KS Chapter 2
"Rogelio, have you mentioned to your father the telegram Kyoto Electronics sent you?"
Dinner was almost over before anyone in the family uttered a word. Like always, it was Aling Hasmin that broke the silence and made a way to have a little conversation going.
"Ah, no I haven"t," Rogelio took a break from eating his rice. "I"ve been hesitant since the placement fee"s too big anyway."
"j.a.pan? Can"t stand your taking care of your parents anymore?" Mang Ernesto asks with accusation. He"s always been like this with Rogelio ever since he got sick. Rogelio did not answer. A few minutes pa.s.sed before Aling Hasmin thought up of a new topic.
"It was so funny a while ago at Mang Fred"s, they watched Lyla"s birthday from last week on the Betamax."
Rogelio tried being interested to the story. "Mang Fred?"
"Aling Sally"s husband. They didn"t have me do the laundry on the 15th because there was a celebration, remember? They gave me some food cause their eldest just turned one, and I think they"re transferring houses soon. There were a ton of guests! And everyone was having fun since the kid looked like Matet!" Aling Hasmin was beaming while telling her story, but it had no effect on the two men on the table. She went silent for a bit and rested her smile, before carefully turning to her husband. "Do you still have medicine? Do you want to go to the doctor?"
"Don"t bother," Mang Ernesto gulped the remaining water from his gla.s.s before pushing himself away from the table. The mother helps him in pulling away the chair.
"I caught a glimpse of the doctor in the center this afternoon. But he said he might leave again this Sunday,and he might be away a while." With no reaction from Mang Ernesto, the wife continued. "Didn"t he say, when we last visited, that as long as you keep drinking your medicine—"
"Hasmin…"
"As long as you rest, and keep drinking your medicine…"
"Hasmin…Hasmin…"
"You"ll get bet—"
"HASMIN!" Mang Ernesto"s breaths were heavy for a bit before he calmed down and started heading for the room. "We can"t bring back the past. No medicine will bring back the past. And we don"t have a doctor!"
Aling Hasmin forced a meek smile to his son, ashamed. Rogelio gathered the dishes to the sink, also ashamed that he witnessed what happened to his mother. "I"ll wash the dishes, Nay1."
"No! You already washed the dishes this afternoon," Aling Hasmin quickly stole the dishes from her son and continued cleaning the table. "Rest up now so you could get an early start tomorrow. I heard Aling Chummy"s daughter wants to use the karaoke for Field Day."
"Nay," Rogelio tried to find the words to comfort his mother. "Tatay²–"
"Stop worrying about your father. He"d much rather arguing, it means he"s strong!" Aling Hasmin smiled. "If that old man"s no longer speaking, then you can worry!"
Rogelio laughed. Somehow, he"s rea.s.sured that his mother can still smile. He first grabbed some food to give ET before leaving his mother in the kitchen.
Morning. The sun is smiling. There"s enough wind that the stench is whisked away, but not enough that it blew dust from the roads. One by one, umbrella makers, knife sharpeners, and guys offering special offer products pa.s.sed by. It"s a good day for work. Or so he thought. Because in the middle of the heat of the soldering iron and deep thinking, he could once again hear the daughter of Aling Precious belting off key Bananarama on the microphone.
Rogelio was fifteen when he learned to play James Taylor songs on the guitar. Now, ten years of no practice has past after his cla.s.smate borrowed the instrument and never returned it, and he no longer knows any songs. But his love for music is still there. And he knows when someone"s on-key, and when someone"s off.
Boom Boom Boom, let"s go back to my room, so we can do it all night and you can make me feel right…
He also knows that once the karaoke of Aling Precious starts, Aling Baby"s loud component will follow. Aling Baby"s husband is a Saudi boy, and won"t just let herself lose when it comes to the neighbor"s equipment.
