16/11/2025
LITERARY | ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐, ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ
Many believed a catโs eyes were mirrors of the unseen, catching the flicker of spirits moving between worlds. Sometimes, I wonder if it caught a glimpse of my weary and dim soul, searching for a place to rest and hope beneath the cacophony of our campus.
It was a random Friday when I saw a cat with soft orange-and-white fur lying peacefully on one of the benches in front of our building. As I stared blankly at it, a silly thought popped into my mind: โSana pusa na lang ako, para wala na akong problema.โ The chaos of doubts and worries weighing on my chest that early in the morning grew heavier. I found myself wondering how students who followed their passions would look at the cat, and whether they would see something different from what I saw.
Would they look at it enviously like I did? Or would they stare at it dearly, with eyes shimmering with awe and quiet tenderness, seeing in that small, wandering creature a reflection of the freedom they already hold?
Moments later, the cat suddenly opened his eyes and stared at me. It felt like he was looking through me, making me feel both exposed and understood.
I was still enjoying our staring contest when my friend called out, โHOY BAKIT MO TINITITIGAN SI TWINKLE JAN? TIME NA OH!โ The confusion hit when I realized that Twinkle was the catโs actual name. The silence between us broke, and he quickly stood up and walked toward the faculty area before I had the chance to pet him. As for me, I continued to walk, still unfocused and disturbed by what had just happened.
Time slipped by, and eventually our vacant hour arrived. โTime to review again,โ I reminded myself, knowing that the break was never meant for rest but for pushing myself to keep going, to survive the dayโs weight with whatever strength remained. Throughout the hour, it felt as if my mind was about to explode, each brain cell obliterating one by one. All I could think about was the life I might have had if I had chased what I truly wanted, instead of sitting here wondering why the catโs name was Twinkle. To take a short pause from ineffective studying, I decided to buy Dutch Mill at the canteen.
Along the way, I saw Twinkle with makeup smothered across his face. A pop of pink blush, easily three times more vibrant than his already rosy nose, bloomed across his cheeks and blended perfectly into his features. The moment I saw it, I burst into laughter, my eyes folding into slits and my smile stretching to my ears. And once again, a fleeting moment occurred where our eyes locked in a gentle, unspoken pull. A soft glow seemed to linger around him, and for a moment the noise on campus felt different, as if the world paused for a heartbeat.
Then there it was: a twinkle of spark in his eyes, reflecting the lost star buried in the depths of my soulโs agony and hopelessness. I could see fragments of myself in Twinkleโs eyesโgloomy, dull, and exhausted. Yet when he blinked, that spark wavered and danced like a small flicker in the dark, as if the universe was quietly telling me that not all was lost, that I was not lost.
For a moment, the weight in my chest eased, just enough for a faint warmth to creep in. I wanted to reach out and hold onto that tiny flicker before it disappeared. Even as I hesitated, I realized it wasnโt just his eyes carrying it. That spark had found its way into me too, a small ember buried beneath the gloom, quietly reminding me that even in the darkest corners, hope still lingered. And with it came a fragile yet growing certainty: a hope that the path I was on, however uncertain, might still lead me to the dream I held close. It was the dream that helped me endure the long nights of doubt, the weight of indecision, and the moments when I questioned if I was moving at all. It was then I realized that a place to rest and hope could not be found in the campus or its people; it had always been within me.
A catโs eyes may mirror the unseen, but our own gaze reflects where the truth speaks most clearly. In Twinkleโs eyes, I found a reminder that the hope to keep going begins with trusting the path Iโm on, because it has always been within me. That small ember beneath my doubts glowed quietly, showing me that even through uncertainty, I am still moving toward the dream Iโve held on toโand toward a place where I can finally rest and believe in what lies ahead.
โ
Written by Dawn Charlyzz Molina
Illustration by Duval Martinez
