DEMISE: Thirteen Stories Of Love and Misery.

“Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.”
C. S. Lewis

Adik lang talaga ako nung araw na nagcommit akong magsusulat ng labintatlong kwento mula sa isang kantang kinahiligan ko isang hapon. Pero hindi ko maitatanggi na kapag nainspire ako, kaya kong gawin ang kahit ano.

Nasa karakter ko bilang isang manunulat na ang pagsama ng ideya ng pighati, sa iba't ibang paraan, ay isang napakahalagang salik sa pagusad ng plot ng katha at sa pagtatatag ng naghaharing damdamin sa kuwento. Kaya naman sa kaadikan kong paglabas ng isang antolohiya ay hindi maiiwasang magincorporate ako ng malalaking mga bahagi ng mapait na hanging aking nararanasan sa paggawa ng mga kuwentong ito.

Sana ay katuwaan ninyo ang mga banghay na inyong mababasa. Sa ilalim ay ilan lamang sa mga kuwentong lalamanin ng aking pinakabagong antolohiya, ang Demise: Thirteen Stories Of Love and Misery. At para naman hindi ko maibigay ang mismong mga plots nito, magbibigay lamang ako ng ilang teasers para sa mga ito. Hehehe.

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Glass shards fell from the building, and with them fell an actress, a woman, a star. Ramon could vividly remember that night. It was just as he envisioned it to be. He mumbled. "Yes. I wanted to see her fall from that window, the highest floor of that building, just like the shooting star to me that she is."

Demise. A very personal, psychological short story dissecting the mind of a serial killer stalking a famed actress, who is his childhood friend.

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"I will never leave you. I promise. From this road, turn to the left, then run to the nearest bell tower that you see. Climb up the staircase, hide. Wait for me there." From where they were standing, it started to rain. The girl felt the urgency to flee, but she could never leave him in the hands of the most dangerous man she has ever known.

Claustrophobia. A young girl falls for a boy who turns out to be the brother of her molester.

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The woman slips, and falls down the stairs. Her tightened screams were muffled by her fall. She catches a rail, but fails, and instead falls off the next two floors. There was something with this accident that was very familiar with Dahlia, something distant, something beautiful ... she could hear the woman's bones crack at the back of her mind, and she would smile.

Dahlia. A vivid childood incident alters a girl's mind-set and compels her to like falling objects.

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He gripped her brown locks and banged her head against the brick wall. Blood trickled from her head and his hands. Horrified, he scampered for her skirt and quickly wiped his bloodstained hands. He slid his hands inside the pockets of his overcoat and fled from the scene. The bloodstain on the wall left a dark, sparkling dye that reflected the dim lights of the sidewalk lamps. It was midnight.

Midnight. A man kills his wife and does the same with his concubine.

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Ten-thirty. With the sidewalks wet with rain, nothing seemed to change, since I last came here. Or at least that's what I remember. I can recall seeing him standing there, smoking his troubles away, and he was in a red suit that burned my eyes. I am waiting for him to come back. I can never be sure of what waits for me here, but all I know is that I like him, and will spend the night with him.

Red Things. A woman wakes up with an amnesia and an interest for collecting red things. She builds back her memory of a man she likes, and resolves to meet with him, only to find that the man is her rapist, who made sure she was dead.

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"DON'T DO IT! I KNOW YOU! PLEASE!" The line dropped dead. She assumed he is now in a taxi headed to her apartment, so she dipped her toes back to the pool, and motivated herself once again to continue her initial plan of killing herself.

10:03. A woman's attempt to drown herself is intercepted by her longtime lover, who rushes to her aid. She succeeds.

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Sa susunod na post ay ilalabas ko ang pito pang kuwentong susunod sa lineup ng antolohiyang ito, kabilang na ang Headlights, Frogs, White Handkerchief, Noise/Overture, Checkmate, A Swing at Monster. Kung may mairerecommend pa kayong iba pang ideya (o kung me bayolente kayong reaksyon tungkol sa mga kuwento ko), post na lang kayo. Hehehe.

Ayun lang. Bilang isang panapos na linya, ito lang ang masasabi ko: PAGIBIG NGA. MADUGO NAMAN. Hehehe.