NALAZON, MAY ANN D.

Kaurugan nakaturog ak alas Sites ug namata

AB LIT 2 alas singko ngan nagtitima sa sayo pa ka
CATARMAN N. SAMAR adlaw antis akon ikakatursi ka tuig didi.
Lain nala malimtan ni Nanay an kinse nga

The Bread of Salt sentimo tikang sa panadero didto sa

ProgressStreet- kun pan-o ak maglipay pag
by NVM Gonzalez (1958)
inuyagan an sensilyo sa akon bursa- ug
Usually I was in bed by ten and up by five
mahingadto ine sa akon garaponnga wara
and thus was ready for one more day of my
sulod didto sa aparador. Nahinumdom pa ak
fourteenth year. Unless Grandmother had
sadto kun pan-o magtalido kun diin karuyag
forgotten, the fifteen centavos for the baker
ni Nanaykay sine pala nawaraan siya tulo na
down Progreso Street - and how I enjoyed
bag-ang. Para sa mga batan-on nga pareho
jingling those coins in my pocket!- would be
sa ak ngan ak patod, pirme siNanay mayaon
in the empty fruit jar in the cupboard. I
san sinusugad nga Pan de sal. Tinapay nga
would remember then that rolls were what
may asin an tawag sine! Paunan-o ine
Grandmother wanted because recently she
ginngaranan? Tikang sa kun diin tikang an
had lost three molars. For young people like
nanam, ngan an sekreto sa timpla san harina
my cousins and myself, she had always said
ngan pampatubo? Ankahadok nga bangin
that the kind called pan de sal ought to be
pag tiawan ak san namamaralit aga, gin
quite all right. The bread of salt! How did it
aapura ko akon lakaw pakadto sa tinapayan
get that name? From where did its flavor
paradire maimdan san mga lalaki nga nagta-
come, through what secret action of flour
trabaho sa hurno. Kay nanu nga an tinapay
and yeast? At the risk of being jostled from
agtom an kulay? Ngankapareho la sa akon
the counter by early buyers, I would push
kamotNgan kay nanu nahurma sin duwa nga
my way into the shop so that I might watch
labi nga naka musdot? Sa guti nga ilaw
the men who, stripped to the waist, worked
sadalan, nag aapura, akon kapot nga putos
their long flat wooden spades in and out of
dumuot sa akon dughan ngan natumanan an
the glowing maw of the oven. Why did the
akon kuryusidad sabmapaso pa nga tinapay
bread come nut-
nga akon Dara pauli sa balay sa pamahaw.
brown and the size of my little fist? And Aram ko kun pan-o si Nanay dire mahibaro
why did it have a pair of lips convulsed into sa akon kinagtan, danay duwa akon
a painful frown? In the half light of the nakakaon, ngan ine gin iiban sa akon bahin
street, and hurrying, the paper bag pressed to didto na sa lamesa. Pero aram ko nga
my chest, I felt my curiosity a little gratified naglilibo ak, kaya dire ko nala gin iiban
by the oven-fresh warmth of the bread I was akon pinalit. Para dire ak mahingadto sa
proudly bringing home for Breakfast. karat-an, naiwas ak sa dalan nga masirum.
Pirme ko kinahanglan lumingi sa pader san
Well I knew how Grandmother would not
dagat nga singkwenta an yarda, kun diin an
mind if I nibbled away at one piece;
luma nga balay san Espanyol natindog.
