𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬: “I’ll Wait, Hill of the Victors” by Kyla Joy Pontiga

 

Layout by Mark Louie Pocot

Published by Reiven Presbetero

Date Published: January 15, 2026

Time Published: 6:16 PM

I will wait for it.

The world’s spinning fast, and people are rushing through their lives to catch up. Saint-like figures gracefully write hundreds of poems, great minds battle through debates, and royalties gain power like they’re running out of time—all on the hill of the victors, everyone aiming to reach the top.

I come forth—a slow-witted sinner, a commoner with nothing planned out for my life—ready to climb the hill many fear, and some are breaking their backs to conquer. Where lives have been formed and lives have been lost, I set out on a mission, with shaking legs and a beating heart.

At the very bottom of the hill, the skies were shining bright as people looked down on me. The victors shouted triumph from the top, while I stood silently at the base.

Envious, yet motivated, I began my journey. I knew that, in my own time, I would reach my top.

As I set foot on this journey, I face every kind of trouble—the chaos of the dead in the crying rivers, the angry thunderstorms whose every gust tries to brush me away, and the roaring humiliations from those who were called “saints,” which were the most terrifying of all.

Who knows what awaits me beyond this hill? Will I ever be the victor I have always dreamt of, or will I remain the sinner they’ll always look down upon? No one—not even the gods—could ever answer.

I’ve fallen too many times to count, yet each fall only pushed me to rise again. The journey itself became my source of motivation. Many doubted I’d succeed—even I did—but those doubts pushed me harder. They sharpen my perseverance, fueling a quiet fire to prove something: that I am something.

I may bear many scratches, but I will never be wounded—for I am a sinner with nothing left to lose.

I am the one thing in life I can control. I will not be weakened nor defeated—not until I reach the top, with my own sweat, and in my own time. For this is the sole reason I am, and we are, alive.

I will reach the top as the sinner and victor I am, not as a saint. For this is all that I am, and all I will ever be.

I will wait for it.