And the winners are...

We are pleased to announce that Santino Bretaña, Pen Prestado and Lea Lite have won our 3-sentence short story contest for "If Trees Could Talk".

In no particular order, their stories, and the artworks that inspired them may be read below.

Congratulations to all three, and our many thanks again to the hundreds of authors who participated in this competition. Hanggang sa susunod!

artwork: "Handle with Care" by Dante Lerma

"Shattered Like Glass"

by Santino Bretaña

From within my glass prison, I saw a young girl.

I could only imagine the childlike innocence within her mind as she stared at me with a wide-eyed fascination, comprehending the embodiment of a time long past.

All the more did my heart shatter like the glass walls that surrounded me when I heard her whisper silently in awe, "So, that's what green looks like."

Artwork: "Gaia" by Anthony Palomo

"Oyayi"

by Pen Prestado

Nang mapagtanto ng mga puno na maaari nilang ihakbang ang kanilang mga ugat, dali-dali nilang hinugot ang mga sarili mula sa kinatatayuang lupa, at nagtatakbo sila papalayo sa mga sementadong lungsod.

Narating nila ang mahabang ilog, umupo sa pampang para ipahinga ang pagod na mga ugat, habang inaalala ang mga batang nagsisipaglaro sa kanilang mga sanga.

Nang magpatuloy na sila sa paglalakbay, nakiusap ang isang matandang puno na magpaiwan doon, para hintayin ang batang palagiang sumasakay sa nakasabit niyang duyan at nangangarap na balang-araw ay tutubuan siya ng pakpak.

Artwork: "Tree Huggers" by Elmer Borlongan

"Embrace"

by Lea Lite

As the thick clouds of smoke and ash fell upon the forest, I felt something warm encircle my trunk, and looked down to see a child wrapping her arms around me, and saw the same thing happening to the others: men, women, the children, the elderly; they were all walking towards us, their arms outstretched -- and slowly, tentatively, pairs of hands would creep around tree trunks until we found ourselves engaged in some sort of one-sided embrace.

And that was how we found ourselves in the last minutes of life: broken humans, left to give up on their survival, their own machines and inventions suffocating them to extinction, hugging broken trees.

And, as if by some small miracle, the rain fell.