It was an ordinary day until an acquaintance of mine, whom I had only seen through a video call before, came all the way from Bohol. She greeted us with a warm smile, carrying her luggage and several bags.

Another day to be alive — waking up to the soft sound of raindrops. As usual, as soon as I open my eyes, I head to the kitchen, grab my sachet of Kopiko Black, pour it into a cup, and add boiling water.

Hello there, Hello, I am Samantha,in my 20s, living in the Philippines. Too cliché to be an introduction, right? A broken record I’ll probably repeat for the rest of my life. But I guess we all start