Tribute to Sudoku

Tribute to Sudoku
by Reya Bato
2nd June 2010


Fill the grid with digits one to nine
Don’t repeat the numbers in each line
Keep these words in mind: scan and assign.

It’s not Algebra or Geometry
Each box solved leads to discovery
Use logic to learn its mystery.

It is frustrating and rewarding
Addiction that is time-consuming
Fixation that I’m really loving!


(*The poem has nine lines and nine syllables in each line.*)

Hiver

“A hiver has entered my mind and it is taking over my mind and body making me do something without a sense of right and wrong.”

“What is a hiver?” Kevin asked.

“It is a strange bodiless mind organism that takes over the mind and body of other creature. It reinforces its host to do things they like without conscience,” explained Triste.

The creases on Kevin’s forehead deepened as he tried to grasp her reply.

Triste answered his inquiring look with a smile. She read about hiver in Terry Pratchett’s fantasy book, “A Hat Full of Sky”. She knew that Kevin did not have even the tiniest idea about it. She hoped that it would end his inquisition.

Triste was shaping that scene in her mind while waiting for the train in Magallanes Station. Kevin called her later that morning asking her to meet him in Glorietta. She knew the reason of his invitation. Rona probably called him and complained about her.

Rona was Kevin’s girlfriend for three years and Triste’s officemate in a small publishing house in Makati. Kevin requested Triste to back up Rona to get the vacant post in her company four months ago. Since Rona joined her company, she became closely attached to her. Anywhere Triste went, Rona trailed at her back.

Rona was a friendly person. Being a chatty and a pleaser, there were no dry moments with her. Maybe that was the reason why she and Kevin stayed together that long. It was the longest relationship that Kevin had.

In contrast, Triste was the kind of person who liked to be alone reading books or listening to epic songs. They sent chills down her spine every time she listened to those songs. She rarely made friends. Kevin was the only person she considered friend. They had been friends since college. They were classmate in one of her literature classes. He was assigned to be her partner in a book report. Triste was fascinated by his ready wit and profound personality while Kevin was captivated by her silence and very reserve nature.

By the end of the book report, they could not be separated. They met after class, ate their lunch together, and exchanged insights about almost everything. Their closeness did not change even after their graduation.

After three months of being with Rona, Triste started to feel suffocated with her presence. She began to fabricate excuses to avoid being with her. Rona noticed her detachment and started to ask questions.

“Do you have a problem?” Rona inquired.

“Nothing,” Triste replied without lifting her head from the article she was reading, “I am just busy these past days.”

“I feel that you are avoiding me. Are you upset with me? Did I do something that made you upset?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Triste replied with a smile to assure her that she meant what she said.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, okay?” Triste replied again with a smile.

Oh, that’s good.” Rona said. “I thought we have a problem. I was planning to ask Kevin to speak to you about this. Speaking of Kevin, do you know what he did last night? He invited me to have a dinner in a fancy restaurant. The view was very nice. We really had a good night. He was so sweet...” Rona started her familiar litany of her escapades.

Triste stared at her drowned with her own thoughts. She began to study Rona’s face. There was nothing remarkable in her features. Her eyes grew big when she was engrossed in her conversation. Her nose was small. Her lips curled in variety of shapes when she was talking. What made Kevin fall in love with her?

Rona kept on talking. The sound that was coming out from her mouth seemed an ear-splitting tone from a microphone feedback and it was making Triste dizzy.

“Yes, we have a problem. I want you out of my life because I despise pleasing people that I despise. Off me!” Triste wanted to scream those words but she just kept staring at her.

The following days, she doubled her effort to avoid Rona and today she got a call from Kevin asking her to meet with him.

The sound and sight of the coming train cut her contemplation. The train was not crowded during that time; it was just quarter to three in the afternoon. She filed an under-time so he could meet Kevin. She didn’t even tell Rona that she was going to meet her boyfriend.

Sitting across the aisle from her were couples of boisterous college students. They were talking about a guy they met in the previous night party they attended.

