Jose Claudio B. GuerreroEssence We had just finished lunch in a small café along Katipunan Road. Two cups of steamy brew enveloped our table in a delicious aroma. “So where did you meet?” I asked my friend Patrick as he put down his coffee cup. “At the Faculty Center in UP.” “Again? How come you meet a lot of guys there? I’m always there and nothing ever happens.” Patrick pointed to his face and smiled. “Che!” I replied, laughing. But I knew that it was true. Patrick was not really that good-looking, but he had this sexy air about him. And he had fair skin which was, for most Filipinos, a prerequisite for beauty. I looked at the mirror behind him and saw my dark, emaciated reflection. “So anyway, I was washing my face in the ground floor washroom when in comes this really cute guy.

