As you can see it isn’t my usual choices. Lately I’ve been starting to indulge on non-graphic literature and been enjoying it so much. My cart still consists of some known graphic titles and creators I love. Budjette Tan and Kajo Balidisino’s Trese: Book of Murders which is a compilation of Trese Vol. 1 - 3 on hardcover has been on my target this past few years. Then there’s Arnold Arre ’s Halina Filipina and Tepai Pascual ’s Duty Ka Ba Komiks . The non-graphic half of my haul consists of Eliza Victoria ’s Wounded Little Gods and Yvette Tan ’s Waking the Dead and Seek Ye Wh*re. Ricky Lee’s Scriptwriting Workbook on the other hand I got from a different source. After the event, I dropped by Cultural Center of the Philippines Gift shop by ARCHIVO 1984 to pickup the last copy of it before it disappears.
Attending MIBF this year for the first time just caught me off guard. The last event I attended is probably more than 3 years ago and it left me a little complacent that I didn’t prepare for the worst. At least next year I already know what I should and shouldn’t do so I can have a pleasant experience and not be too much stressed after.
I’m still happy nonetheless. I have new books to read. Still a win. Hope everyone enjoyed MIBF this year.
Sidetrip: After the grueling experience in MIBF2022. I visited Cultural Center of the Philippines’ official gift/souvenir shop by ARCHIVO 1984 to pick up a book I ordered. I can’t believe I never took the chance to at least check this place out when I’m here watching a show. It is film and theater enthusiast’s wonderland.
The only thing I hate about reading is I get so attached to the characters. And after I finish the book, that’s it. I will never learn anymore about them or their life or what they ate for breakfast. No matter how many times I reread the book, I will always only know the same amount. And it saddens me. Finishing a book means losing people close to you.
It doesn’t need to be like that. If I finish a book I reread them over and over again because believe me sometimes rereading books will reveal a lot of things that you miss the first time you read them. Now if it still left me a lot of unanswered questions, I answer them myself. I formulate my own conclusions regardless if those are not the intended answers by the author. I expand the story and add my own twists to it. And those characters I love, they stay with me. They become my imaginary friends, family and lovers. They stay alive forever.
Also here’s a very rough short fan fiction I wrote inspired by this art.
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“Can you please repeat everything you’ve said. Because my brain refused to function correctly right now”.
I look at my sister as she roll her eyes. We already expected this. As much as our family is accustomed to supernatural, I guess the two of us existing in this point of time is still something my uncle can’t comprehend.
“How many times do we need to tell you. We are Alexandra’s children and we came back in time”, my sister annoyingly replied.
“Yes, I already get that”, Uncle Matt interjects as he gets up and starts to pace in the room.
“Can you please relax?”, I said as I put my hands to his shoulders stopping him.
“Relax? How can I relax? After what you said that will happen one month from now, tell me how can I relax?”
He is clearly terrified. Knowing my mom’s dark fate is finally coming is definitely something we don’t want to happen.
“That is why we are here. To warn you what’s about to happen. We seek you because we thought you are the most level headed among your siblings. You and Uncle Enrique. As much as we want to talk to all of you four Trese Kuyas, we don’t have that much time to rally them all. The spell we used to go back will fade very soon. So please we need you to be strong and take everything we will say and relay it to everyone”
Uncle Matt, took a deep breath. He is still afraid. He maybe a man of faith, but he is still just a man. He look between me and my sister.
“Okay. Let me just confirm if I get this right. One month from now. Bantay and his Askaleros will take a very dangerous mission. Everything will go south. He will ask for backup and Alexandra, Maliksi and Iglap will come to help them because they can quickly travel all the way to the North.”, he narrated.
“Yes”, my sister confirmed.
“They will be overwhelmed. Everybody will get out barely alive but…”, he hesitated.
“But Maliksi will not be so lucky”, my sister continued.
“Oh God. Alex won’t survive another loss. First Basilio, then Mal. It will destroy her. ”
Mom may have denied it over time but we all know she has feelings for Maliksi. The day Maliksi died, Alexandra’s heart also lost life. That’s when our nightmare start. This is why we are here. To save Maliksi and prevent mom’s dark prophecy coming true.
“What do we need to do?”
I look to my sister. She nodded to me.
“You need to do two things. First, as much as possible ask Bantay to cancel that mission. ”
“If he cancels, we will all be safe?”
“It is not a guarantee. You need to eliminate Mal’s murderer because fate may find a way for him to still kill Mal.”
“Then tell me, who is Mal’s killer?”
I hesitate. I don’t know how to tell him.
“Just tell him, Elias”, my sister softly said.
Suddenly I lost my ability to speak. I just stood there. Salome, walks towards me. She pulled me towards the couch. My knees buckled and my sister help me take a seat. Then her palms find their way to my face as she level her eyes to mine.
“Brother, look at me.”
My eyes starts to blur. I can’t do it.
“They need to do it.”
“I can’t let them kill him, Sal.”
“I know. That’s why we are not staying. We will let them do it on their own.”
My sister rest her forehead to mine. We just stayed silent as we both contemplate everything that is happening.
After several minutes. Sal, wiped the tears in my face. She stood up and walks towards the other side of the room.
“Uncle Matt. To save Maliksi, you need to kill our father. You need to kill Crispin.”
I just realized these past few years, I enjoy reading more than watching movies. I mean I already read books before. But I’m more of a comicbook/graphic novel reader and I rarely read pure text novels. I’m too visually dependent before hence the love for comicbooks and movies. But after I start reading Taptales from Chapters, my reading interest shifted to all text stories. After that, I started reading more stories from other digital platforms such as Wattpad, Inkitt and Dreamme. I also started reading more published physical novels. I love the feeling of stretching my imagination without being limited by any visual cues. And it also reignited a long forgotten passion for creative writing.
Looking forward to see where will this take me whether it will become a professional growth or just a pure hobby. Either way I’m still excited.
I woke up this morning with an idea and inspiration so I quickly wrote it down before it fades away. I wonder if I can finish it this time. Time to beat my lazy ass lol.
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