Silence of the flowers By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo SHE sobbed. Her tears ran down her face and swirled with the mucus that welled from her nose as she sniffed and snorted. For a woman turning forty-five and having achieved so much in her career, this was not the time to…

Gina By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo SHE has awakened, every morning at the same time. Not today. Today she woke up with the purple sky and a half-moon, a lazy eye awakening to the light. So serene, she thought, to be among the stars. Somewhere far away, a forest burns. In…

Breathing spaces By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo HE sat on his chair, blued, like the walls. He remembered his wife. He remembered the women with whom he had fathered his children. He remembered all his women. He knew bits and pieces of them. He remembered the peculiar tastes of intimacies, and…

Typhoon Hanna By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo TYPHOON Hanna was predicted to bring “moderate to heavy monsoon rain” in Metro Manila. This fact however, did not alter our plans to meet at a salad bar somewhere in Alabang, a place where, according to Connie de Perio, “the salad is to die…

The streets where we live By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo I am walking through the streets today, in the rain. After transacting with Bank of Commerce Philcoa Branch, I start to walk on Masaya Street. The street is busy moving people. It has become the station for tricycles to and from…

July 22, Pangasinan Liberation Day By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo IN a post on the FB Group Pangasinan Historical and Cultural Commission (PHCC), historian Jaime Veneracion said, “What June 12 is to the Philippines, July 22 would be to Pangasinan, the date when Pangasinan was liberated from Spanish colonial rule. This,…

Armi By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo IT is not clear to me how I first met Armi Bangsal. I had this impression that she was introduced by Enoch Tan, but I could be wrong. Maybe she was introduced to me by another friend, Josefina (Josie) Lolarga. I have a clearer memory…

The key By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo YESTERDAY, half of my day was spent looking for my keys. They are a bunch of keys that unlocks all doors relevant to me, including a room in our old house in Pozorrubio. My memory tells me, I normally put it inside my bag…

Cosmos By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo TODAY one of the eight cosmos plants wilted. I was not able to water them yesterday. The seven others did not seem to be affected, except this one, which survived in the very little crowded space she was able to squeeze her existence. I got…

Quincentennial Imperatives and Quintessential Beauties By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo THIS is my third attempt to write about how the church can be a source of creativity for its remaining believers. On all attempts, I am intermittently distracted unable to give a coherent ending. As I write, the fire tree on…