perhaps, I might even eat two, to be charged
Kapag hubas, mamara ngan nag iinggat an
later against my share at the table. But that
bato sugad san botelya, an bato nga alad san
would be betraying a trust; and so, indeed, I
nasasakupan san Espanyol in nakatindog
kept my purchase intact. To guard it from
nga sugad san kastilyo. An pagsirak san
harm, I watched my steps and avoided the
adlaw nga natama sa mga bobong ngan
dark street corners. For my reward, I had
nakasampay nga bado sa may alad
only to look in the direction of the sea wall
naghahatag tambong. Sa aga nga
and the fifty yards or so of riverbed beyond
madalumdom la, naturo tikang sa kawayan
it, where an old Spaniard's house stood. At
nga nagtatahob sa beranda ngan may nabitay
low tide, when the bed was dry and the
nga upat o lima tikang sa tuna. Kun Agosto,
rocks glinted with broken bottles, the stone
san kamaraon, an amihan kinahanglan
fence of the Spaniard's compound set off the
waraon sa sulod, an tulo nga suruguon nag
house as if it were a castle. Sunrise brought
aalsa san sada dayun sa ala-sais y medya
a wash of silver upon the roofs of the
hasta nga matahuban an ilarom san beranda.
laundry and garden sheds which had been
built low and close to the fence. On dull
mornings the light dripped from the bamboo
screen which covered the veranda and hung
some four or five yards from the ground.
Unless it was August, when the damp,
northeast monsoon had to be kept away
from the rooms, three servants raised the
screen promptly at six-thirty until it was Tikang sa tunog san dusuan, aram ko nga
completely hidden under the veranda eaves. oras na tikadto sa skwelahan. Sa kanya
sarakyan, bilang sayo nga parag ataman san
From the sound of the pulleys, I knew it was
kalubian, ak Apoy nga yaon nala trenta ka
time to set out for school. It was in his
tuig nga kinabuhi. Si Lola nga tulo ka tuig
service, as a coconut plantation overseer,
na nga balo. Naghuna-huna ak kun ako
that Grandfather hadspent the last thirty
maasa la sa pagpanginanu sine nga balay sa
years of his life. Grandmother had been
mga tuig nga maabot. Sayo ka adlaw
widowed three years now. I often wondered
nahibaruan ko nga si Aida, igkasi ko
whether I was being depended upon to
skwelahan san High school in umangkon san
spend the yearsahead in the service of this
Espanyol. Tanan nga akon pagruha duha in
great house. One day I learned that Aida, a
nawara. Mali an antis an iya kamatayon,
classmate in high school, was the old
akon Apoy nagbagaw hiunong sa iya, gin
Spaniard's niece. All my doubts disappeared.
tinago an kaseryosohan san mga butang
It was as if, before his death, Grandfather
pinaagi san tiaw la. Kun yana gin titinago ko
had spoken to me about her, concealing the
la gehapon an ungod nga kaupayan, siya
seriousness of the matter by putting it over
kunta nagawas sa iya higdaan ngan kunwari
as a joke. If now I kept true to the virtues,
nagbagaw sin "Maupay nga aga" sa iya
she would step out of her bedroom
angkol. An iya ungod nga tuyo, aram ko,
ostensibly to say “Good Morning to her
nga para hibaro nga sugad san iya pagtuyang
uncle”. Her real purpose, I knew, was to
sa akon karuyagon. Sa mga aga nga
reveal thus her assent to my desire. On quiet
mamingaw, nahuhuna-huna ko an tagiktik
mornings I imagined the patter of her shoes
san kanya sapatos sa kahoy nga salog nga
upon the wooden veranda floor as a further
senyales, ngan mag aapura na ak pakadto sa
sign, and I would hurry off to school, taking
skwelahan, naagi sa iya gin agian lagpas san
the route she had fixed for me past the post
opisina san koreo, sa liwasan ngan
office, the town plaza and the church, the
simbahan, sa sentro, ngan sa skwelahan.
health center east of the plaza, and at last the
Nagpapakiaan sa AK sarili kun malakaw ak
school grounds. I asked myself whether I
sabay sa iya pero naiisip ko an kasiud ngan
would try to walk with her and decided it
kaaluhan.
would be the height of rudeness.
Enough that in her blue skirt and white
middy she would be half a block ahead and,
from that distance, perhaps throw a glance in
my direction, to bestow upon my heart a
deserved and abundant blessing. I believed it
was but right that, is some such way as this,
her mission in my life was disguised. Her
name, I was to learn many years later, was a
convenient mnemonic for the qualities to
which argument might aspire. But in those
days it was a living voice. "Oh that you
might be worthy of uttering me," it said.
