Here are some of my short-short stories (all less than 1000 words) available to read online.  Enjoy!

Long Distance
… The Bank of Philippine Islands remittance center was a small three-desk office on East 53 rd Street. Inside, someone was eating fried mackerel and rice with shrimp paste. No one in the cramped space minded the briny odor. Nowhere to sit, Ligaya maneuvered the stroller toward the back. She waited her turn, standing against the wall between the water cooler and a photocopier. There were 11 people ahead of Ligaya. Usually she would be the first in line. She worked and lived six short blocks away. She blamed her lateness on the new Maclaren Techno buggy, the contraptions and accessories she had to unwrap, assemble and attach—the adjustable five-point harness, mesh shopping basket, compact umbrella fold, water-resistant hood, shoulder pads, head hugger, footmuff, seat liner, deluxe organizer, and a pannier. Her bosses had insisted that she use these things immediately, get their money’s worth… Read entire story here.  Ginger. Fall 2015, p 7.

In Transit
One good thing about being an Asian woman is the appearance of innocence.  A petite, 17-year old Filipina is no threat.  The pack of teenagers under the Tompkins Square Park bandshell knows this.  So when the lookout marches by and whispers, “Bells. Five-oh,” they turn to Lailani… Read entire story here.  Literary Orphans Magazine. August 2015

The Origin of Miracles
… Save for the small disturbances made by a human holding down another, the water is still and glistens like a giant polished jade stone.  No one knows how this lake came to be.  No one remembers who first proclaimed its supernatural quality.  And no one dares to investigate.  To be a mystery, isn’t that the essence of miracles?  It is enough that the lake is in a perfect circular shape and that it sits in a tiny flat land protected by high mountains on all sides… Read entire story here.  Cecile’s Writers Magazine. April 2015.

In and Through the Cold
…We couldn’t enter university, keep up with our studies if we were constantly on the move, following the work seasons, picking vegetables and fruits in farms along the Northwest. We worried about going home to the Philippines empty-handed, failed experiments in America’s policy of educating its little brown brothers… Read entire story here.  Contrary Magazine.   Summer 2012.

Deboning
… Agbayani and grandmother Tandang Sora split their fish, running the edge of their knives along the backbone, starting from the tail. They lay their fish open like a butterfly fillet, remove the gills and internal organs, and wash off blood and dirt. They leave the black membrane that covers the belly. Grandmother and grandson enjoy the oil along this cavity, silky and fragile, deep odor that warms the back of their throats… Read entire story here.  Podium Literary Journal. Spring/Summer 2011.