IT was nearing darkness somewhere on a beach in Miangas. A group of children were happily riding on the waves, floating on broken pieces of spongy wood and used boards. The four of them were swimming to the shore, along the small ripples that surreptitiously appeared and then disappeared under the sand. Their small feet firmly stepped upon the crags.

The sea, where they build their dreams, is like a sandcastle that is swept away under each ne