Short stories written by the Philippines' well-known writers.
Mga maiikling kuwentong piling-pili mula sa panulat ng mga batikang kuwentista.
The Whisperer
Short story by Percival Campoamor Cruz
It is very tragic for parents to be preceded in death by their children. It is presumed and it is commonplace that the parents, by sheer factor of age, will die first.
Once in a rare time, though, accidents or sickness happen; crimes and wars happen. These happenings can end the life of anyone, young and old.
Such was the fate of the couple Ivan and Dolores, and their daughter, Mercedes. Mercedes was a 40-year old unmarried woman. She worked in the bank and had an above-average income. Her co-workers and friends loved her for her liveliness and kind-heartedness.
She was always up-and-about, cheerful, she loved making jokes and making people feel relaxed and happy. She was out-going; she often went out with friends to dine and dance. A fulfilling professional and social life she had.
Very unusual but she did not have a serious relationship with any man or woman. On top of her good qualities as a person, Mercedes was attractive. If she remained single, it was, perhaps, because of her choice to be independent, a free spirit. It was unusual, compared to other women of her age and status, that she was single and that she lived with her parents. But that was the case.
Her parents, in their 70s, took care of her needs at home. The concern for each other was reciprocal for she, in turn, took care of her parents. She drove the car for them and shopped supplies for them. She did not have to give financial support to the parents because they were well off. What she earned she saved in the bank. She was very good with her money.
One morning, Mercedes did not feel well and asked her parents to take her to the hospital. They called 911 and an ambulance came down to pick her up. She, later on, assured her parents that nothing much was going on. She came home from the hospital, went to work, and life went on as before.
After a month, she became ill again. She was brought to the hospital and, this time, she was confined.
A year ago, Mercedes was diagnosed as having cancer. The doctor recommended an aggressive treatment, but she refused it. She dreaded going through chemotherapy and surgery. She believed that her condition was irreversible, and to suffer from the pains, discomfort, and toll on the body brought about by chemotherapy and radiation, was unwarranted. She kept her condition a secret. She did not want to make her parents anxious.
The next trip to the emergency was the final one. She was already dying. The parents asked Mercedes’ siblings to come to the hospital immediately; they came from different parts of the country. Gathered in the hospital, everyone took a turn in looking after her and in outpouring love for her.
An uncle, when it was his turn to talk to Mercedes, told her, “I’m going to recite a short prayer. Say this prayer whenever you need to; it will heal you and give you comfort.” Matter-of-factly, Mercedes said, “Uncle, I’m not going to heal. I know I'm dying.” The uncle followed up, “It does not matter. If not your body, the prayer will heal your spirit and you will have comfort on the coming journey.”
She was strong and brave regardless of her condition. She knew she was dying. But she never shed a tear nor showed any sign of fear. Up to the end, her concern was to not cause sadness and despair to her parents. The doctor gave her morphine intravenously, and she went away slowly and peacefully.
She was given a beautiful memorial and interment. Thereafter, the grieving parents came to the park every Friday. It was there that they interred the remains of their daughter.
It was a beautiful day at the park. The weather was toasty. The sky was clear. And the trees and flowers were blooming in inspiring colors. From a distance the parents saw a middle-aged woman walking toward them. People who came to the park to visit usually came in cars. This woman was walking and the parents did not get to see whether she came from the gates or from the far end of the park.
It turned out her object was to meet and talk to them. She began, “My name is Maria Luna. I’m a diviner, a whisperer.” The parents looked at each other with expressions of wonder. Ivan replied, “I’m sorry. What’s a diviner, a whisperer?”
“I communicate with the dead. I can summon the spirit to appear before relatives.”
“My God!” Dolores exclaimed.
“Do you want to see your daughter once again?”
“You’re hurting us this way, whoever you are!” Dolores exclaimed.
“My purpose is to show you that your daughter is all right and she’s happy where she is. I’m sorry to hurt you; my purpose is to lessen your grief, not to add to it,” the stranger said. And she started to leave.
Ivan called her back and said. “If this is not a kind of scam, I’m for it.”
The woman pointed her finger to the horizon. “Look over there,” she said.
The parents saw their Mercedes in the field amidst the trees. There was a certain glow around her. She was wearing her favorite pink dress. She was happy and looked like chasing and playing with a butterfly. Her golden hair was being blown by the wind and her feet seemed to bounce off the grass.
The parents had mixed emotions about what they saw. It was gladdening to see that Mercedes was happy and still bursting with energy; however, it was saddening to think that they could not have her back.
“You see her, but you cannot touch her. You cannot talk to her,” the woman explained.
“But watch, she will wave her hand to acknowledge that she knows you are here.”
The parents waved back and then she faded away.
Then the woman asked to be excused. She needed to go.
Ivan asked her, “Where do we look for you?”
The woman said, “You can find me at the St. Ignatius Church in the City of Loyola.”
Ivan and Dolores could not believe what they had experienced. They wanted to believe that the experience was real; but at the same time, they entertained the doubt that perhaps they were just hallucinating. Perhaps, it was just a trick. Maybe the woman was just some kind of a hypnotist.
To find out the truth, they sought to find Maria Luna and talk to her again. One day, they went to the St. Ignatius Church in the City of Loyola.
They were met at the church by a young man, he was the church’s porter.
“Very well, let me take you to Maria Luna,” the young man said.
He led them to the crypts which were in the basement of the church. Then he showed them one particular crypt. The inscription on the crypt read: “Maria Luna March 15, 1947 – September 1, 1987”
Dolores gasped in disbelief, “Oh, my God. She had been dead for thirty-one years!”
Conde de Guantes
Short story by P Campoamor Cruz
In Spain there lived this gentleman who became known as the Conde de Guantes, the Gloved Count of Seville.
