Receipts

written by Ayesha Cala

layout by Kian Balboa

In every receipt, there is a story.

2 tbsp of brown sugar
a tsp of white sugar
add condensed milk to taste
stir
to mask the bitterness
to make yourself more
palatable
be told that you
are too sweet;
too much –
be told that you
lack depth;
lack complexity –
overwhelming; never enough

November 2x, 2024

PROFESSOR SO-AND-SO

Maybe A Professor / Probably A Professor

Department of This-And-That

MSU-IIT

Dear Professor So-And-So,

I am writing to let you know that I was absent on November 1x, 2024 during your TAT100 lecture. I woke up drowning in phlegm. I coughed and it blocked my throat, filled my mouth, choked me, choked me, choked me until I swallowed. I should not have swallowed.

I have a bucket next to my bed where I spit out my phlegm. It is half-filled and days old. I cannot bring myself to throw it away. I cannot bring myself to stand up or go to your class. I find that I cannot care enough to fill my mind with knowledge when it feels like my entire body is filled with phlegm.

My mother bought me medicine for my sickness. I take it when I remember to, and she tells me to cough out the phlegm. Sometimes, I find myself not caring enough to spit it out in my half-full bucket, and I swallow.

Thank you for your understanding.

Respectfully,

Some One

Confirmed by:

Any One

Contact Number: (09xx) xxx xxxx