What does it mean to write an ode to a mother who is both familiar and unknowable? In this tender essay, Leanne braids memory, folklore, and lived experience to trace the fractures and continuities of womanhood. From the myth of the manananggal to the quiet violences women endure, she reflects on her mother’s sacrifices, the cost of survival, and the selves women are forced to leave behind. At once intimate and political, this piece invites us to imagine a world where women are not made monstrous, but are finally seen, protected, and whole.