“Love knows no bounds, not even time—yet the ache of being separated by years turned Maria’s heartache into a bittersweet longing for a connection that felt both impossible and inevitable.”
~ Zoë Kaià

Somewhere in Camarines Sur, they had chosen an old church in Baao as the place for their long-anticipated meeting. Maria felt her heart racing as she approached the church’s grand doors, her eyes scanning the surroundings in search of Carlo.

“Where are you?” Maria spoke into her beeper, her voice shaky with a mixture of excitement and nerves.

“I’m here already,” Carlo replied, his voice sounding calm and assured.

Maria looked around, her eyes darting from person to person, but there was no one who matched the description. “Where? I can’t see you.”

“I’m wearing a white polo and rugged pants,” Carlo said, sounding puzzled.

Maria’s eyes moved quickly over the small crowd gathered around the church, but she found no one fitting that description. Frustration began to boil inside her. “I don’t see anyone here that looks like you, Carlo.”

After several moments of searching, Maria’s excitement began to fade into disappointment. She ended the call and...