survived them, how I barely got out. I'll say I have battle scars, you see. 

They're just more visible on my face than other parts of my body. The craters like

badly tattooed freckles on my cheeks. They're permanent marks and you'll say they look 

harsher in this light. I'll tell you they've always been like that and it's been years, but it takes

a while to notice. I'll avert your gaze. And we'll stare off into the cities we've lived in our whole lives.

Janelle is an MFA in Creative Writing student at De La Salle University. She tries her best to pen down pent-up emotions and unnamed feelings. When she's not on her notes app, she's busy searching for more corporate ways to say thanks and congratulations.