SAGADA Inspired by the song "SAGADA" by Cup of Joe WYATT ALEXIS GATCHALLIAN She vowed her life to God. He never believed in forever. So why does it feel like their hearts were written in the same prayer? AYOKONG IKASAL. I never dreamed of a wedding. It was beautiful, sure---for some. But not for me. Hindi 'to ang buhay na inaasahan ko. Hindi ang pinto na 'yon ang naghihintay sa'kin. Hindi sa ganitong paraan ako magsusuot ng telang puti. Hindi. Ayoko. Hindi ito ang pinlano ng Diyos para sa'kin. Because my dream was different. I thought I heard it in the stillness of dawn, in the hush of chapel walls, in the gentle rhythm of prayers. I thought I knew the life God was calling me to live. But then, he came---Wyatt Alexis Gatchallian. Parte ng isang bandang kinakabaliwan ng lahat. His life is loud music, late nights, fleeting kisses, and freedom without consequence. Palaging lasing. Palaging magulo. Palaging hindi ko maintindihan. and yet somehow, he's the one I'm told to marry. Arranged. Unexpected. Unwanted. I wanted to serve God. They wanted me to serve tradition. Now I'm stuck in the space between this mess. Between a God I've always loved and a man I never asked for... Pero bakit habang tumatagal parang hindi na makuhang lumayo pa ng mata ko sa pagtingin sa kaniya. The more I try to push him away, the more he starts to feel like a hymn I never meant to memorize. And maybe... just maybe... He's been searching for something sacred, too. How do you choose between a calling you've always known... and a love you never saw coming? 05/22/25

xj

Nadia de Marco knew what she wanted in life and that is to be the most powerful woman in the country. Growing up in the Philippines, she knew that it would be an uphill climb. There is misogyny everywhere, but instead of fighting it, she decided to use it to her advantage. That is probably the upside of being undermined, being almost invisible-people will never see you coming. While she was watching everyone's moves, no one was watching hers. Things were going according to plan until Avery Brienne Eliseo came into the picture. Suddenly, she got an enemy. And unlike Avery who has her cousin by her side, she has no one. And she needs to have someone. She's been looking for so long until she found Archibald Reign Gallego-the perfect partner in crime... or so she thought.

FP #2: Zero (Epistolary with narration)