Personal Nothings

12.

a/n: tonight's gonna be a prose-ish poetry! the photo attached isn't mine! and this is a shot of a railroad in the philippines. 

short background: this is called the philippine national railway or pnr (to the locals). this used to travel from the metropolitan going to provinces like bulacan, batangas, and rizal within a matter of  hours. although the travel is quite taxing since you'd be fitted inside the train cab like a pack of sardines together with your luggage (similar to what the japanese experience). 

i hope you enjoy this chapter!

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12. railroad

Unblinkingly staring at both sides, Duday crosses the railroad without hesitation. 

She catches up to her friends. They laugh at her and say:

"Ambagal mo naman, Duday! Magsisimula na tayo, o!"

They gather in a circle. Hands out and slippers on their elbows, they start to bet on teams.

"Maiba taya!" "Gumaya saken taya!" "Uy, akin si Bentong, mabilis 'yan eh!" "Duday, dito ka samen!"

They play mataya-taya and they play tagu-taguan and they play piko. 

Their laughter muffled by the passing of the jeepneys and the tricycles and the street vendors. 

A horn sounded from afar. Suddenly, the place seems to be in a frenzy.

Manong Barker shouted, "O dali-dali! Dadaan na yung tren! Putangina umalis nga kayo jan mga bata kayo!" 

Jeepneys revved and disappeared from the scene. Street vendors pulled their carts to the nearest Goldilocks store and stood there, waiting for customers.

The children scattered. Duday rushed to the side of the tracks and into her house.

"O tapos na ba kayo maglaro?" her mother asked, cradling a baby while feeding another.

Duday takes her place on the corner of the shack, drawing her knees to her chest and sighing. "Hindi. Andyan na kasi yung tren, nay."

"Naku, punyeta naman tatangayin nanaman yung sampay."

Duday watched her mother rise and leave the shack.

The train tracks rattled. People screamed. Duday looked up and the sky looked beautiful bathed in blood-red.

And that was the last time her mother ever stayed at home.

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it sounds rusty! but i'm trying!

if you want a translation of this chapter (mostly the dialogues) feel free to comment so!

see you in the next chapter!

much love, sam :D