Pictures of Flagellants during Holy Week

The Holy Week or Lenten season is the time when flagellants perform their act of penance by flogging themselves.

Here's a picture of one flagellant having the skin of his back sliced by a blade so it could bleed while he flogs himself.

How Would You Know If Your Man Is For Keeps?

By: Lester Taga Capas

First of all, finding true love is the craziest obstacle course you'll ever experience in life.

There is no real telling if you've found the person who will love you for a lifetime unless you find out for yourself.

But there will always be signs that the person you've found is for keeps or just another almost was.

A person with strong family bonds is more likely to stick it through with you.

Good family familial ties are a strong indicator of good grooming with plenty of family values.

However, this is not absolute, as people can be great at having a family even if they didn't grow up with a good family background.

People who are paranoid or possessive may be for keeps but there's a high chance you won't enjoy it.

Sometimes it's better to choose a cool headed person than someone who frowns every time you're around friends.

People who are too possessive will only dampen the relationship.

Horror on a Quiet Night

By: LESTER TAGA CAPAS


“Get up, it's almost time." The guard taps the cell bars with his stick and looks at the shadowy figure within.

The room is pitch-dark with only a single beam of light coming through a crack.

Image credit: wallowatch.com

The sound of chains echo throughout the massive corridor.

"Get up!" The guard yells as he strikes the cell bars repeatedly.

"I heard you the first time" A faint whisper is heard in the deafening silence.

"I am already standing, you just can't see it."

"Where is your lamp? You've broken it again haven't you?"

The guard scratches the side of his head irritably.

"Put your hands through the bars so I can cuff you."

Angrily, the guard reaches into the darkness to feel the prisoner's hands.

They feel cold, thin and frail. "How long have you been here?" he asks.

"Back when the guard was polite" The prisoner answered.

He squeezed at the prisoner's hands tightly.

"Say what?" But the prisoner doesn't reply.

He grips tighter as if wanting to break the fragile arms.

The prisoner stays silent. He tires from squeezing the fragile arms and lets go.

"Can't feel anymore can you?"

But the prisoner doesn't reply.

"You must have been down here so long; you don't even know what pain is.

"But the prisoner still doesn't reply.

 The guard's temper cools down a little feeling guilty for hurting what is probably skin and bones.
"What crime got you in here in the first place?"

Finally the prisoner speaks, noticeably in pain with a thirsty rasp "I can't remember."

The guard reaches into his pocket for the cell keys. He tries them all but none would open the cell.

"What? Must have brought the wrong set."

He takes a deep breath and rubs his eyes.

He decides to go back to the office and get the right set of keys.

"Sure is cold tonight." He says to himself as he prepares to walk back to the office.

"What would you do if a friend told you he'd done something horrible but doesn't want to go to jail for it?" The prisoner asks with a sad tone.

The guard picks up his broken flashlight "Well, tell him he should pay for it, do the right thing and face the consequences. What else?"

The guard answered with a noticeably angry tone.

He walks away and finally steps into the lighted hallway just above the staircase.

"He calls flashlights lamp, must be an old geezer".

He thinks of how silent the place was even when he was yelling.

At the guard station the warden yells at him for taking his time.

"What took you? I had to order another guard to fetch the prisoner for transport!"

He thinks a moment. "Sir, there was no other guard."

My flashlight went out and none of the keys fit in the keyhole.

The prisoner was being annoyingly polite. On top of that none of the light switches worked.

The warden looks up "Have you not been oriented properly?

Where exactly did you go to fetch the prisoner?

The second guard already took him to transport vehicle minutes ago!"

The warden yells with frustration. The guard scratches his head "

The first hall down the staircase of building F sir."

The warden's voice changed into a calmer tone.

"The first hall of Building F?" the guard looked at him sincerely.

"Yes sir, it's true sir none of the...” The warden signaled him to stop talking.

"I understand. Just don't go there anymore especially at night, you could trip you know."

The old warden pats him in the back. "But sir I put the handcuffs on the wrong prisoner."

The warden looks at him "I'll get it, wrong person indeed."

