Student Course Requirement

English Translation of “Bangkang Papel”

The children are having fun while playing in the flood. It was the day they anticipated the most
after the continuous outpour. They know that if the rain continues for about three more days, the road
where their paper boats will head to will be flooded. On the fifth day, the rain finally stopped. Few little
children tried to make their paper boats float—some being blown by wind, some being immersed in the
water, some being destroyed… And every time I see a paper boat, a memory of a little boy returns—a
little boy who made three huge paper boats but never had the chance to let them adrift at all.
A young boy wakes up one night with a startling roar. For a moment, he thought it was the eve
ofNew Year. Those were also the noises he would likely hear during New Years.But after a while; he
recalled that the noise coming from above their roof was gone. The moment he blinked his eyes, he could
not find anything but a narrow beam. He did not know which roar suddenly filled the house suddenly.
The first thing he searched for is his mother. The sounds of what seemed like huge stones rolling on their
roof continued. The lights in their house flickered. Meanwhile, the outpour continued around them. The
young boy who suddenly woke up lied down again and his voice slipped into the darkness."Mother, it’s
raining, isn’t it?"
"Yes son, damnit" answered the voice from the other side of the bed. "Mother," she repeated in the
darkness, "Has Dad came already?" Her mother replied but he failed to comprehend what she mumbled.
On his side, there was his sister Miling. Beside Miling is her mother, and on the other side he saw the
empty space.
He lied on his back and felt the coldness. From Miling’s wrapped body, he pulled the blanket
and wrapped it on his own. His sister flinched a little. He felt guilty for Miling and so he wrapped her
again with half of the blanket and he covered himself with the remaining half. He still felt cold. He tried
to pull the blanket a little more towards his body until his hands touched the floor. What coldness on the
floor, he thought, and his right hand dashed again inside the blanket. "Mother," he called again, "Why is
Daddy not home yet? It’s late already, isn’t it?" "I'm not sure as well," her mother replied. "You should
sleep now, son, for tomorrow you will play with the boats you made." The boy felt happy with what he
had heard. I and Miling will have a boat race. Mine is big and strong and will not be destroyed by water
easily. He quickly rose and tried to huddle himself between her mother and sister then gave his mother a
hug. "Ssshh, you should sleep now,” his mother whispered. But the little boy did not sleep. From afar he
heard the rush of strong winds. "Perhaps, Dad will not go home tonight," he mumbled. He remembered
that there were times his father did not return home late at night. "Where does Dad sleep when he doesn’t
come home here?" he asked her mother but he did not receive an answer. He tried to take a glimpse of her
mother to see if she already fell asleep. But he couln’t see as it was dark. Before he finally fell into
adrowsy state, the last image in his mind was three large paper boats drifting over the flood on the front of
their house. And while the child's dreams slowly vanished into thin air, the outpour continued to rage.
Thelights continued flickering, in silence and in loud roars, the wind continued to blow.
The day which was supposed to be a day of playing paper boats came... But it became a strange
one instead. When the sleepy, little boy found himself alone in the bed, he rose up quickly. A hand
suddenly patted his shoulder and he saw it was their neighbor Aling Berta. The boy couldn’t understand
why she looked at him in pity.
Suddenly, the young boy’s drowsiness was gone. Aling Berta's wife, Mang Pedring, Aling
Ading, Feli, Turing, and Pepe were all in their house. He saw that it was almost full of people. In one
corner, the boy saw her mother lying on the floor and looking helpless. In her lap, Miling was also facing
down as her hair was being brushed by their mother. His mother’s faced looked very pale and her eyes
weren’t even winking—as if she was staring into empty space. He ran towards his mother and asked a lot
of questions. "Why, Mom, what happened? What happened, Mom? Why are there so many people here?"
But it seemed that her mother heard nothing. Her eyes continued to look empty and her hand continued to
brush his sister’s hair. The boy, confused, headed towards Mang Pedring and Aling Feli. Their
conversation suddenly stopped when they saw him. He heard nothing but ... "Fifteen people were
killed ..." He did not understand what they said. The whispers of the people who were all suddenly in their
home, his mother's current state,Aling Feli’s sobs…Between the sobs, he continued asking ..."Why? What
is it?"
No one answered him. All those he approached keptquiet. They patted his shoulder or either
brushed his hair but other than that, they said nothing.
"Are you all ready?" a huge voice asked. "Now is the time to leave. Captain Sidro will bring you to a safe
place. There is nothing left, anyway. Before sunset they will come in here ... So no one will be left
behind.” It took long before the child finally understood what was happening.
They are going out to the city—all their neighbors,a lot of other people, will have to pack their stuff. In
the repeated conversations, reality had finally dawned on him. His father was one of the fifteen people
killed last night out their town ... at the clash of soldiers and of the townspeople. Unsure of what to do
next, the boy went to his mother whose every step seemed heavy. "Mother, why did the soldiers killed
father? Why? Why?"
In a voice that slowly spoke, his mother replied, "That's what I want to know too, that's what I want to
know."
Meanwhile ...
At every step away from the house and in the small farm of his home, the bereavement of the
little boy’s youth increased.
That night of roars and spirits,dreams and paper boats –was the night were the boy’s youth came to an
end. A day of distress and questions without answers.
That is why whenever I see a paper boat,a memory of a young boy returns—a little boy who
made three huge paper boats which he never had the chance to let adrift at all.