remember

Last Saturday morning, October 15, at around 8AM, my mother told me that sirens wailed and bells rang all over the city in Bohol, breaking the stillness that usually welcome the weekends in the province. I wondered why. And then I realized these served as a remembrance of an event in 2013. October 15 was the day Bohol was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake at around 8:12 in the morning three years ago. It was a massive heartbreaking period of loss and devastation. Fast forward to this day, Bohol and its people have not forgotten but have carried on, returning to a normalcy that is communally worked on through the years. Padayon lang.

That is why I find it so timely I’ve just recently received a snapshot of my essay titled "A (Re)Collection of Stones" in proofread print, which would soon appear in the anthology The Bohol We Love, a book edited by an award-winning, talented Boholana Ms. Marjorie Evasco, and to be published by Anvil. In a few days, this proofread copy will be sent to the printers. In here, I’ve dedicated a section of my non-fiction work to a story about the earthquake’s aftermath in Loon, one of the hardest hit towns. Seeing this photo and seeing the stunning day outside the window at the same time make my heart swell with joy. I cannot wait for the book launching on December. It’s just one of those few things to look forward to in these dire times.