And how I endeavored to build my body so
that I might live long to honor her. With
every victory at singles at the handball court
the game was then the craze at school -- I
could feel my body glow in the sun as
though it had instantly been cast in bronze. I
guarded my mind and did not let my wits go
astray. In class I would not allow a lesson to
pass unmastered. Our English teacher could
put no question before us that did not have a
ready answer in my head. One day he read
Robert Louis Stevenson's “The Sire de
Maletroit's Door“, and we were so
enthralled that our breaths trembled. I knew
then that somewhere, sometime in the not
too improbable future, a benign old man
with a lantern in his hand would also detain
me in a secret room, and there daybreak
Sa kanya saya ngan busag na bado siya in
harani la ngan nalingag sa akon para
maduhal sa akon dughan an naangay ngan
dako nga bendisyo. Natuod ak nga ini in
tama sa iba na paagi an kanya tuyo sa akon
kinabuhi in mawara. An iya ngaran naadman
ko pira ka tuig an naglabay. Pero siton nga
mga adlaw iton in buhi nga tingog.
"Naangay ka sa akon" bagaw
sine. Ngan paunan-o ak magduruto nga
upayon akon lawas para mabuhi sin maiha
para sa kanya. Sa kada ko kadaugan san
pauyag- gin aabot ko akon lawas nga nag
iinggat sa sudang nga sugad san pag inggat
san bronse. Gin hihirutan ko akon
pangisipan nga diri sumarang. Sa klase, diri
ak natuyang nga diri madumduman an
leksyo. Akon maistra sa Ingles diri nahatag
pangiana nga dire ko dayun nababaton sa
akon huna-huna. Sayo ka adlaw nabasa niya
kan Robert Louis Stevenson The Sire de
Maletriots Door, ngan kami naupayan nga
mali nagsarang an paghinga. Aram ko bisan
diin, danay sa diri matutuman nga
kabubuwaso, an sayo nga kwart, ngan sa
pagsirak san adlaw maimud ko an tigda nga
kasiguraduhan nga nakuha ko na an mga
kamot ni Aida.
would find me thrilled by the sudden Ini ada aadto sa akon violin nga an kanya
certainty that I had won Aida’s hands ngaran nakaukit san maupay nga kahimo. Si
Master Antonio pa in nagsugad sa akon
It was perhaps on my violin that her name
kalistuhon san mga kamot. Malaksi ko la
wrought such a tender spell. Maestro
nga nakukuha hasta nga akon madumduman.
Antonino remarked the dexterity of my
Akon haglipot nga mga kamot gehapon
stubby fingers. Quickly I raced Through
nahibaro nga magduko sin malumanay.
Alard-until I had all but committed two
Danay pag nag aaram ak in gab-e,
thirds of the book to memory. My short,
napapaisip ak kun an hangin gin Dara an
brown arm learned at last to draw the bow
akon tukar pakadto sa sapa ngan gin hihimo
with grace. Sometimes, when practicing my
ini nga harana. Gehapon, si Custodio nga
scales in the early evening, I wondered if the
naka-tuka sa Orchestra sa amon skwelahan
sea wind carrying the straggling notes across
nahibaro sa akon pag listo. Gin liwat ak niya
the pebbled river did not transform them
tikang sa ikaduwa pakadto sa una nga
into Schubert's "Serenade." At last Mr.
natukar san violin. Samtang, san programa
Custodio, who was in charge of our school
san pagpasidungog gin himo ak niya nga
orchestra, became aware of my progress. He
taga hatag sin buy-od ngan nag uurusa nga
moved me from second to first violin.
tukar. “Sayo pa nga malisto, aton nag
During the Thanksgiving Day program he
sasayuan nga Albert Spalding” bati ko sa
bade me render a number, complete with
adto sa unahan ngan gin huna-huna ko nga si
pizzicato and harmonics. "Another Vallejo!
