Professional Documents
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Martinez
VII – Opal
Sa Kaharian ng Araw
Written in lyrical and captivating Filipino, Sa Kaharian ng Araw has a simple plot: the
search by two friends, Ponce and Paolo, for the legendary Kaharian ng Araw. The two go
for different reasons: Ponce is driven by the wealth, power and fame this kingdom
promises, while Paolo goes because of his friend.
Their long journey takes them through three kingdoms— Kaharian ng Ulan, Kaharian ng
Hangin and Kaharian ng Dilim, each of which cannot be passed unless a heartbreaking
toll is paid to its king. In the end, Ponce, broken and alone, reaches the Kaharian ng Araw,
the end of the journey for which he has traded everything he holds dear— only to be met
by a surprising, spine-tingling revelation. . . .
from Ateneo's classic play about the rat race staged anew
The minutes seemed to trickle by, a slow stream down that magic mountain, waiting as
the day drew to a close. It was Friday, the end of another day, the conclusion of another
week, the first of the rest of my life. The office was nearly empty now, the telephones
falling dead, the associates and partners going off to their weekend retreats, evening
entertainments, golf games, familial obligations. I sat there at my desk defeated, staring
into the darkening screen of my monitor just recently turned off, not knowing whether it
was loneliness or disappointment that I felt, or whether I knew exactly what I was doing.
I blinked my eyes from the strain, stretched my back, looked around, beyond my little
corner space, beyond the secretaries' station, beyond the cubicles of my colleagues, and
in the harsh glow of the fluorescents realized that in this place of acerbic silences, there
were no windows, only walls.
Jehan Dave D. Martinez
VII – Opal
It was a difficult week, especially for me, nursing a holiday cough grown worse. The work
was manageable, of course, and somewhat even routinary, but slowly, the deadlines were
piling up. It was the cost of being the freshman in a team of veteran lawyers, I thought,
and while I was gladly putting in the hours— content as I was doing what I thought I would
someday enjoy— the stark luminosity of the moment left me panting and cold: this office
was my Clean, Well-Lighted Place, and everything now seemed to be nada y pues nada
y nada y pues nada.
It was a human moment, I thought, of doubting and opportunity costs. The rollercoaster
ride of emotions (as a friend described it) was certainly something quite expected from a
fresh graduate like me, where images of the rest of one's life begins to flash with alarming
regularity during unguarded moments between memoranda and legal opinions.
Somehow I was comforted by the fact that it was probably just cold feet, and as
Hemingway quite poignantly wrote, many, indeed, must have it.
***
PANGWAKAS
Buhat sa nakapinid na tabing, lalabas nang mabagal ang Hari ng Araw, nakakapang
ginto, nakakoronang ginto, ngunit mukhang hapong-hapo, mga mata'y namumugto.
Mahihintakutan si Ponce sa alingawngaw ng musika, palakpakan at hiyawan.
Mapapagapang pakaliwa. Malumanay na kumumpas ang Hari ng Araw sa di nakikitang
madla. Marahang huhupa ang musika, palakpak, at hiyawan.
Jehan Dave D. Martinez
VII – Opal
Hari ng Araw: [Sa tinig na pagod na pagod] Ah, kaibigan, kapatid sa pagkauhaw sa
kaharian ng araw, kay tagal-tagal kitang inani-aninaw. Kapatid sa pagkahibang sa
tagumpay, kay tagal-tagal kitang hinintay-hintay. Huwang kang matakot. Lumapit ka't
paakbay sa isang katulad mo'y kay layo na rin ng nilakbay. Sa iyong pagdating, ako'y
may alay. . . kapa't korona ko'y sa iyo ibibigay.
Hari ng Araw: Pagka't ika'y nagtagumnpay. Natamo mo na ang kaharian mong pakay. Sa
balikat mo na ngayon aking ilalagay ang kapang dati'y ako ang mga taglay.
Hari ng Araw: Iyan ang atas ng tagumpay at ng buhay. Kahit sa bahay, iisa lang ang
panganay. Di maaaring dalawang hari ang nakalukluk sa trono. Di ka idolo, kapag may
kasalo. [Malungkot na tinig.] Mag-isa ka, kapag numero uno. Ikaw ang bagong panalo,
kaya't heto, tanggapin ang premyo.
Hari ng Araw: Galing na ako sa pinagdaanan mo, pati na sa iyong patutungo. Nahibang
na nang totoo, nasugatan na nang husto. Pinagpalit nang lahat, pati mga minahal ko.
Tulad mo. Ngayo'y pabayaan mo na lang akong makalaya rito.
Hari ng Araw: Nagsisimula rito. . . . ang kahariang ngayo'y sa 'yo. Kaya, bago pumasok
sa kaharian mo, isuot mo na muna ang kapang ito. Ipatong mo muna, korona sa ulo.
Tanggapin ang paghanga't palakpak ng tao.
Hari ng Araw: Ipikit ang mga mata. Iwagayway ang korona't at kaharia'y lilitaw kapagdaka.
Ponce: Ngunit bakit, bakit? Pinaghirapang kaharia'y bakit ngayo'y tinatakasang pilit?
Hari ng Araw: Mga mata mo'y mulan nang ipikit nang katotohana'y iyo na ring masapit.
Sumandaling bantulot si Ponce sa kanyang gagawin. Sa wakas, ipipikit ang mga mata.
Iwawagayway ang korona. Bubukas ang nakapinid na tabing sa dilim. Tunog ng isang
Jehan Dave D. Martinez
VII – Opal
bungkaka. Dahan-dahang mag-iilaw ang entablado. Isa pang bungkaka. Maraming
bugkaka-- hungkag at basag ang tunog.
Ponce: Walang laman? Walang laman? Walang anupaman? [Sa dating hari] Ang
Kaharian ng Araw ba'y walang laman?
Ponce: Nasaan ang aking mga pinagimpan? Nasaan ang saya at kinang? Ang galak at
pagdiriwang? Ang kasukdulang walang hanggang? Na sa pagkauhaw ko'y titighaw? Na
sa pagnanasa ko'y aagaw? Na sa puso ko'y mag-uumapaw? Nasaan? Nasaan?
Hari ng Araw: Wala. Wala, kaibigan. Ang tunog ng tagumpay ay pakinggan: hungkag at
basag, mapanglaw at bahaw. Tulad ng hiyaw na sa buho, umaalingawngaw.
Ponce: Ano? Pinagpalit ko ang kabayan at kasintahan, mga magulang at ang tahanan,
pati ang aking pinakamatalik na kaibigan, para sa kahariang walang laman?
[Sisigaw] Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!