Holding a candle in his hand he walks towards the old building.

He sets it on the floor and picks up the handcuffs.

He falls to his knees and says "Forgive me for having let you suffered all these years for my sin because I was a coward. Thank you for the life I have now I owe it to you. Forgive me for the nights No one has lighted a candle for you because I was sick".

His face hits the ground as he kneels crying.

A cold hand holds his shoulder. “You are forgiven, you always were".

The warden looks at the figure "Then why haven't you moved on yet? After all these years?"

The ghost stands up with a smile "You have been in prison as long as I have, because you haven't forgiven yourself. Free me by freeing yourself."

Valentines Day Heartwarming Story

By: Lester Parlade


"What do you think she would prefer mother? Red or white roses?"

He looks at his mother who is busy cooking. She is slightly surprised that he even bothered asking.

She takes a sip from the soup and looks up in a thinking position she puts her arms over each other. "What kind of girl is she?"

He scratches his head "Mature actually".

His mother laughs amusedly.

"Give her white roses, give her red roses they're both just flowers, she'll probably look for chocolate" She laughs.

His mother continues cooking not even remembering the date. Though she did slightly remember Valentine's Day is over.

She quickly drops the thought and grabs the broom to sweep her already clean kitchen floor. His son asks her for a kiss before he heads out.

"Make sure you don't spend too much dear" She says as he walks out the door.

As she sweeps the dirt towards the outside of the door and looks out she hears her neighbor greeting her mother happy mother's day.

With a little jealousy she says "Mother's day and he's out courting, he had better give me grandchildren with good memories one day!"

Looking at the pot she remembers “He left without eating! Wha!"

She calls her son on the phone "Why didn't you eat before leaving?"

Her son only tells her he'll be back shortly.

But he takes some time.

She sits at the table and as her youngest child eats "Mom aren't you going to eat?"

"Honey you go ahead while I wait for your brother, I want to make sure his food is still warm when he gets back, children these days keep forgetting to take care of themselves."

Meanwhile, her son accompanied by a friend head to the mall in search of flowers they could have purchased from a street vendor for a cheaper price.

He sees a child seated at the wall of the overpass going to the mall and searches his pocket for a coin. "Here you go little kid, buy yourself some candy".

But the child doesn't answer and simply looks down with melancholy. "Why did you even bother" his friend asked.

 He turned towards his friend with a simple smile “Who knows? In the next life I might be the little bigger and he the guy with extra coins in his pocket.

Perhaps he'll return the favor?" His friend looks on puzzled "Really??" "Of course not, though it may be possible, it is simply what I think would help".

Before they reach the mall, an old lady sitting at the base of the overpass calls out to them “My flowers are cheaper and fresh, I grew them myself."

He looks carefully at the lady's squatted position and notices that she doesn't have one leg.

Without another word he bought all her flowers and let her keep the change.

She thanked him with a kiss to his hand; he turned to leave before it brought him to tears.

"Who are you giving all those flowers to? Those chocolates aren't cheap either."

His friend asked. But he only smiled as they parted ways.

When he got home he took a deep breath.

Knocking at the door he gave his mom the assorted flowers, chocolates and greeted her a happy birthday “Mom I may not remember mother's day but I will never forget, your birthday."

She smiles.

A Heart-Warming Story of Mother and Child

 By: Lester Parlade

Eleven o’clock, her heart beats faster as she listens to it worriedly. She grasps the pillow on her chest and listens to the sound of her heavy breathing.

She gets up from the couch and checks if anyone is at her gate, she checks her phone for missed calls and messages.

Past one in the morning and still nothing, she wants to go out and look for her daughter but she doesn't know where to start.

Her teacher says she left early after school. She tries calling her daughter's friends but none of them are picking up their phone.

She doesn't know if she should call the cops and phone in for missing person. Three in the morning, and she's on the verge of tears.

Her hands shake as she tries to prepare some coffee. She thinks of all the chores set for the day but can't stop worrying.

She goes to her little son's room and embraces him worriedly. She is about to break when someone knocks at the door.