The shrill-witch voices of the students seemed like a fingernails scraping down a blackboard and they were making her head ached.

“Shut your sour cabbage eating mouths up!” shouted Triste at the top of her voice.

The college students along with the other passengers turned their head to her place shocked.

One of the students, who first got by with her surprise gave a remark, “If you are envious with our noise, come and join us,” she said with a sneer.

The other students who by that moment already recovered from shock gave an annoying laugh.

“I wish I had a lower I.Q. so that I could enjoy your company,” Triste retorted.

Those scenes which were running in her head were stopped by the voice from the speaker announcing that the train had reached the Ayala Station.

Kevin was sitting in their favorite spot when she reached their meeting place. He smiled widely when he saw her.

“What kind of sickness entered your brain nowadays?” he asked teasingly.

Triste gave him a feigned confused look.

“Somebody told me that you are acting childish again, eh” he said putting a stress in the word ‘childish’.

“And who is that somebody, huh?”

“Xander told me that you are not answering his calls and you are refusing all his invitations.”

Triste smiled. It was not Rona who complained about her after all. It was Xander.

Kevin introduced Xander to her couple of weeks back. They dated and chatted on the phone but she got fed up of him. She had had enough of his flirtations.

“You promised me that you will try your best to be nice to him and you will give yourself a chance to know him.” Kevin continued.

“I did what I promised.”

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

“I knew him now and I have been nice to him by not telling him that he is a dolt whose only goal in life is to get inside women’s underwear.” There was a hint of annoyance in Triste’s voice.

“Okay, be cool, Bestie. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. I promise that he will not get on your nerves again starting tomorrow.” Kevin put his hand on his shoulder consolingly.

Kevin was fond of calling her Bestie (short for best friend). She hated that term of endearment. She pouted her lips in displeasure.

“How about a coffee, huh?” said Kevin. “My treat.”

They were halfway the nearest café when Kevin’s phone rang. It was Rona asking him to pick her up.

“Bestie, I am so sorry. I need to pick Rona up. I promised her that we will see a movie today.” Kevin explained.

“Can you stay for couple of minutes for our coffee?” Triste wished that Kevin did not notice the pleading in her voice.

Kevin looked at her uncomfortably.

Triste knew that there were clashes of thought going inside his mind whether to stay or to leave. He looked on his wristwatch. Triste knew by then that Rona won, again.

“Sorry, Bestie. Today is Friday. The road will be jammed with traffic. You know that Rona doesn’t have the patience to wait. I promise to make up with you some other time.” Kevin said.

Triste nodded and smiled.

Kevin smiled back apologetically.

She kept looking at him as he took strides away from her.

She kept on looking even she already lost him in the crowd. She forgot to tell him about the hiver. It would make him laugh when he came to know where she got that idea.

She forgot to tell him, too, that the person consumed by the hiver eventually dies insane. #


Reya Bato
20th May 2010
10:28 pm

Maligayang Pagdating

Maligayang Pagdating
ni Reya Bato
(salin sa Welcome Here ni Liam Wilkinson)
Ika-7 ng Mayo 2010

Pakinggan ang aking pagkasuklam
sa mga bersong lumitaw noong
gabing nagdaan. Hangad nila’y
mangkok ng aking pagkalugod

habang ginagawa nilang kubeta
ang pilas ng papel na inilabas ko
sa kanila. Hayaan ninyong
ibida ko ang alibadbad na

aking nadama sa magdamag
na pag-iiskoba ng duming naiwan
sa sala. Sa bawat singit-singit
ng mga palugit, may mga nakasingit

na hulagway at pagwawangis.
Dinggin ang aking pagdusta
sa aking mga bwisita, sa bahay
ko ay ni wala silang itinira

kundi ang umaalingawngaw
na aliw-iw at nakakaaliw na
mga salitain na animo’y alingasaw
na naiwan sa pahinang palikuran.


Orihinal na Teksto:

dito

A Story

A Story
by Reya Bato
22nd April 2010

It is said that in death, all the memories you have flash back before your eyes.

