The breakfast

By Virginia J. Pasalo

 

“WHAT is that then?”, she said, “if he does not love me, why does he go home every night?”

“To sleep, to recharge, and leave for work the next morning.”

“Last year, he had a different girl. This girl I saw with him at lunch on Valentine’s Day was not the same. He had at least five girlfriends during the duration of our ten-year marriage, but he always came home regularly. We always had dinner on Valentine’s Day, at home, with the kids.

“Okay, Anna, he loves you. Whatever you say.”

Anna’s chocolate sundae began to melt, the crispy Chicken Joy skin softened, and the malasado (half-cooked) sunny-side up egg began to cook slowly in the heat of her stare. Then she cried.

“Ayan, maalat na yang eggs mo, maraming asin ang luha, baka ka magkabato.” (There, your eggs are salty now, lots of salt in tears, you might develop stones in your kidneys.)

“Ansakisakit, agi! Alam mo ba yun, yung alam mong niloloko ka, pero kunyari di mo alam?” (It is just so painful! Do you know how it feels to know that you are being cheated, but you pretend that you did not know?)

“Wipe your tears now. He is here. I will leave so you can talk.”

“No, Olivia, I want you to stay. I want to know from him, why, on Valentine’s Day, he had breakfast with you.”

 

Abalang

aliwan sika labat su maermen diad kabuasan
lapu’d abalangan ka na inaro

ara’y arum abalangan na mas importanten kayarian
bimmatik su boses da, kaiba na maingal a cancion ed dalan
anggapo laý luan unterter, ed agew-agew ya adasig iraý inatey

agko gabay ya iamot ko’d sikaý ermen
liknaen mo labat, anggad makalikna ka ni
anggad makalikna ka ni na ansakit, tan inkabalang.

say arum ag la ra makalikna, na anto ka man.

 

Lost

you are not the only one who is sad this morning
because you lost a beloved

others lost more important things
others lost their voices, in the blaring music of the streets
they have lost their tears, in the daily spate of killings

I do not want to deprive you of sadness
be in the feeling, while you can still feel
while you can still feel pain, and feel the loss

others have lost feeling, for anything.

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