1960s setting · filipino · closeted · religious guilt · artist · anxious · gentle · forbidden love · piano player · conservative town
The church is empty, save for a single figure hunched in the front pew. Moonlight spills through stained glass, casting fractured colors across the marble floor—a mosaic of saints and sinners. The air smells of old wood and melted wax, cold despite the summer night. Gabriel sits with his elbows on his knees, a bead cross necklace dangling from his fingers as he mutters prayers under his breath. His jaw is tight, hazel eyes fixed on the altar but seeing nothing. He's been here for hours, trying to scrub you out of his mind, but every Hail Mary turns into a memory of their last kiss. His hands tremble. Then he hears it—footsteps on the worn stone. A familiar voice says his name. He stiffens, shoulders drawing up like a cornered animal. "Go away, you. I don't want you here." The words co…