Dulce Karen Butay
February is here—the official Month of Love! That means Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Are you ready? Or are you one of those people who suddenly remembers on the morning of February 14 and ends up buying the last slightly wilted bouquet at the store? No judgment … it happens. Of course, Valentine’s Day is also the perfect time to practice your poetry skills. For example:
Roses are red, violets are blue,
I wrote you a poem, Google helped too.
I had a better line, but I forgot it too.
Pretty good, right? Let me try another one:
Roses are red, violets are blue,
I forgot the chocolates, so this poem will do.
But I’ll bring flowers, and maybe musubis too.
Okay… maybe I should stop while I’m ahead before I accidentally start a professional poetry career. But if you find yourself stuck trying to impress your Valentine, feel free to reach out—I might have a few more rhymes in my back pocket.
Whatever your plans are this Valentine’s Day, don’t forget the classic move: a flower or bouquet for your Valentine. It’s simple, thoughtful, and almost guaranteed to brighten their day—or at least earn you some bonus points.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Shout out to our February birthday celebrants: Leilani Maglaya Corpuz, Renie Garo Menor, Yuki Lei Sugimura, Zina Andrade-Nefalar, Kyra and Kea Lagpacan and Esmeralda “Esmie” Damo. 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?
Angel looks down at her mug, her reflection trembling on the coffee’s surface. “It’s strange, isn’t it? How their choices still echo in ours.”
Michael nods slowly. “Maybe that’s why we were supposed to find each other. To finish what they couldn’t—but in our own way.”
She looks up at him then, her puso (heart) catching at the softness in his mata (eyes). There is no uncertainty there this time, only quiet resolve.
“I don’t know what this is yet,” Angel says, her voice steady but softened by honesty. “But I know I don’t want to let the past decide it for us.”
Michael ngiti (smiles)—a small, real timan (smile) reaching all the way to his mata (eyes). It isn’t loud or dramatic, it is certain. “Then let’s not,” he says.
He reaches across the lamesa (table), his fingers brushing hers. The touch is simple, deliberate and warm. In that quiet moment, something long held back finally shifts, opening space for what can begin again.
Outside, the clouds begin to part, letting a thin ray of sunlight spill across the café lamisaan (table).
For the first time in days, Angel lets herself breathe—really breathe. Whatever the past has taken, the present is quietly offering back.
Days slip gently into weeks, each one softening the weight that had once hung between them. What began as awkward conversation over coffee becomes late-night calls, quiet walks after work, and laughter that feels easier each time.
Sometimes, Angel catches herself studying him when he isn’t looking—the tilt of his pahiyum (smile), the way his brow creases when he tries to find the right words. There is a gentleness to Michael that feels both unfamiliar and safe, like something she hadn’t realized she’d been missing.
One evening, they find themselves at the overlook above Kahului, the ocean stretching endlessly beneath the fading sky. The sun had already sunk past the horizon, leaving a wash of violet and gold mirroring the quiet pulse between them.
“It’s strange,” Michael says, his boses (voice) low, almost carried away by the wind. “I used to think love was something that just … happens. Like a moment you fall into. But now I think it’s more like this view—something you have to climb toward, even when you’re not sure what you’ll see when you get there.”
Angel isem (smiles) faintly, turning to look at him. “You’re saying this is our climb?”
He meets her gaze, the corners of his bibig (lips) lifting. “If you’re still willing to take it with me.”
She doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she looks out at the darkening sea, remembering the ache of her Inang (mother’s) words, the way the past almost stole this from them. Then, softly, she says, “I think we’ve already started.”
A breeze sweeps through, carrying the scent of salt and plumeria. Without thinking, Michael reaches for her hand. She doesn’t pull away.
They stand that way for a long time—gamat (hands) entwined, the world around them fading to quiet. It isn’t a perfect beginning, not a fairytale but something real and fragile and entirely theirs.
Finally, Angel speaks, her voice barely above the wind. “You know what my Nanay (mom) said after the call?”
Michael turns to her. “What?”
“She said maybe love doesn’t always come in the right order. Maybe it just waits… until we’re ready to recognize it.”
He ngiti (smiles) then, the kind that reaches his mata (eyes). “Then I’m glad we’re finally ready.”
Angel squeezes his kamay (hand), her puso (heart) steady for the first time in a long while. Above them, the first stars begin to appear, scattered across the mauve sky—tiny reminders that even after darkness, there’s always something that finds its way back to light.
The morning after their night at the overlook, Angel’s phone buzzes before dawn. The screen flashes with her Inang (mother’s) name.
What is it now? Is it something to worry about?
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.