He had a friend doctor but would not ask him about his developing medical problem. He and the doctor lived in the same community, went to the same sports club; often played golf together and went to the same social activities. However, he did not want the doctor to know about his problem. He could have fun with him, but would not discuss problems with him. He did not want their circle of friends and neighbors know about his weird and troubling condition. Once he told the doctor, the information would surely spread around, as did a gossip.
His wife knew about the rare condition. She saw that everything else was well with him. Except that thing. His body mass index was fine. His latest blood test showed good sugar levels and ideal cholesterol levels. He was feeling fine and healthy. He was full of energy. He had good appetite and a more than average sex life.
The couple was well-to-do. They were prosperous and happy. They had no financial worries nor business stresses. Only that thing.
No, it was not cancer. But something was growing out of him.
Instead of consulting with a doctor, he went to see an Indian guru who told him about about Shiva, one of the major Hindu deities who had multiple arms.
The guru explained: “Shiva had many arms, first, because he was energy himself. He was so full of energy he could wish to become anything, or everything. His multiple arms signify his power over many things, such as, the ocean, the weather, the enemies, the land, sickness, war, and so on and so forth.”
“In the case of human beings”, he said, “we are made up of atoms and neurons. We can only have limited energy. We have energy equal to our size. If we had more atoms and neurons we would be over our capacity and we could explode. That is why, he said, we can only have two arms, two feet, five fingers in each hand, one head, two eyes, and so on.”
“In your case, there is not much more I can say,” the guru said, “just rejoice that you have that thing extra compared to other human beings and it is not hurting you.”
Eventually, he went to see a doctor, not his friend doctor, another doctor. He was given a complete physical and blood check up. His body was scanned under the MRI. The conclusion of the doctor was that he was in perfect health.
The doctor confirmed and, nonetheless, the fact was obvious. He was growing three fingers at the back of his right hand. When the fingers were fully grown, he would have two pointer fingers, two middle fingers, and two ring fingers – he would have eight healthy fingers on his right hand. “You’re one in a million lucky guy!” the doctor exclaimed.
“Doctor, it’s a curse.” He said.
“You’re in great health. Take it as a gift.”
“Doc, between us boys, I’d sooner prefer to have an extra penis than three useless, weird-looking fingers.”
“Your wife will love them.”
“It’s shameful. My friends might think I’ve turned into a ghoul or someone from another planet. Doctor, can you explain why?”
“I can’t. There is no medical explanation. For sure it’s your DNA. Hard to explain. I can assure you, though, it is not a disease.”
‘I’m cursed for life.”
The doctor tried to prop up his spirit. “Again I’ll say, you’re a lucky guy. When somebody asks you for direction, you have two pointer fingers to give directions. You can wear two rings and that’s very cool. And when you want to give someone the dirty finger, you give two. Strong as a bull!”
Our subject decided to always wear gloves so he could hide the three extra fingers. And that was how he became to be known as the Conde de Guantes or the Gloved Count of Seville.
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ANG KAPANGYARIHAN NG KANYANG PAG-IBIG
https://www.tagalogshortstories.net/ang-kapangyarihan-ng-kanyang-pag-ibig.html
Sa paghaplos sa katawan ng lalaki ay napansin ni Leonor na ang tato ni Manuel sa likod, sa gawing kaliwang paypay, ay wala. Tumakbo nang mabilis sa kanyang isipan: “Marahil ay ipinabura niya. Baka bawal sa Saudi ang tato. Mamaya ko na siya tatanungin.” Sa pagkakataong iyon ay di mahalaga ang pangungusap. Di mahalaga ang paliwanag.
IISANG SINGSING. DALAWANG KUWENTO
https://www.tagalogshortstories.net/iisang-singsing-dalawang-kuwento.html
“Sa Sabado nang hapon!,” nasabi sa sarili ni Mang Miroy. “Akala ng maraming nagpapagawa ay madali lamang ang pagyari ng hiyas. Hindi man lamang sumasagi sa kanilang isip na maaaring makasira sa paggawa ang isang platero. Kung ito’y mangyayari, sadyang kahabag-habag ang gaya ko, na sapilitang uutang nang patubuan makabayad lamang sa kapinsalaan. Isipin na lamang kung mabasag ang brilyante sa pagtatampok.”
The "Enchantress"
OLD AND NEW MANILA
Slide show:
San Francisco Book Festival
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0301-b590-7354?
The Writers
Mga kuwentista:
P Campoamor Cruz
Alberto Segismundo Cruz
Amado V. Hernandez
Genoveva Edroza-Matute
Efren Abueg
Antonio B. L. Rosales
Vicente Albano Pacis
Rogelio Sikat
Serafin Guinigundo
Bienvenido N. Santos
Edgar Maranan
Augusto de Leon
Vic Macapagal
TV interview with Janelle So, "Kababayan LA"
Los Angeles, California Channel 18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0tiqyq07IA
https://philippineexpressionsbookshop.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/twenty-fil-am-authors-to-sign-at-launching-of-the-philippine-heritage-collection/
San Francisco Book Festival
http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0301-b590-7354?
The Writers
Mga kuwentista:
P Campoamor Cruz
Alberto Segismundo Cruz
Amado V. Hernandez
Genoveva Edroza-Matute
Efren Abueg
Antonio B. L. Rosales
Vicente Albano Pacis
Rogelio Sikat
Serafin Guinigundo
Bienvenido N. Santos
Edgar Maranan
Augusto de Leon
Vic Macapagal
TV interview with Janelle So, "Kababayan LA"
Los Angeles, California Channel 18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0tiqyq07IA
https://philippineexpressionsbookshop.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/twenty-fil-am-authors-to-sign-at-launching-of-the-philippine-heritage-collection/