the other girl

You have always wanted the woman.

Your days and nights are filled with fantasies of her.

She with her red lipstick and spicy perfume...

She who always gives you a light and beats you into puffing out a full smoke...

She who expertly cuts speeding cars and conquers Manila traffic in one breath...

She who kicks off her stilettos to stand on the hood of your car and screams your name under the Tagaytay skies...

She who pulls your hand and dances with you in the rain...


Yet at night, as you rest your head against your pillow and sense the aftertaste of your last kiss fading,

you think of another girl...

Secretly deep within your heart, you long for someone else.

Someone who will give you a smile instead of a pout as she tucks a strand of hair behind an ear...

Someone who can walk with you across a muddled parking lot without uttering a curse...

Someone who will believe you when you say you are going to pass the bar and be a lawyer someday...

Someone who won't laugh at your novice compositions...

Someone who lands flat on her face and stands up giggling at herself...

Someone whom you can impress with mere love letters written on perfumed stationery sets...


A girl you can bring home to Mom.