Aida sayo sa mga nag iimud. Dayun ak nga
Our own Albert Spalding!" I heard from the
nagkita sa palibot pero diri ko siya naimdan.
front row. Aida, I thought, would be in the
Kahuman san akon pagtukar, gin ban-o ak ni
audience. I looked around quickly but could
Pete Saez, sayo nga para tambourine “puydi
not see her. As I retired to my place in the
ka umapi sa akon banda” siring siya
orchestra I heard Pete Saez, the trombone
“daramo kit mga tutukaran ngan kakadtuan
player, call my name. "You must join my
unina, sakto la kay harani na an bakasyon”
band," he said. "Look, we'll have many
gin gumo ni Pete sin mahinay akon braso.
engagements soon. It'll be vacation time."
Pete pressed my arm.
He had for some time now been asking me
to join the Minviluz Orchestra, his private
band. All I had been able to tell him was that
I had my schoolwork to mind. He was
twenty-two. I was perhaps too young to be
going around with him. He earned his school
fees and supported his mother hiring out his
band at least three or four times a month. He
now said: "Tomorrow we play at the funeral
of a Chinese-four to six in the afternoon; in
the evening, judge Roldan's silver wedding
anniversary; Sunday, the municipal dance."
My head began to whirl. On the stage, in
front of us, the principal had begun a speech
about America. Nothing he could say about
the Pilgrim Fathers and the American
custom of feasting on turkey seemed
interesting. I thought of the money I would
earn. For several days now I had but one
wish, to buy a box of linen stationery. At
night when the house was quiet I would fill
the sheets with words that would tell Aida
how much I adored her. One of these
mornings, perhaps before school closed for
the holidays, I would borrow her algebra
book and there, upon a good pageful of
equations, there I would slip my message,
tenderly pressing the leaves of the book. She
would perhaps never write back.
Maiha na ak niya nga gin inuya mag api sa
iya banda, pribado la, an ngaran Minviluz
Orchestra. Ngan an akon pirme baton sa iya
nga yaon ak hirimuon sa skwelahan nga
papanginanuon. Baynte-dos na siya,
samtang ako bata pa para mag inupod upod
sa iya. Nakakatirok siya panbayad sa
skwelahan ngan pan suporta sa iya Iroy
pinaagi sa iya pagtukar mga tulo o upat ka
beses sa sayo ka bulan. Yana nasugad siya
“buwas matukar kami sa lubong san Tsino-
alas kwatro ngadto sa ala-sais san kulop,
dikan ni Judge Roldan anibersayo san iya
kasal, ngan dominggo sa sarayaw sa
Munisipyo.” Ak isip tigda nalura. Sa
entablado, atubang sa amon, naglalata an
Principal hiunong sa America. Wara siya iba
nga sinusugad kundi an amay nga
manlalakbay ngan an pangabuhi sa America
nga may patron nga ngaran Turkey nga
nakaka-ingganyar. Gin huna-huna ko an
kwarta nga matitirok. Pira na ka adlaw ko
nga gin uungara, nga makabalyo sin kahon
nga mga gamit. Kada gab-e nga mamingaw
sa balay, nalulunod ak para isip san
baragawon nga susugaron kan Aida nga
naruruyag ak sa iya. Bangin sayo sine nga
mga adlaw antis matima an klase mahuram
ak sa iya libro ngan dida, sa sayo nga pakli
ig iipit ko an akon surugaron sa iya. Bangin
dire siya mag surat pabalik sa akon.
Neither by post nor by hand would a reply
reach me. But no matter; it would be a
silence full of voices. That night I dreamed I
had returned from a tour of the world's
music centers; the newspapers of Manila had
been generous with praise. I saw my picture
on the cover of a magazine. A writer had
described how, many years ago, I used to
trudge the streets of Buenavista with my
violin in a battered black cardboard case. In
New York, he reported, a millionaire had
offered me a Stradivarius violin, with a card
that bore the inscription: "In admiration of a
genius your own people must surely be
proud of." I dreamed I spent a weekend at
the millionaire's country house by the
Hudson. A young girl in a blue skirt and
white middy clapped her lily-white hands
and, her voice trembling, cried "Bravo!"
