Dead Stars by Paz Marquez Benitez

It's that time of the year again when the Northeastern Siberian wind--also known as Amihan, is bringing its final breathe of life into the Philippine night skies. It's also that time when you remember the best stories of your grandfather and  your grandmother, much as the story of how your father met your mother that is always accompanied by a certain degree of amusement for the successful union, and sentimentality for the lost loves.

Whether you live or conjure a love story of your own, there is always a blank paper for you to fill and a constellation of stars for your readers to ponder by connecting-the-dots. And while doing it, why not treat yourself with a thoughtful story very far from the formulaic and generic Hollywood style?

Written sometime in 1925 by a female writer, "Dead Stars" is undeniably one of the most eloquent and expressive piece of story that many consider as a work of art, bar none. I agree with the experts; this is the progenitor, the Lola Basyang of Philippine Short Story in English.

Through parental agreement, Señor Alfredo Salazar is about to marry Esperanza. But Julia Salas came along. With the classic country setting of young acacia trees, bunut roofs, madre cacao hedges, church bells and religious processions that are all genuine scenes to behold, you will also desire to know the ending or perhaps, the anti-climax. And after seeing it, Paz Marquez Benitez has just weaved an enchantment---a spell that by just looking at the constellations above, you as a reader realize that mourning for the dead stars also has its own beauty to behold.

my favorite line:
"Was he becoming a poet, or is there a poet lurking in the heart of every man?"

Genre: Short Story, Love Story
Rating: 5 rice-paper lanterns 

read the story here: http://sushidog.com/bpss/stories/stars.htm
image source: http://www.hdwallpaperspics.com/starry-night-sky-wallpapers.html