It is true.

As I clutch my chest helplessly trying to suck air to fill my lungs, all the memories come rushing before my eyes. It seems that somebody has pushed the rewind button of a movie projector and I am watching the images frantically appear then disappear on an invisible monitor.

There is the two-year old me running from room-to-room of our ancestral house in Tagaytay.

My Mother giving me a huge kiss when I was three years old because I could read the children's book given by my Auntie.

My first day in school, I was about to cry because I could not find my school bus when I saw my brother standing beside me holding a can of soda. Nevertheless, I cried on my way to the bus - tears of joy for the feeling of safety and security.

My elder sister and I playing pirate while riding the cradle in front of our house. The red-gold light of sunset was flowing across the horizon.

I, in a white gala dress, walking in a queue for my first communion.

The image of our house in Pasig also appears followed by the beautiful figurine clock given by my eldest sister. We had a huge fight the night before. I read the note on the card posted on the wrapper: "Sorry. Always study hard. I love you."

The day when my brother-in-law asked for the hand of my eldest sister also flashes on the invisible monitor. He was narrating the first day he met my sister -- he heard chimes of bell when he saw her.

The scene changes. I was in my college auditorium; it was two weeks before the graduation. They were announcing the list of honors. I was fidgeting on my seat. My heart jumped out of my chest when I heard my name. Later that afternoon, I called my Mom crying giving her the good news – tears of joy for the job well done.

The day when you invited me for a dinner seems a very recent past. You rang the bell hanging beside the door on our way out. I recalled the story of my brother-in-law that time.

The next image shows the time I visited an old church. Somebody told me that if it is your first visit to a church, you must knock on its door and make a wish. I prayed for you. I also asked for a sign - a white rose.

The images continue to change rapidly. Most of them happened inside the classroom. The face of my students flashes transiently on the invisible monitor. The fast shifting of each scene does not give me chance to feel nostalgic.

Then, it is you again. We were eating in a cozy restaurant when you handed me a book. I looked at the cover -- a white rose was printed on it.

It is followed by the moments I had with you. Our endless talk on the phone, the contagious laughter that we shared, our leisurely short walks to my house, fancy dinners where you would always hand me a book and I would give you a poem in exchange.

The delightful images are erased by the scene in our backyard. The smoke coming from the burnt paper stung my eyes. I was burning the poems I composed for you. There was a cold, thin feeling growing inside me and it was slowly consuming my heart. It made me hard to breathe.


I cannot breathe. It seems somebody is squeezing the life out of me. I try to gulp air. I even open my mouth wide to suck in air but there is an obstruction in my airway. I try to clutch my chest struggling to remove the tightening pressure on my chest. The numbness starts spreading in my limbs and my palms start to sweat. There is a freezing coldness on my feet. I open my mouth wider and hastily gulp air. I cannot draw in air.

People appear -- my mother, my two sisters, my brother, nurses, doctors -- hovering over me, trying to help.

The doctors and the nurses are like apparitions pacing swiftly back-and-forth. They start giving me life support including defibrillation (that is the administration of an electric shock to the heart).

It is said, too, that in death the last sense to malfunction is the sense of hearing.

Maybe, it is true.

Just before I lose my consciousness, I hear you calling my name.

I cannot make out if you are in the room, though. I read that lack of oxygen in the brain causes tissue death which brings to brain damage. Is my brain already damaged because I can clearly hear you calling my name? I am certain you will not be there. You are not there.

You are calling my name over and over again just like in the last image that is still flickering repeatedly on the invisible monitor.


You were standing near the shadow of the tree. You were waiting for me. You invited me for a walk to my house. The crisp sound of the dried leaves as our feet trampled on them became our parting song as we passed by. The warm ray of the sun bathed our body. Nobody wanted to speak. Halfway to my house, you cut the silence between us. You told me you were sincerely sorry and you begged for my forgiveness. I did not want to hear them. I did not say a word either -- no words would bring you back. I ran away from you. You called my name over and over again. I ran as fast as I could. The short distance seemed never-ending.

