---an excerpt from the book I'm writing... Soon...

Elizabeth felt that it wasn't enough to just conjure up these beautiful and magical things in her mind so she decided to scribble them down on the notebook that she had found underneath the bed. In her subconscious mind, a picture of a pen somewhere in the attic occurred. Indeed, there it was in one of the corners beside the ladder and adjacent to the passageway, she was right. She figured it out the first day she was locked in but, the pen being useless at the time it brought about an impression, totally brushed it off her mind.

Pen secured by the thumb, index and middle fingers, Liz began to scrawl her thoughts into reality as an encoded illusion. Letters formed into words, words into sentences. Drew a line on disgruntled concepts jotted down before considered into deep thoughts. She hadn't felt this enormously satisfied with her own imaginations in her brief length of life. What would have been an impossibly happy moment to occur overflowed in the attic, unimpeded. She was happy.

I Am Who I Am, A Labyrinthine Quiddity

I am the goddess of destruction. My hands, my words, my eyes, I warn that not a chance should they reach you, or life would be a cruel blow. This is a spell that has no remedy, this is simply me. 

I destruct and I'm good at it. My eyes survey and unscramble the destruction at the outset, camouflaged under my saccharine, deceiving smile. My words, I speak of only good so the bad would be hidden and unnoticed. My hand's touch is a boosterish friend's, under the skin pokes a risqué caress. Nothing is calm and orderly in my presence. Symmetry is not my thing, it spawns dizziness, it loiters my brain. 

My mind is a huge playground, I see many versions of good things turn bad. I unfix the whole and bring off pandemonium in the core of silence. Truth is, you've espied them all straight from my face, but chose to be hoodwinked by its symmetry when symmetry is not my thing, that you didn't make out. 

Life is my toy and I toyed life to a great satisfaction. This is my curse, to be the horned lady and a tail. The courage I took to deny who I am had forsaken me, courage is courageous no more. 

Indeed, it is convoluted to be me. I distract a crowd and leave them in devastation. Many a time composure and self-restraint have had favorable fruits, but had to toil.

I damage, that's my gift, an Athena counterpart as I perform. When you sense my eyes' stare sting, I just had you at step one. Ink me out of your friends index or disrepair awaits you.

I am who I am, a labyrinthine quiddity. Not proud of seeing evil easily, but devilishly gratified by the godlike strength. 

I am who I am, I see your devil's wink. };-)

The goddess of destruction, that's who I am.

Bubbly

chocolate and milk in a cup

the clinking of spoon mixing up

a sip, nonetheless, is sheer delight

fingers hovered by its ears and bide

pours and cools that drizzle

sopping and dripping, splatter and fizzle

a jovial rain and that wet blanket sun

thus, smack of bullish days thereupon

A coffee's mate, bread it is not

a good many flicks of this paperback i got

sipping and flipping, swigging and snapping

a good read it is, "Fragile Things"

raindrops or sun-up, a fine day is of your making

stilettos breaking, tights snagging

vehicles honking, all pieces of day-to-day

chocomilk, coffee-book and drizzles, all propitious and gay




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and i quote...

It is said that the devil has all the best tunes.


This is broadly true.


But heaven has the best choreographers.




--- "Good Omens"  |  Neil Gaiman

My Other World

Awakened by an intense dream, I felt my bed was dampish. No, it's not my bed, it was me sweating liberally. Took an automatic glance at my watch, it read 3:00am. Some noise broke the moment, it was raining outside. I suddenly felt cold, searched for my blanket and hid in it.


"Hey, it's time." A tiny voice echoed in my small but copious room. I nearly ignored it, but as soon as I remembered I jumped out of bed and almost walked over the tiny creature rooted at the foot of my bed all the time, watching me sleep or rather waiting for me to wake up.


It's time. My other world is waiting. I can disappear for only three hours in this present world but have a day to squander.


I searched for it in the dark, I am not allowed to open the lights. The maroon velvety curtain is just beside the room's main door. I walked towards it and brushed it away revealing a wooden door that has no knob. This door appears only at three in the morning and opens for exactly 5 minutes. If I don't go in in 5 minutes I don't get to traverse into my other world and the door will not open again in 100 years. 


