Dulce Karen Butay
And just like that, the last month of the year has arrived—December! Honestly, it feels like we were just scrambling to find Halloween costumes yesterday and now suddenly we’re supposed to be cheerful, festive and pretending we’re ready for the holidays. Time really needs to slow down and let the rest of us catch up!
December has always felt like a month wrapped in its own kind of magic. It’s the time when familiar traditions return—stringing up lights, hearing the Christmas song on the radio and feeling that mix of excitement and comfort only the holidays can bring. For me, December is full of small moments that mean a lot: the smell of warm food in the kitchen, late-night conversations with family and the simple joy of giving and receiving thoughtful gifts. Even as the year winds down, the holidays remind me to slow down, appreciate the people around me, hold onto the memories making this season feel so special and believing no matter what the year has taken or given, there is still beauty in gathering, giving and beginning again.
Shout out to all the December babies! Happy birthday to Maricel Butay, Lilia Ross, Guadalupe “Oping” Bautista, Kristina Angeline Cabbat, Estrelita Lampitoc, Emmanuel Baltazar and Anissa Lynne Marie Casabay. Pada-pada kam nga kumablaaw ti naimbag nga panagkasangay yo amin! (Happy birthday to all!) Happy, Happy birthday to you! (Tagalog) Maligayang bati sa inyong kaarawan! (Ilokano) Naimbag nga panagkasangay mo! (Ibanag) Makapagayaya nga aggaw na nikeyana mu! (Kapampangan) Masayang kebaitan queca! (Ilonggo) Masadya gid nga adlaw sa imo pagkatawo!
Let’s see what’s going on with our story this month and where Michael and Angel will be going next, shall we?
“Robert and I met when I was sixteen,” she begins. “I was working as a maid for a wealthy family in Ilocos. My mother’s gayyem (friend) was looking for young ladies who could work and do the household chores because she has visitors coming from America. Robert would always come and talk to me even when I’m doing my chores.”
Angel blinks. “Inay …”
Her yena (mother) timan (smiles) faintly, eyes distant. “He was charming in that quiet way. The kind that made you feel seen. I didn’t know he came from a well-off family; he never spoke of it. We used to walk by the old pier, talk about dreams that were too big for the both of us.”
She pauses, the corners of her baba (mouth) tightening. “When I found out I was pregnant, he had already gone back to the States. I tried to reach him but his letters stopped coming. I thought he’d changed his mind.”
The air in the room seems to thin. Angel’s mata (eyes) widens, her pulse quickening. “Wait—what are you saying?”
Lena takes a steadying breath. “By the time I learned he had written back, it was too late. The letters were sent to the wrong address. I thought he had forgotten me … but he hadn’t. Years later, I found out he’d tried to come back.” Her timek (voice) breaks. “But I had already married your Tatay (father) by then.”
Michael’s face goes pale. “Tio (Uncle) … Tio (Uncle) Robert …” His voice falters. “He told me once—about someone he lost. Someone he said he’d hurt without meaning to. He kept an old photo in his wallet. I never asked who she was.”
Lena nods, mata (eyes) glistening. “It was me,” she says simply.
Silence fell like mist—thick, heavy, full of meaning neither of them knew how to hold.
Angel stares at her Ima (mother), the kalibutan (world) narrowing to the sound of her own heartbeat. “Then … does that mean—”
“Hindi (No),” Lena says gently, understanding before Angel could finish. “Haan (No), anak (child). Robert and I … we never had anak (child) together.”
Angel exhales shakily, relief and confusion tangling in her chest.
“But maybe,” Lena continues softly, “Fate wanted you two to meet anyway. To remind us even after heartbreak, love finds a way to reach across years … and heal what was left behind.”
Michael looks at Angel and for a moment, the weight of their families, their histories and their puso (hearts) merges into something fragile but undeniable.
The past found them—but so, perhaps, had the chance to begin again.
The call ends with a soft click, the screen fading to black. For a moment, neither of them moves. The room feels different now—heavier, yet strangely lighter too, as if the truth had peeled away something unspoken that had been hanging between them all along.
Angel sits still; her fingers curled in her lap. The silence hums softly, broken only by the faint buzz of the ceiling light. She can still hear her mother’s voice echoing in her mind—love finds a way to reach across years… and heal what was left behind.
Michael shifts, his boses (voice) barely above a whisper. “I didn’t know,” he says. “If I had … I would’ve told you right away.”
“I know,” Angel murmurs, meeting his mata (eyes). They look different now—softer, searching. “Indi, (No). It’s not your fault, Michael. None of this is.”
He gives a quiet, humorless laugh. “Maybe not. But it feels like I’ve been carrying someone else’s story without even realizing it.”
Angel’s korason (heart) tightens. She reaches out before she can stop herself, her fingertips brushing against his hand. His skin is warm and for a heartbeat, the world steadies.
“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” she says softly. “Sometimes stories choose us for a reason.”
Michael looks at her—then really looks. The distance once existing between them dissolves, replaced by something raw and honest. “You sound like your Nanay (mother),” he says, a small ngiti (smile) tugging at his lips.
Angel yuhom (smiles) faintly. “She has a way of saying the right thing at the wrong time.”
Aww … okay, slight panic over so we can relax now. What a relief! But wait—could this be the beginning of what I think it is? Are you thinking it too? I really hope so. Fingers crossed we’re right this time!
Anyways that’s all I have. Keep an eye out for my column in every issue. I’m Dulce, helping you to master your Filipino Languages. Like always, let’s laugh, let’s makinig (listen), and Let’s Talk Pinoy! Hanggang sa muli! (Until next time!) Ingat! (Take care!)
Dulce Karen Butay graduated from Maui High School and received her Associate in Arts degree in Liberal Arts from Maui Community College. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, specializing in Accounting, from the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu. She is currently the Administrative Officer at the County of Maui, Department of Finance. Butay is the owner of Maui Balsamic Vinegar and is a licensed Resident Producer of Life Insurance with World Financial Group and an Independent Consultant of Saladmaster. She is a part of Saladmaster’s Travel Club and won an all-expenses paid trip to Cancún, Mexico. Butay has traveled to Texas, the Philippines