FOOTNOTE TO YOUTH BY JOSE GARCIA VILLA (ROLE PLAY)

Narrator: The sun was salmon and hazy in the west. Dodong was thinking of telling his father
about his plan to marry Teang when he got home. He unhitched the carabao from the plow to its
shed and fed it. He was hesitant, but he wanted his father to know. Doong finally decides to tell
him, although his father might refuse.

Dodong: “I will tell him, I will tell him.”

Narrator: Dodong wanted to marry, however he was only seventeen. He had pimples on his
face and the down of his upper lip was already dark. He was growing into a man— no, he was
already a man.

Narrator: Dodong stumbled upon a creek on his way home. As he was walking, he thought of
Teang, his girl. She had a small brown face, small black eyes, and glossy hair. She was a dream
girl to him.

Narrator: It was dusk when he reached home. His family had already set the table. They all sat
on the ground and ate fish and rice. Dodong was still thinking how he would tell his father.
Dodong’s mother went out to wash the dishes, while his father remained in the room, sucking a
diseased tooth. Dodong knew he had to tell him.

Dodong: “I am going to marry Teang.”

Narrator: His father looked at him silently and stopped sucking his broken tooth. The silence
became more intense and cruel, and Dodong wished his father would just suck that
troublesome tooth again. His father was just looking at him without saying anything.

Dodong: “I will marry Teang, I will marry Teang.”

Narrator: His father just kept gazing at him silently, and Dodong fidgeted on his seat.

Dodong: I asked her last night to marry me and she said…. Yes. I want your permission. I..
want… it…

Father: “You are very young, Dodong.”

Dodong: “I’m….. seventeen.”

Father: “That's very young to get married at.”

Dodong: “I want to marry.. Teang’s a good girl.”

Father: “Tell your mother, Dodong.”

Dodong: “You will let me marry Teang?”

Father: “Son, if that’s your wish… of course.”

A FEW YEARS LATER…..

Narrator: Dodong stood in the sweltering noon heat, sweating profusely. He was still as a tree
and his thoughts were confused. Teang was giving birth to their first child. Dodong was hearing
Teang’s screams that chilled his blood. He did not want her to scream like that. He figured that
in a few moments, he would be a father.

Dodong: “Father… Father… I would be a father….”

Narrator: “He was young, he realized now.”

Mother: “Come up, Dodong. It is over.”

Narrator: Dodong suddenly felt embarrassed as he looked at her. He dropped his eyes and
pretended to dust dirt off his shorts.

Mother: “Dodong… Dodong.”

Father: “Dodong… It's a boy.”

Narrator: Dodong felt more embarrassed and did not move. His parents’ eyes seemed to pierce
through him and he felt limp. He wanted to hide and run away.

Mother: “Dodong, you come up. You come up.”

Narrator: Dodong did not want to come up and stayed in the sun.

Mother: “Dodong, Dodong…”

Dodong: “I’ll…come up.”

Narrator: Teang was sound asleep on the papag with her soft black hair around her face.
Dodong wanted to touch her, but he felt that feeling of embarrassment once again. He heard a
thin voice and it pierced him queerly. He was happy.
Dodong: “Give him to me, you give him to me.”

Narrator: Blas was not Dodong’s only child. Many more children came. For six years, a new
child came along. Dodong did not want any more children, but they came. It seemed like it could
not be helped. Dodong got angry with himself sometimes.

Narrator: Teang did not complain, but the bearing of children tolled on her. She was shapeless
and thin, even if she was young. There was so much work to be done, cooking, laundering, the
house, the children. She cried sometimes, wishing she had not married. Although , she did not
tell Dodong this, not wishing him to dislike her. There had been another suitor, Lucio, older than
Dodong by nine years and that's why she had chosen Dodong. Lucio had married another.
Lucio, she wondered, would she have borne him children? Maybe not. That was a lot better. But
she loved Dodong…Dodong stood in the moonlight, tired and querulous. He wanted to ask
questions and somebody to answer him. He wanted to be wise about many things. Life did not
fulfill all of Youth’d dreams.

The end