As a parent, I am learning that there are certain questions and statements that I rather dread hearing from my kid. It’s not that it makes me queasy and uncomfortable; I somehow pride myself in being able and prepared to answer (or parry, as the context requires) any question that has come my way. It's just that these are indications that my child is slowly learning about some of the awful truths that makes up life as we know it.

And one of them was stated this morning, a few minutes after I woke up. Her hair tied up in two adorable, short pony tails, Veda approached me and said “Ma, me mga stories pala na hindi happy ending.” She then went on to tell me the synopsis of the last episode of the ABS-CBN telenovela “Maria Flordeluna.” Something about a cliff and the protagonist dying and how even if it was sad that she died, the story also ended on a hopeful note because a baby was born.

She’s turning six in a couple of days. Much as I know that this is a truth that I can’t shield her from, I just want her to believe that all stories end in happy endings just a tad longer.