Malaya is Immortal

(Tagalog)

María Laya Ysabeya Tuason feels trapped. Everyone calls her Malaya, but freedom is the one thing she's never truly known. Her world ends at the garden walls of her ancestral home, and she is never allowed to leave unaccompanied-always under the watchful eye of Kamalayan, or Layan, her childhood companion and, according to their mothers, her future husband.

Their names-Malaya and Kamalayan-were chosen together like matching puzzle pieces. A sweet tradition, people say. A blessing from the wombs of women who once danced barefoot beneath the moon.

But what once seemed innocent now feels like a curse.

Layan has loved her since they were children. When they turned thirteen, he began courting her with the quiet faith of someone who believes in fate-and who never questions what fate costs. Everyone else sees a perfect match. Two names. Two souls. One legacy. But Malaya feels less like a chosen one and more like a vessel-something preserved, watched, and shaped for a purpose she didn't agree to.

The days blur. The air thickens. Her own name tastes bitter on her tongue.

Can she survive pre-colonial Philippines?