BALAY: The Westernian Advocate Literary Folio

192 HOME SWEET HOME Nicole Beatriz Rosales

193 SHE LOVES ME NOT Joviallyn Belegal

194 DO NOT ENTER Joviallyn Belegal

195 WHEN THERE IS DOUBT Francis Aaron Magpile

196

197 IN BETWEEN THE LINES Gerard Zairus Gupit

198 SOLITUDE Patrick Owen Gube

199

200 DALISAY Anne Lorraine Bautista

201 SLUMBER Nicole Beatriz Rosales

202 TANGLAW Patrick Owen Gube

203

204 BAHAY-BAHAYAN Joviallyn Belegal

205 ONTO MY NOTION Elaine Mapagdalita

206 UNPERCEIVED Marie Joy Axalan

207 UNCANNY COMPANIONSHIP Clark Alduz Viray

208

209 Endnote Clark Alduz Viray, Editor-in-Chief Realm—what an elusive idea to chase. When reality becomes too harsh and unbearable, at times when we are flooded with emotions, where do we go? And if there’s no freedom from the stifling limitations and cages that this world imposes upon us, what can we, mere mortals, do? We asked ourselves these two questions, among others, as we penned our literary pieces, captured the photographs and created our masterpieces in this literary folio, in hopes that we can share to you the beauty of this concept. We wanted you to explore the wonders of the world, one page at a time. This one is for the places that witness our first heartbreaks, to the sanctuaries that we seek comfort in, and the kingdoms we create inside our minds, as we seek solace from the bitter truths we have to face everyday. After all, no matter how we look at it, we are all travellers, with no idea where our feet will take us, or what surprises await us as we enter yet another phase of this seemingly unending journey we call life.

EXECUTIVE EDITORIAL BOARD Clark Alduz Viray, Editor in Chief Faith Valen Villanueva, Associate Editor Angel Joy Liwag, Managing Editor Joviallyn Belegal, Auditor Alyssa An, Business Manager Karl Justine Montejo, News Editor EDITORIAL BOARD Francis Aaron Magpile, Editorial Board Head Jane Therese Banaag, Features Editor Arielle Dane Adan, Cultures Editor Nixon De Villa, Development Communication Editor Angelo Mendenilla, Chief Artist (Creative) Erwin Tiberio, Chief Artist (Technical) Marie Joy Axalan, Chief Layout Artist AUXILIARIES Elaine Mapagdalita, Circulation Manager Marion Macatangay, Chief Correspondent EDITORIAL STAFF Israel Martin de Chavez, Senior Artist Gerard Zairus Gupit, Senior Photojournalist Katherine Nicole Lontok, Carlos Kim Raphael Perez, Princess Allyssa Plotado, Junior Reporters Anne Lorraine Bautista, Nicole Beatriz Rosales, Patrick Owen Gube, Junior Photojournalists

211 You lay down on your favorite spot. Be it any room, a coffee shop, a random park, or somewhere you can be comfortable in your own skin. As time passes, leisure becomes burdensome for you now feel cramped in your posture. Either you leave and let others in or remain there for a little longer, after all, the spot is yours to savor. Folks walking away from your direction make you remember a saying that you can never really tell how small a place is. Not unless you look at it from a distance. You have grown up so fast, at least by age. Deep inside, you are but a child at heart who seeks for another five minutes after being woken up, or when cramming for an exam. You were old enough to part ways in every attachment shared with your favorite spot and apparently still weak to handle its lingering sentiments. Quite funny is it that in order to feel alive, you are forced to accept changes in your body, fortunes or losses, and ideals. What comes after transformations are challenges for breakthroughs while watching your numbing heart and dimming passion withering in the shadow. And now you’re either a visitor of somebody’s flat, a customer in a coffee shop, or a passerby in a park. The books that you once memorized are excess baggage inside your locker, the half-empty coffee that you ordered tastes more bland than before, and your five-minute walk is such a bother. Nothing feels like home anymore.

THE WESTERNIAN CATE EXECUTIVE EDITORIAL BOARD Clark Alduz Viray, Editor in Chief Faith Valen Villanueva, Associate & Sports Editor Angel Joy Liwag, Managing Editor Joviallyn Belegal, Auditor Alyssa An, Business Manager & Literary Editor Karl Justine Montejo, News Editor EDITORIAL BOARD Francis Aaron Magpile, Editorial Board Head Jane Therese Banaag, Features Editor Arielle Dane Adan, Cultures Editor Nixon De Villa, Development Communication Editor Angelo Mendenilla, Chief Artist (Creative) Erwin Tiberio, Chief Artist (Technical) Marie Joy Axalan, Chief Layout Artist AUXILIARIES Elaine Mapagdalita, Circulation Manager Marion Macatangay, Chief Correspondent EDITORIAL STAFF Israel Martin de Chavez, Senior Artist Gerard Zairus Gupit, Senior Photojournalist Katherine Nicole Lontok, Carlos Kim Raphael Perez, Princess Allyssa Plotado, Junior Reporters Anne Lorraine Bautista, Nicole Beatriz Rosales, Patrick Owen Gube, Junior Photojournalists

213 You lay down on your favorite spot. Be it any room, a coffee shop, a random park, or somewhere you can be comfortable in your own skin. As time passes, leisure becomes burdensome for you now feel cramped in your posture. Either you leave and let others in or remain there for a little longer, after all, the spot is yours to savor. Folks walking away from your direction make you remember a saying that you can never really tell how small a place is. Not unless you look at it from a distance. You have grown up so fast, at least by age. Deep inside, you are but a child at heart who seeks for another five minutes after being woken up, or when cramming for an exam. You were old enough to part ways in every attachment shared with your favorite spot and apparently still weak to handle its lingering sentiments. Quite funny is it that in order to feel alive, you are forced to accept changes in your body, fortunes or losses, and ideals. What comes after transformations are challenges for breakthroughs while watching your numbing heart and dimming passion withering in the shadow. And now you’re either a visitor of somebody’s flat, a customer in a coffee shop, or a passerby in a park. The books that you once memorized are excess baggage inside your locker, the half-empty coffee that you ordered tastes more bland than before, and your five-minute walk is such a bother. Nothing feels like home anymore.