The Man in Strings

VI. Strings

a/n: Oct. 22. happy birthday, tlil meng! you have seen a photo and a minion by now; stay strong.

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We bought fishes right away. Hindi ko nga naintindihan kung ano 'yung pinagsasabi doon sa pet shop tungkol sa pag-aalaga ng isda but you know what? We ended up buying all things needed for fishes. Maine initially said that she bought a fish bowl already, but we went home with a bigger one with one shallow reason: names.

Maine wanted to buy one, at pinangalanan nya 'yon ng Celestine agad-agad (I don't even understand a fish's sexuality), but she started to worry dahil daw may isa pa syang pangalan na gustong gamitin: Sebastian. Kaya bumili pa ako ng isa, para lang magamit nya 'yong pangalan na 'yon. She's the kind of woman you'd do weird things for. Naguluhan lang naman ako, because she wanted to name them like... real people. Kung ako ang tatanungin, I'd name them Nemo and Dory para walang hassle.

On the way home, I saw that Maine occassionally threw glances at me. "Bakit?"

"Ha?"

"May gusto ka bang itanong? Kanina mo pa ako tinitingnan, eh."

"Wala naman," she shook her head. "Hindi ba unfair?"

"Unfair kasi?"

"Ako lang 'yung nagpangalan sa isda."

I chuckled. She never fails, dude. She never fails. "You could name them whatever you want. I suck at names."

"Bakit? Ano bang ipapangalan mo sa kanila?"

"Nemo and Dory."

She frowned, which was a surprise, because she liked animated films. "Ang generic naman! Kapag pinangalanan mo silang Nemo at Dory, I bet sobrang daming tao sa mundo ang nagpapangalan ng ganu'n sa isda nila."

"Is that why you name them like they're... humans?"

She nodded. "Fishes have souls, I told you."

"But I suck at names," I confessed. "I'd forget them eventually, and I'd hate myself for that. I'd rather give them a normal one para madali kong matandaan."

"Kaya mo ba natandaan 'yung pangalan ko kasi medyo unique sya?"

We stopped in front of the house, and before we got out, I stared at her for a while and admired her face. "I had always remembered you, Maine, even if you're the quiet one in the flock. Kahit pa as normal as Ana or Maria 'yung pangalan mo, I'd remember you."

"Grabe ka, kapag narinig ka ng mga may Ana at Maria sa pangalan, magagalit sila sa'yo."

"That's not what I meant. Ang pino-point ko lang, hindi kasingdami ng mga Ana at Maria ang mga Nicomaine sa mundo," I smiled at her. "And I'm glad I met the only one."

Pinagbuksan ko sya at magkasunod kaming pumasok sa bahay. I saw her carefully transferring the fishes from the container to the glass bowl, and started to wonder where to place them. She settled with having them at the living room. "Hi, Sebastian, Celestine. Welcome to your new home! Sorry, medyo makalat, maglilinis din si Mommy soon."

"Mommy?" I asked her, bewildered. Does that make me the father? "Ikaw 'yung Nanay ng mga isdang 'yan?"

She covered the lid with her hands. "Hala, kids, I'm sorry you have to hear that," she frowned at me. "Don't refer to them as 'mga isdang 'yan'. They'd get hurt! Paano kung tao sila in their past lives and they just got reincarnated as fishes? That doesn't mean their values changed."

Ayan na naman sya sa alien language nya. Alien language, because the thoughts you'd pick up after analyzing the meaning behind her words are too deep for kids, but put in a childish way for adults. In short, out of this mundane world. Only Maine can blurt out things like that and still make sense.