Elysia Salazar grew up believing in love that was as enduring as the haranas her Lolo once sang to her Lola. As a child, she would sit wide-eyed as her grandmother recounted how her grandfather would serenade her, his voice carrying the melody of the night straight to her heart. Those stories became the foundation of Elysia's belief in love—pure, passionate, and respectful.
As Elysia clutched her worn notebook, the words to Tori Kelly's Dear No One scribbled neatly on the inside cover. That song had been her anthem for as long as she could remember. It was a reminder to herself, a soft lullaby that echoed her faith in God's timing. The line, "But I'd love to have a soul mate, And God'll give him to me someday," gave her hope that even in a world where trust and love seemed fleeting, her balang araw—her someday—would come.
But the modern world was not kind to hopeless romantics. Now, at 25, she was a relatable corporate slave, buried in spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations, her heart yearning for something real. Clinging to her ideals as she stumbled through one failed relationship after another. She often lamented how haranas had been replaced by dating apps, handwritten love letters by emojis, and "paninilbihan" by the bare minimum.
Her love life, though, had been a comedy of errors—Ex #1, a gym rat who cared more about his protein shakes than her feelings. Ex #2, a self-centered singer who constantly drowned her out with his ballads about himself. And Ex #3, a band vocalist and skater who had the charm of a rock star but the reliability of a broken guitar string. Three strikes, yet Elysia hadn't given up.
Her latest breakup was the hardest yet. Her ex had stormed out of her life after yet another argument, leaving Elysia at a bar, drowning her sorrows in a cocktail that tasted as bitter as her heartbreak. "No more," she muttered to herself. But her best friends had other plans. They pushed her to download a dating app, insisting she try her luck in the digital age. Amid their laughter and nudging, she found herself downloading the app, hesitant but curious.