Beyond Her Rubrics Cube and Ginisang Gulay

Nina didn’t see any changes. As she gazed towards their barrio’s bountiful field, she allowed her arms to flail freely through the open window in the warmth of the summer’s day. The heat consumed her body and almost burnt her skin. The panoramic view of towering acacia and bamboo trees beside their kubo were like splendid living replicas of heavenly stairways, along with her garden, countless Gumamelas, Maravillosas and Ilang-ilang shaded in different hues of which she planted three years ago, and was fenced by sun burned bamboo poles and cogon grasses, had burst into full bloom . Almost everything was at their usual, but not quite.

No room for much admiration because she still have to cook afternoon meal for her sickly father. A steaming ginisang gulay would probably fit for a good meal. As she headed back in the kitchen, she noticed her old Rubric’s cube on top of their almost worn-out rattan couch. Surprisingly, it was perfectly arranged according to colors. It was beautiful. No one would dare to arrange it for there were only two of them inside the kubo. As she was going to inquire him, her father spoke of assertion in low-tone which was apparently much to her amazement.

Ang Pangaral ni Juan Tamad kay Ambisyosong Kasoy

Batid kong hirap ka sa kinatatayuan mo

ngayon kaibigang kasoy.

Oo nga’t madilaw at mukha kang matamis

kapag hinog

bakit pagkatao mo’y nasa kinalahati?

Split

 

By: Christian Jane Centina, Henrietta Diana de Guzman, Aaron James Jalalon, Edwin Sinsona

 

CAST

Bobby, 26 years old

Setting

inside his apartment

 

(Bobby paces from his small sink to his bed, and forth. The apartment is darkly lit, no windows, and only small streaks of light come form outside his room. A knife lies on the sink, stained with dry blood. A bloodstained blanket covers a woman’s body on his bed.)

Bobby: So what are you gonna do now? Sit there and do nothing? Damn, Bobby! You really are a fucking idiot for putting ourselves in this mess! Fuck you for ruining our lives! You’ve been actually killing people for- how many years? Twenty years! – and finally, you’ve won your trophy! Very good job, Bobby!

A Helium Inside Papa’s Balloon

When I was younger,

Papa used to buy me my favorite

balloon.

A red one.

I saw him smile at me

and taught me how to handle it

without losing hold on it.

He said that I should hold it

tightly with my little bare hands.

But I don’t know how to control

that’s why he tied the string

and knotted it accordingly

to my right thumb without

hurting my finger.

He was so patient.

Webbed Beauty

“Perhaps even these things, one day will be pleasing to remember.”

-Virgil

 

There was a little crack in plaster of the ceiling in our house. As I was concentrating so hard on what to do with a pile of old books, I could not help but stare blankly at the old plastic bag on top of the cabinet. “Hay …” I sighed blankly. “Hay…” I sighed again until all I did was to sigh for the nth time. “Damn, what on earth am I here for?” I asked myself, though I badly knew the answer. Well, I just assumed that I did something great because for the past five hours, instead of obeying and performing Ate’s bidding to clean the entire house, all I did was to sigh. Little did I know that my eyes were already following a spider close to the old plastic bag. The tiny fellow was creating a web, building a new home. Weird to think but, but the mere presence of the spider revived the memory of the past years. It reminded me of my mother whom I was fond of calling Nornor and my twin sister, Twinie.

Tainted Mind

The leaking pipeline

releasing dirty waters

before my clean feet

is present’s reality

freed in imagination.