At exactly 3am, a beaming light came out of the door's all four sides and suddenly found myself in the wild. I squinted. The door cracked open with a noise of a jingling bell. A sound pleasant to the ear. But I have just heard the first of them lovely music. The small creature held my hand. Its hand I'd say was freaking frozen I almost snapped my hand back just as I touched it. It must be a cold-blooded creature. We crossed the entryway.

The small creature is my friend. It's wearing a red, pointed hat, a green scarf and buttoned vest. I am not so sure which living being my friend can be associated with. But I guess it looked more like one of the seven dwarfs.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the good-natured kind. It watches over me and wakes me up at 3am.


We went in and after a few steps in the wild the door disappeared as if there never was a portal. I can still feel my friend's cold hand clutching mine. Wandering around a magical island came a wolf. The color of its right eye was different from the other. They were green and blue.

It stared. My friend kept a brave stance and got territorial about me. The wolf walked away, it was merely passing by. Harmless.


As I took several steps forward I felt different. As if I were no longer the same person I was before I came through that magical door. I felt animated. The blood running through my veins was green. My skin was green, my shape was perfect. Everything about me was perfect. I looked like I was in a fantasy world. It felt as though someone had created me with his own brilliant hands.

I asked my friend, "where are we?"


"In your world. You created this." He reminded me. I don't remember creating anything. Most importantly, I don't remember acquiring any strange power that can create this.


I looked up and literally saw the universe. I sat and continued gazing up, peacefully. My friend disappeared. I just heard its voice, "watch the time, you have to find the door at three before sundown. If you don't find your way, Augusthorn will take you."

I have to look for the door before three. I always lose my way to that door, wherever it is this time. Who is Augusthorn? or rather, what is Augusthorn? Nevermind. When the time is right, I get to meet Augusthorn.


I stood up and on my feet continued exploring my other world. I traversed through a vast, colorful forest with really huge trees, it dwarfed me.

The sun here shone differently. It casted different colors, I couldn't figure out where the colors came from. I just felt happy and gay and different, too. It didn't matter how I felt, I kept treading on. 


Somehow, as I gleefully hopped and sang from tree to tree, color to color, I came to the end of the forest,  I have never before seen, and reached the steps of a stairway to heaven. Seems odd to me, isn't this heaven yet? 

Curious, I slowly took the steps and wandered across the silver lining. After a while, it seemed forever since I started walking up the stairs and couldn't spot its end as yet. There was a peculiar energy within me, too, that had I walked this much steps in that world on the other side of the door where I came from I could've given up already. But right now I don't feel anything. I just felt... gay. 


Finally, I saw the end. It was... what's the word? Enchanted. Yes, it was spellbinding I was half-decided whether I still wanted to go back or stay.

In here, weird creatures may seem wild but these are the gentlest species I have ever encountered. I carried on and strolled along in fascination. The colors just won't stop, they fed my eyes and filled my heart. For the first time, I failed to keep track of the time. It didn't matter at this point in time because I grew undecided anyway whether I wanted to go back or stay here forever.


I saw a princess. Well, she looked like a princess to me. If I'm not mistaken she's wearing violets as head dress on her glimmering, golden hair. But that's not what struck me. She was talking to a dragon, a colorful dragon. See? every creature seems warm and friendly in here.

I decided not to disturb what seemed to be a humorless discussion and kept going. 


A roaring sound frightened me. But my fear slowly faded when I heard a woman laughing and shouting in victory, or something. As I tramped towards a bridge I saw two animals that appeared to be like a lion in the world where I came from. I don't know what it's called here, it doesn't matter. They seemed to be playing with a mad woman that looked more like a hunter.

I kept myself hidden in the woods and decided to sit on the bark of a tree. I took a brief look to my left. I was only glancing but I had to take a second look. I am being reminded of the time as I saw a tree with a clock. I still have an hour and forty minutes to wander around this mind-blowing place.

