Dulce Karen Butay
Novemberis here—my birth month and honestly my favorite month of the year.
Back home in the Philippines, November 1 is All Saints’ Day and November 2 is All Souls Day. It’s the time when we honor and remember our loved ones who have passed. A few days before, people start cleaning the cemetery, fixing the graves and getting everything ready. Some families go by themselves; others hire someone to help. This year, I couldn’t visit my grandparents’ and my Dad’s graves but I asked my cousin to bring flowers and light candles for them. It made me feel a little closer even from far away.
Here in the United States, November is all about Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. And to all our Veterans—thank you so much for your service and sacrifice. Your bravery gives us the freedom we enjoy every single day.
Thanksgiving, for me, is a reminder to slow down and appreciate what we have. It’s so easy to forget the simple blessings—the fresh air, the sunshine, even the rain. Every morning when I wake up, I always take a moment to say, “Thank you for waking me up today.” This year, I’m especially grateful for all the blessings God has given me and even the challenges making me stronger and helping me to grow.
So tell me—what’s cooking in your kitchen for Thanksgiving? How do you usually spend the holiday? Do you fly somewhere, drive to see family or stay home and host? Or maybe you skip the cooking and go out to eat?
I’d love to hear your favorite Thanksgiving story. Share it with us at www.facebook.com/filamvoicemaui.
Shout out to all the November babies! Happy birthday to Leticia (Letty) Domingo, Effren Delos Reyes, Felmar Guiwa, Rose Anne Rafael, Alfredo (Fredo) Dumlao, Grace Andam, Dianne Butay-Guiwa, Peter Villanueva, Rexon Rafael and Eileen Andrea Bueno. Pada-pada kam nga kumablaaw ti naimbag nga panagkasangay yo amin! (Happy birthday to all!) Happy, Happy birthday to you! (Tagalog) Maligayangbati 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?
“Michael, this is my Nanay (mother), Lena.” Angel says, gesturing between them.
Michael’s expression shifts, “Lena Ramos Corpuz …” he repeats quietly, almost to himself.
Angel’s mata (eyes) narrows. “You know my Nanang (mother)? How do you know her?” she asks, surprise and confusion threading through her words.
Then she turns back to the screen, “Nanay (mother), he is not Robert—he is Michael. How do you know his tito (uncle)?”
The silence that follows hangs heavy, like a held breath.
Her inang (mother’s) image flickers on the screen, the soft hum of the connection filling the silence that follows. For a long moment, she says nothing—just stares, her expression unreadable. Then, with a sigh that carried the weight of years, she speaks.
“Michael …” Lena’s timek (voice) trembles, a mix of disbelief and something more fragile. “You look just like him … like Robert.”
Angel’s brow furrows. “Inay (mother), what do you mean?”
Lena’s gaze drifts, as though she was looking far beyond the screen—back into another time. “Robert and I … we were kaluguran (friends). Yes, we were kaibigan (friends) a long time ago. Before you were born.”
Michael’s throat tightens. He takes a slow breath, his mata (eyes) still locked on the screen. “Uncle Ray never told me much about his past,” he says quietly. “Only that there were things he wished he could undo.”
A hush settles over the room. Angel feels her puso (heart) thudding painfully, her mind racing to make sense of it all. “Are you saying … you knew his Tio (uncle) well?”
Her inahan (mother) hesitates, the corners of her bibig (mouth) tightening as though she were holding back a confession. “There are some stories, anak (child), that never really end,” she says softly. “They just wait … until the right moment to find their way back.”
Angel’s chest aches. She looks at Michael, who stands so still, his mata (eyes) shadowed with emotion she can’t name.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he murmurs. “I didn’t even know …”
“I know,” she says quietly, though her boses (voice) wavers. “I know you didn’t.”
Lena pahiyum (smiles) faintly, tears glinting at the edges of her mata (eyes).
“Sometimes life circles back in ways we don’t expect,” she whispers. “Maybe this is one of them.”
And in that suspended moment—between the glow of the screen and the silence of the room—Angel feels the strange pull of fate, threading through their lives once again.
Lena’s hands tremble slightly as she adjusts the camera, the movement revealing more of the room behind her—a flicker of lamp light, a framed photograph half-hidden on the shelf. When she speaks again, her tingog (voice) softens, stripped of pretense.
“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 can 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?”
What?! Don’t tell me you’re thinking the same thing I am! Sooo… what do you think happens next? I want to hear all your ideas for where this story could go or comment on how you imagine the story will unfold!
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 and Thailand as one of the delegates from Island Healthy Solutions, a Saladmaster dealer on Maui.