Aster Lit: Et Cetera
Issue 11—Spring 2024
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.