Okay, I still have time. I decided to close my eyes for a moment and rest my faculty of sight. After taking what seemed to be a five-minute rest surprised me when I opened my eyes. I was brought into a place I have never set foot before. Nobody told me it was not allowed to close one's eyes in this strange island or you'll end up somewhere else. But, otherwise this new place I ended up in is a place I'd prefer to call "The Amnesia Land" because it will make you forget everything behind you and just stare at it for as long as you lived.

This is the meaning of serenity, in the absence of words. 


Suddenly, a familiar voice alerted me, "It's time." It must be my friend.


"What if I don't want to go back?" I asked.


"That can't be possible." It replied.


"Why not?" I insisted.


"You will be locked in here. You can't miss the door or it will not open again in 100 years. The blue fairy is waiting, you have to leave now."


Despite not knowing the way around here, my feet jumped and ran to a place that never seemed to encounter daylight. I saw two unicorns. One of you must be Augusthorn, I thought. I was right.

Augusthorn came near to where I stood. I hopped and rode on it, "let's come face to face with the blue fairy!" I cried. Off we went.


The journey was quite enchanting in itself. Treading along the forest the trees suddenly gave way to a clearing, through a door. Clear from the greens but pouring with rain. Then I finally encountered a human race, holding an umbrella. Home must be somewhere near this place, I reckoned.

I blinked as usual and saw a totally different realm. It's becoming weirder. Every time I blinked we traveled across a different kingdom. On the first blink, the rain transformed into snow, I knew then that home was getting farther than near when I saw an angel.

Beautiful. Am I dead yet?


On the second blink, the same human being with an umbrella appeared. It was raining stars this time. Yes, the stars were pouring out on some worn out castle.

"Close your eyes." I'm sure it was Augusthorn I heard speak.


I closed my eyes. After a while we slowed down. I was still blind but suspected we were almost reaching our destination, wherever that is.

"Password." I heard a strange voice. It wasn't Augusthorn's, neither my friend's.


I opened my eyes and saw a Joker.


"What's the riddle?" Asked Augusthorn.


The Joker was holding a card on his right hand and a cane on the left pointing sideways.

"It is of the same hue as the seas and the sky,


balanced by a stack of stones,


huge butterfly on its back,


hands seizing the visitor's kingdom,


Waiting." Declaimed the Joker.


I have no idea. But it's not addressed to me anyway, or is it?


It was addressed to me.


"Augusthorn, I have no idea what the Joker is talking about. Can you help me out?"


Alas! the unicorn suddenly lost its speech.


I assumed my friend must have given me the answer to this riddle somewhere during my stay. I kept on remembering our not too many conversations.


I closed my eyes. I recited the riddle inside my head. The seas and the sky have the hues of blue, so the thing must be blue obviously. Next, balanced by a stack of stones, huge butterfly on its back, hands seizing the visitor's kingdom. Blah! Blah! Blah!

Waiting. Waiting. Blue. Waiting. Blue. Waiting. The blue fairy is waiting! I knew it!

"The Blue Fairy." I answered vigorously.

But before I opened my eyes, the Joker was no longer there.


"Good job!" Praised Augusthorn.


"Oh, you can talk!" I uttered sarcastically.


Strange, but I couldn't hear Augusthorn's hoovesteps as it walked into the castle. 


I could hear something else. Some music. Beautiful music. The most beautiful chant never before conjured up anywhere on earth. A unique sound coming from different sources.


Am I dead yet? Again I thought to myself in wonderment.


Through the tallest pillars and out to the other side of the castle, it is indeed waiting for me. A painful heavenliness. 

Beauteousness. Am I dead yet?


"No." The blue fairy answered. It can hear my thoughts!


"The portal is embedded on the bushes in the shape of an arc and above it you can see your dwelling place called earth and its moon. You will be transported back to your world but you have to reach the gate as soon as you can or it'll disappear forever."


"How?" Of course that was my next question.


"Through this." She held up the ball on her palms.


"I don't think I'll fit in there." I knew that was a stupid remark, but I said it anyway.


