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By Inang Laya Translated by J.A. Del Prado in The Original Language (Filipino)
By Inang Laya Translated by J.A. Del Prado in The Original Language (Filipino)
From Thread: The Sadness Collector At first glance "The Sadness Collector"
Author: Maria Nastassja Cordero AB seems to be your typical story of a Filipino
Political Science family, one of which we see on movies. The
mother goes to a foreign country, leaving
The story represents the importance of the her children behind, while taking care of a
specific roles played by each of the stranger's child with the intent to give a
members of a Filipino family. It is evident comfortable living for the family. However,
that a mother and a father in a Filipino what seems to be the typical story may be
family tends to have a very distant role to classified as a "daily tragedy", Merlinda
perform in the household. The father should Bobis depicted the corroding of what is said
to be the essence of a Filipino family, "Close question are you really there? She turns on
Knitted Family Bonds". Young girls usually the lamp. Its girlie kitsch like the rest of the
steps within the shadows of their mother, but decor, from the dancing lady wallpaper to
Rica not like most girls, lost the chance in the row of Barbie dolls on a roseate plastic
her growing years. Suffering a great loss table. The tiny room is all pink bravado,
from the physical distance of the mother hoping to compensate for the warped ceiling
from Paris, to the eventual emotional and stained floor. Even the unhinged
distance of the father, who refuses to read window flaunts a family of pink paper
her mother's letter an and answer the rabbits.
questions about the baby pictures. In this
story it is now obvious that the effects is Are you there?
focused on Rica, a model of every Filipino
child that never/forgot feeling of the loving Her father says she never shows herself to
touch of their mothers. In Merlinda Bobis' anyone. Big Lady only comes when youre
"poetic" short story leaves an alarming asleep to eat your sadness. She goes from
message, a child who lost the joy of being house to house and eats the sadness of
her mother's daughter, Filipino family seized everyone, so she gets too fat. But theres a
of its very essence - what do we do now? lot of sadness in many houses, it just keeps
on growing each day, so she cant stop
The Sadness Collector (Merlinda Bobis) eating, and she cant stop growing too.
A plate shatters on the floor Hes hiccupping drunkenly all over her
Back to a foetal curl, knees almost brushing I didnt mean to, Rica, I love you, baby, Ill
chin never let you go His voice is hoarse with
anger and remorse.
Another plate crushes
She came back, Papa
She screams
She cant take you away from me
The pot is hurled against the wall
Shes here again
She keeps screaming as she ruins out of the
room, down to the kitchen Just because shes legal now
And the cutlery, glasses, cups, more plates She might burst, Papa
Big Ladys angry, Big Ladys hungry, Big That whore - ! His hands curl into fists on
Ladys turning the house upside down her back.
SHUT UP !