What people now observed at home was the
diligence with which I attended to my violin
lessons. My aunt, who had come from the
farm to join her children for the holidays,
brought with her a maidservant, and to the
poor girl was given the chore of taking the
money to the baker's for rolls and pan de sal.
Bisan sa surat o sa kamot mismo dire
umabot an iya baton. Pero bisan nanu pa; ine
in magiging mamingaw pero puno sin
baragawon. Siton nga gab-e nag iinup ak
nga umuli ak tikang sa byahe san pag libot
para mag tukar; maiimud sa mga barasahon
ira pag karawat sa akon. Naiimud ko akon
kahimo sa printi nga pakli san diyaryo. An
parag surat nag iisturya kun paunan-o, sa
pira ka tuig, pirme ko gin babaktas an mga
dalan sa Buenavista dara akon violin sa
sulod san akon gusot nga pili nga sudlanan.
Sa New York, nagbalita siya nga sayo nga
milyonaryo an nagduduhal sa akon san
pinaka maupay nga violin nga yaon suratan
nga naka butang an surat nga “An paglingag
ngan pahalipay san sayo sa iyo pinaka
baltok nga tawo nga kamo mismo
malilipay.”Nag inup pa ak nga san katapos
san semana adto ak sa balay sini nga
milyonaryo didto sa Hudson. Sayo nga
batan-on nga babaye nga naka saya ngan
busag nga bado nagpapalakpak sa iya
mahamis nga mga kamot ngan kinukulba an
boses nagyakan “Kalisto!” Napansin na san
mga tawo sa balay an akon kadurutuhon san
akon nahibaruan sa klase san violin. Akon
ante nga nakauli pala tikang sa uma para
updan iya mga anak sa bakasyon, nagdara
sin binata, ngan iton nga kairu nga babaye
gin tagan trabahuon sa pag hirot san kwarta
I realized atonce that it would be no longer
becoming on my part to make these morning
trips to the baker's. I could not thank my
aunt enough. I began to chafe on being
given other errands. Suspecting my violin to
be the excuse, my aunt remarked: "What do
you want to be a musician for? At parties,
musicians always eat last." Perhaps, I said to
myself, she was thinking of a pack of dogs
scrambling for scraps tossed over the fence
by some careless kitchen maid. She was the
sort you could depend on to say such vulgar
things. For that reason, I thought, she ought
not to be taken seriously at all. But the
remark hurt me. Although Grandmother had
counseled me kindly to mind my work at
school, I went again and again to Pete Saez's
house for rehearsals. She had demanded that
I deposit with her my earnings; I had felt too
weak to refuse. Secretly, I counted the
money and decided not to ask for it until I
had enough with which to buy a brooch.
Why this time I wanted to give Aida a
brooch, I didn't know. But I had set my heart
on it. I searched the downtown shops. The
Chinese clerks, seeing me so young, were
annoyed when I inquired about prices. At
last the Christmas season began.
Nahuna-huna ko nga diri na ak magiging
sayo san mag inuli-uli pakadto sa tinapayan
kada aga. Diri pa tima akon pasalamat sa
akon ante. Pirme na ak masurub-on sa iba
nga trabahuon. Gin papasangil nala akon
pangita bagaw pa ni ante "Nanu imo
karuyag na maging Parag tukar? Sa mga
kalipayan, an parag tukar an nakaon
urhi." Bisan pa, gin susugad ko sa
akon kalugaringon, gin iisip la niya an
kaayaman nga nag uurunahay san pinipilak
na tura tura sa mga alad kay sa mga dire
naghihirot nga Parag luto. Siya an
matatapuran sa tanan nga mga maglain nga
butang. Hiunong siton, naisip ko, siya in diri
ine ungod- unguron. Pero masuol an gin iya
gin bagaw sa akon. Bisan pa nagsugad si
Nanay nga manginanu sa akon hirimuon sa
skwelahan, pirme ak nagbinalik balik sa
balay ni Pete, para mag inaram. Nag
reklamo pa ngane siya nga ig bayad ko
Akon natirok; dire ak gehapon maka diri.