"Augusthorn will take you to a series of arcs. You have to find the right arc and hold the glass ball in the middle of it. If it is the right portal it will take you to the bushes where the entryway is embedded."


"And if it's the wrong arc?" Of course that's the next question I must ask.


"You'll find the right arc." She simply affirmed. And left. Great!


Then I heard her voice echoing, "Remember, the Augusthorn is the key to the bushes."


Augusthorn began with its task and brought me to a series of arcs.

"Okay, Augusthorn! You are the key to the bushes. There are ten arcs here, which should I pick?"


I should have expected it already, the unicorn lost its speech! Again!


Augusthorn. Augusthorn. Augusthorn. How can a unicorn be called an Augusthorn. Was it born in August? I was riddling in my head.


And it suddenly came to light.


That's it! It must be the eighth arc. August is the eighth month of the year in my world. That was easy!


Indeed it was. I held the ball up in the middle of the eighth arc and closed my eyes.


I felt a gushing wind pushed my face. I opened my eyes and Augusthorn's gone. I found myself in front of the portal and knew it was a success.

I stepped forward and through it.

Awakened by an intense dream, I felt my bed was dampish. No, it's not my bed, it was me sweating liberally. Took an automatic glance at my watch, it read 3:00am. Some noise broke the moment, it was raining outside. I suddenly felt cold, searched for my blanket and hid in it. I tried to go back to sleep.

"Hey, it's time." I heard the voice.

Dreading to figure out whether I was dreaming or not, I opened my eyes. I was still hiding in my blanket, I couldn't see anything. My heart was thumping so fast. This couldn't be real. It was all but a dream, It can't be real! There's no other world.

I slowly pulled my blanket down to see who's voice it was I heard. It took about 4 minutes for me to decide whether to just sleep it off or find out who it was.

After pulling the blanket I saw a creature running towards a door beside my room's main door. I am so damned, it was real! I remembered that this door is going to shut in 5 minutes or it will never open again in 100 years!

I had to make a decision in less than a minute. The door is still open. The creature just traversed to the other world.

This can't be really happening. I still couldn't believe my eyes. Then, I ran towards this magical doorway. I took the step across it just exactly before it shut.

It took a moment before I realized that I just strode into another kingdom and it was the bravest decision I have ever made knowing that I might never be able to find my way back. 


If there's one thing I've learned growing up, it's about chances of a lifetime that pass by only once and had to be crucially recognized. This must be one of them.


Welcome to my other world.

;)

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Euphoria: The Colorful Green

Cordilleras are green and green is where the other wonderful colors are propelled into the planet. 

The eyes are being fed, as a mother to her child, by the mountain ranges that cast the invigorating green.

The eyes may spot the cluster of greens, the irregular towering of leaves, the blissful breeze of the swaying trees and the gleam of light from the sun casting back the color green, but the heart can capture the different ecstatic colors behind it, unseen by an eye so bare.

As the blue heavens and silver linings blanketed the greenish lands, the heart thumps and squeezes exuberance towards the eyes.

On the blue ocean is where the green terrains are bedded down, laid out easy-on-the-eye as if a painter just held his brush and stroke blindly. In my heart is where this preternatural occurrence is kept for otherworldly cultivation.

A single tree can unfold what heaven is like. The wavy seas build life. The breezy blue reinforces life. The dwellers complete the magic. Euphoria.

One lovely morning I ambled on a vast land covered with green grass. Rubbing my eyes was the only response my brain could transmit as I came bewildered by a marvelous vista. The second look was as magical as the first. Euphoria.

I write about euphoria in green so you can go back to the time when you first saw the world and everything around it. The amazement for all that the eyes can pick out as if never before seen, that is where the magic begins. On the other hand, routine and monotony is killing the irony of a physical illusion. Burning down the desire to live. Believing that the vast green fields are nothing more than just a natural phenomenon. But why not pink?

Had it been color pink, will you be amazed? That's what I'm talking about.

Green is life. Life is colorful. Therefore, green is colorful.

Everything around you is magic. Euphoria.

Believe.

**These are photos of the grandiose BICOL taken by Kadoyks Oliva