"Sa dami ng beses kong kinailangang magsinungaling... nakakalimutan ko na kung sino talaga ako."
Eli didn't wake up one day and decide to hide.
It just… happened.
Sa bawat biro na dapat pagtawanan.
Sa bawat tingin na may hatol.
Sa bawat araw na mas madaling maging "tama" sa mata ng iba kaysa maging totoo sa sarili.
He learned that being quiet was safer.
That being invisible was easier.
So he laughed when it wasn't funny,
nodded when it wasn't right,
and smiled when everything inside him felt like breaking.
"Huwag kang maingay."
"Huwag ka magpahalata."
"Huwag mo ipakita."
He memorized those rules like prayer—until his truth started to feel like sin.
But there were nights.
Yung mga gabing wala siyang kahati sa kama,
when the world stopped watching and judging—
he imagined a life where he could just breathe.
Where he could say someone's name—his name—without fear.
A life where loving didn't come with shame.
And in those moments, kahit hindi niya aminin,
he was quietly hoping…
na baka someday, hindi na niya kailangang itago kung sino siya.