It has been a strange few months of farewells and passages. In a span of less than a year, we have bid goodbye to six close family members, three on my side and three on my husband’s. It seems that we barely had time to grieve one, when the news of another one’s passing arrived.

But perhaps my favorite moment was an encounter I had after the performances had ended. I was in the middle of helping pack away our various art materials (we also facilitated themed art activities before each story), when I was approached by a family of three.

This was an accidental picture that I took at the start of 2025. We were at one of our favorite haunts just at the backdoor of Marikina, and I wanted to capture a picture of Sophie looking out at the city lights. I whipped out my phone frantically.