Her face turns white, she doesn't know if it's her daughter or the police coming to tell her about a possible incident.

She hears her daughter yelling for someone to open the door. She trembles with relief and anger.

As she opens the door "Where have you been? You had me so worried you didn't even tell me where or what you were going to do!?"

Her daughter yells at her "With my friends! I don't have to tell you everything! If i told you, you wouldn't have let me!"

Her eyes flare up “I almost died worrying about you and that's your reason? What if something bad happened to you?"

Her daughter walks towards her room ignoring her.

She grabs her hand with anger "You don't know what you just put me through because you don't know what it means to be a mother yet, but someday you will."

Her daughter breaks loose with irritation. "You don't own me, stop treating me like a kid, I'm not!"

Her mother slaps her " You think you have the world on your shoulders, you think your father would be proud of you?!"

Her daughter shouts "If he were alive he'd be here to protect me from you!" She rushes to her room and slams the door.

Her mother breathes painfully but with a little relief "At least she's safe, she whispers".

She looks at the clock and it's already past four. She hasn't slept a wink.

She cooks breakfast and says "Thank goodness it's Saturday."

She cleans up a bit though with a heavy heart.

Six in the morning and her boss asks her to come to work.

She says she isn't feeling well but her boss reminds her of how bad she has been performing recently.

She hasn't been getting any good sleep ever since her daughter started her rebellious ways. She would come to work every other night worried, tired with little sleep and full of heartache.

She tries to take a short nap but it isn't enough. She gets ready for another day of work as a cashier and she has to look good doing it.

She enters the store and by ten in the morning hundreds of people with hundreds of items in their shopping carts have passed her by.

She hasn't eaten, just had coffee, she uses her lunchtime for a nap and at five in the afternoon she is completely worn out.

She comes home to the sound of loud music and her daughter won't even tune it down so she can sleep.

Her daughter's boyfriend is smoking in the living room and her son won't stop bugging her about a toy he wants.

The following week, her teenage daughter comes home crying, her boyfriend has left her and she's pregnant.

Her mother breaks down not knowing what to do.

She momentarily holds back her anger and tells her everything will be ok and whispers "Lord help us".

How to Get Back on Your Feet Again after a Breakup

Moving on after a breakup is difficult if you don’t have a clear-cut plan in doing it. You have to condition your mind that the breakup is final and that there’s no going back. 

You have also to accept the fact that your relationship has finally ended. Here are steps you can implement to get back on your feet again after a breakup.

1.    Accept the fact totally

You have to accept the fact no matter how painful it is. Psyche yourself not to pine over memories that no longer bring you joy but pain. This is the most crucial step that you MUST do, so you can move on.

2.    Throw all items that remind you of him/her

Next throw all items that can remind you of him or her. You don’t need them anymore. Don’t hope for another chance with a person who has left you already. Once, he’s done it, he will do it again. Do you want your heart broken over and over again, until nothing’s left of it? Be kind to yourself and love yourself by throwing all those bad memories.

3.    Go out and spend time with friends or meet new friends.

Being alone may not mean loneliness but it’s best if you have people around you who can cheer you up. The more, the merrier. If you’re an innate introvert, then you can always curl in bed with an interesting book. Don’t allow yourself to be idle, so you won’t have a chance to pine over an unworthy person.

4.    Treat yourself to a new wardrobe or makeover

Buy new clothes and get a sassy hairdo to reinvent yourself. Show him that he no longer matters to you and that you’re doing great without him. This is your best revenge for his misdeed.

5.    Embark on new endeavors

Now is your time to do the things you’ve restricted yourself to do because of him. Go traveling or start writing a book. Do something you’re interested in. Think out of the box and challenge yourself to accomplish an activity that can challenge your creativity and intellect.

6.    Smile

Smile, it’s not the end of the world. He’s not your Mr. Right yet. Somewhere along the road of life, you’ll surely meet him, and when that time comes, you wouldn’t want him to see you frowning, right?

So, go on with your life and continue improving yourself, as you enjoy what life has to offer. Be happy and contented because behind the clouds, the sun is still shining.