SWISS BOY, YOU"RE IN LOVE WITH A SWISS BOY I DON"T KNOW WHAT I"M GONNA DO…
And when there"s loud music in the street, Rogelio already accepts that another house will pump up their radio. Matching up. He"s already used to the whole place being like Raon, where appliance stores are side by side playing at the same time. Let those who are bothered be bothered. Rogelio endured this for ten minutes, forcing himself to think that he could hear nothing and the surroundings are peaceful. After a while, the sounds from Aling Baby stops. This is the time he"s most afraid of. Because he knows, that around this time, it"s the husband who comes to the rescue:
"Nating sgona change my lab por you, you know naman my lab how much I lab you, deworld my change my whole layp tru but nating sgona change my lab por you…"
Rogelio grits his teeth and shuts his eyes due to headache. Mang Boy is a jolly head of the household, but he"s also the type where making him hold a microphone is a literal crime. At that point, he hears Aling Precious" daughter Jonymay, belting even harder, and he could also hear Aling Precious in the background, maybe cause their karaoke powerful enough for a stadium is pushing it’s limits.
I need your tender kisses, the feel of your hands, your perfume has me burning…
"Jonymay, have you went out yet?"
"In a bit!…I need you so much."
"Go out first and buy some Royco, Lucibelle hasn"t eaten yet!"
"If you"re not here by my side, can"t hold back the tears…Yes! I said in a minute! I try to hide…"
"Go do that first, no one"s gonna steal your stupid minus-one anyway!"
"Don"t think I can take it…I already said in a minute, right?!"
[mic feedback]
[sounds of a child"s face shoved to the microphone]
[child: voooooo]
[shriek of child]
[child: HAVOOOOOO]
[pointed mic]
[child: VOOOOHAAAVOOOOBAPSSSS…]
[deafening mic feedback]
Bok-bok enters the shop with both ears covered, saying something to his friend which he cannot understand.
"Not with me!" shouts Rogelio.
"No! There"s isphiskshipikshpo!"
"What?"
"Huh?!"
"What did you say?"
"Huh?!"
"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?" Rogelio shouts at Bok-bok. "What do you need? And take off your hands so you could hear me, there"s no more music!"
Bok-bok carefully removes his hands from his ears; the music has stopped after all. "I said, there"s Superman IV at Jet"s Video already!"
"Is it clear?"
"I don"t know. That"s why we should borrow it…to find out!"
"That"s what you said with Karate Kid 2 before as well."
"Whatever, someone"ll get ahead of you, y"know…" Bok-bok glances around the shop.
"Is the renting fee still the same there?"
"Hold on," Bok-bok looks out the street, feeling for something. "What was that again?"
"Jet"s. Did the rental fee go up?" buried in his work, Rogelio is not looking to who he"s talking to.
"I thiiiink it"s still the same…hold on," Bok-bok goes out the shop and looks at the neighboring houses.
"What are you looking for out there?" Rogelio asks. "The guy that trades with cheese curls? We"re out of jars and bottles!"
Bok-bok comes back in looking confused. "Brownout."
"What?"
"No electricity."
"Oh yeah!"
Bok-bok is staring at what his friend is holding. "But your soldering iron—it"s working!"
"Huh?! No!" Rogelio, in confusion, drops the item. "There"s probably some left over heat, it"s been on for awhile now!"
The neighbor"s radios are dead. The electric fan in the shop is also dead. Bok-bok points at the open light bulb hung on the ceiling with amazement. "How do you explain that light above your head, then?"
Translation Notes:
1 – Tagalog word for mother
2 – Tagalog word for father
The reason why I used the original Tagalog words instead of just outright saying “mother” and “father” is because there’s a bit of a difference in closeness and politeness levels. It’s kind of like how you don’t call your parents “mother” or “father” (unless you’re one of those creepy kids from horror movies or something)
“Nanay” and “Tatay” are the respectful way of calling your parents, but they’re not as impersonal as “mother” and “father”. But it’s also not as casual as something like “mom/dad” or “mama/papa”.
In the end, I just kept them in because they sound better.