Ako ay Buhay sa mga Sandaling

Ako ay Buhay sa mga Sandaling

Salin ni Reya Bato

Ako ay buhay sa mga sandaling
kasiping ko ang kanyang katawan
na unti-unting nagkakamalay
at tuluyang ginigising ng pithaya
ng laman. Kinakagat ko ang kanyang
balikat hanggang sa maabot namin
ang halimuyak ng Tagsibol --
napakasidhi, napakalaki, iisa
sa makulay na sandali.


Kalugod-lugod na takot
ang naghahari sa paglilimayon
ng kanyang mga labi (at mula
sa pagitan ng kanyang mga hita
na kumikibot at humihingal,
isang nag-uumigpaw na ulan
ang dumidilig sa bulaklak
na sumasayaw sa bawat
kumpas ng aking balakang)


Orihinal na Teksto:

Sometimes I Am Alive Because With
by E.E. Cummings

Sometimes I am alive because with
me her alert treelike body sleeps
which I will feel slowly sharpening
becoming distinct with love slowly,
who in my shoulder sinks sweetly teeth
until we shall attain the Springsmelling
intense large together coloured instant

the moment pleasantly frightful

when, her mouth suddenly rising, wholly
begins with mine fiercely to fool
(and from my thighs which shrug and pant
a murdering rain leapingly reaches the upward singular deepest flower which she
carries in a gesture of her hips)

Aking Pagsinta, Lilimutin Natin Siya!

Aking Pagsinta, Lilimutin Natin Siya!

(salin sa tula ni Emily Dickinson na Heart, We Will Forget Him!)

Aking pagsinta, lilimutin natin siya!
Ikaw at ako, ngayong gabing ito!
Lilimutin mo ang bigay niyang init
Aapulahin ko naman ang ningas niyang hatid.

Kung nangyari na, ipaalam mo sa akin
Upang ang aking alaala ay magdilim;
Dali! Ako ay nababahala na sa iyong pagkaantala,
Ako ay mangulila at alaala niya ay hindi mawala!

(orihinal na teksto)

Heart, we will forget him!
You and I, tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave,
I will forget the light.

When you have done, pray tell me
That I my thoughts may dim;
Haste! lest while you're lagging.
I may remember him!

Ako, na Ipinanganak na Babae at Nangangamba

Edna Saint Vincent Millay

Ako, na Ipinanganak na Babae at Nangangamba



(halaw sa I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed

ni Edna St. Vincent Millay)


Ako, na ipinanganak na babae at nangangamba

sa pangangailangan ng aking kauri at aming sapantaha,

ay nahikayat ng iyong kalapitan para makaunawa

sa karik’tan ng iyong pagkatao, at damhin ang pihong ligaya




habang nakapatong ang bigat mo sa akin katawan:

Napakarupok ng hininga ng buhay, nilaan

upang linawin ang tibok at guluhin ang isipan,

at iwan mo ulit akong kulang, sarili ay hindi kamtan.




Wag mong isipin, gayunman, ang abang kataksilan

ng aking mapusok na dugo laban sa aking tulirong isipan,

iisipin kita nang may pagmamahal, o kaya’y rekaduhan

ang aking pangungutya ng awa, -- hayaan




mong linawin ko ito sa katwirang:

Tanto kong ito ay kahibangan at alanganing dahilan

ng ating pag-uusap sa muli nating pag-uulayaw.





Orihinal na Teksto:


I, being born a woman and distressed

By all the needs and notions of my kind,

Am urged by your propinquity to find

Your person fair, and feel a certain zest

To bear your body's weight upon my breast:

So subtly is the fume of life, designed

To clarify the pulse and cloud the mind,

And leave me once again undone, possessed.

Think not for this, however, the poor treason

Of my stout blood against my staggering brain,

I shall remember you with love, or season

My scorn with pity, -- let me make it plain:

I find this frenzy insufficient reason

For conversation when we meet again.