Patago la, gin iihap ko an kwarta
hasta nga yaon na ak sakto nga kwarta pam
balyo san kanan babaye nga ipit sa buhok.
Sine nga mga oras karuyag ko nga sa akon
dughan iton. Naghinanap ak sa mga baligya
didto sa bungto. An Tsino nga nag baligya
naimud ak nga batan-on pa, nauyam san
nagpakiana ak sa presyo. Inabot gehapon an
kapaskuhan, nagtikang na.
I had not counted on Aida's leaving home,
and remembering that her parents lived in
Badajoz, my torment was almost
unbearable. Not once had I tried to tell her
of my love. My letters had remained
unwritten, and the algebra book
unborrowed. There was still the brooch to
find, but I could not decide on the sort of
brooch I really wanted. And the money, in
any case, was in Grandmother's purse,
which smelled of "Tiger Balm." I grew
somewhat feverish as our class Christmas
program drew near. Finally it came; it was a
warm December afternoon. I decided to
leave the room when our English teacher
announced that members of the class might
exchange gifts. I felt fortunate; Pete was at
the door, beckoning to me. We walked out
to the porch where, Pete said, he would tell
me a secret. It was about an asalto the next
Sunday which the Buenavista Women's
Club wished to give Don Esteban's
daughters, Josefina and Alicia, who were
arriving on the morning steamer from
Manila. The spinsters were much loved by
the ladies. Years ago, when they were
younger, these ladies studied solfeggio with
Josefina and the piano and harp with Alicia.
As Pete told me all this, his Lips ash-gray
from practising all morning on his
trombone, I saw in my mind the sisters in
Dire ko na maihap an pag larga ni Aida sa
ira balay, ngan nadudumdom nga an kanya
kag anak naistar sa Badajoz, akon pag kuri
diri na mailub. Dire la sayo ka beses ak nag
sari nga sugaron sa iya akon gugma. Akon
mga isusurat dire la gehapon naisusurat,
ngan dire ko pa nahuhuram an iya libro.
Mayaon la gehapon ipit nga haranapon, pero
dire pa ak nakakapili san akon karuyag.
Ngan an kwarta, nga adto sa kan Nanay
pitaka nga naamyon na na nga Tiger Balm.
Dinako ak nga sarakitnon san an amon
Programa san kapaskuhan tiarabot. Inabot
gehapon; ine in mapaso paso nga
kakurulpon san Disyembre. Nag desisyon ak
nga lumarga sa sulod san skwelahan
samtang akon maistra nagpasabot nga
magkakayaon sin pagbaralhin san regalo.
Mali ak an gin swerte; si Pete ada sa hagdan
gin paduok ak. Naglakaw kami ngadto sa
balkonahe kun diin nagbagaw si Pete nga
yaon siya isusumat nga sekreto. Nga
kinabuwasan siton in asalto para sa
Buenavista Women’s Club nga maghatag
pasidungog sa mga anak ni Don Esteban nga
si Josefina ngan Alicia, nga maulpot pala
tikang sa Manila. An mga dire pa kinasal an
paborito san kababayin-an. Sadto san mga
bata pa sira, nag inaram san mga
instrumento. San gin sumat ine sa ak ni Pete,
inin magduas nga labi nag aaram kada adlaw
their silk dresses, shuffling off to church for
theevening benediction.

san trombone. Naimud ko sa akon isip ine

nga magbugto sul-ot sab mga bado nga himo
san sutla nga nag aapura pakadto sa
simbahan para sa gab-e nga bendisyon.