*Note this story is in Tagalog
Tuwing gabi, naririnig niya ang mga kanta galing sa apartment na malapit sa kanila. Hindi naman magkakatulad ang mga kanta, minsan malambing, halos katulad na ng isang “love song”. Minsan naman ay malakas aria. Ngunit palaging iisang tinig. Kanyang tinig.
5E, hiling niya palagi na sana may sapat siyang lakas ng loob na kumatok sa pinto para makita niya nang personal. Pinipilit ni Dax na isipin kung ano ang kanyang hitsura, hindi rin naman nakakatulong ang mga pagtukoy ng mga kapitbahay niya.
Ang sabi ni Lola Anding na pinakamatagal nang nakatigil sa gusaling ‘yon, ‘yung babae raw may mahabang buhok at di pa niya nakikita ang mukha nito. “Di siya mahilig
makipagkwentuhan sa amin, pero di ko naman siya masisisi.”
Ngumiti si Lola Anding “Naaalala ko pa nung bagong lipat siya rito, palaging nasa may pintuan niya ang mga kabinataan at maghapon at magdamag siyang inaabala. Halos lahat sila umalis din dito sa building dahil di naman siya nasagot.”
Tinanong niya si Jaime, na nakatira sa isang palapag sa taas kung may alam ba siya kahit ano tungkol sa babae. “‘Wag ka nang mag-abala, Sinubukan ko rin”. ‘Yun lang ang nasabi niya kay Dax.
Mas marami pang nasabi si Nadine. Nakatira siya sa unit katapat ng kay Dax at mahilig siyang tsumismis. “Mayaman siya o nagyayaman-yamanan. Paminsan-minsan ay nakikita ko siyang may suot na mga mamahaling kwintas, ginto at mga diyamante. Siguro peke, sabi naman ni Tito Deng sa 3rd Floor, sinabi raw nung babae na paggugwardiya daw ang trabaho niya! Sinong niloko niya. Baka nga escort siya.”
Si Alfonso ang pinakahuling kinausap ni Dax. Sandali lang si Alfonso sa building lalo nang nawala ang kanyang kapatid. “Maganda siya.” Malamig ang tinig ni Alfonso “‘Yun ang sabi ni Kuya. Lagi niyang sinusubukang dalhan siya ng bulaklak, pero ni hindi man lamang niya pinagbuksan ng pinto si kuya. Tingin ko may gusto talaga si kuya sa kanya pero di niya siya pinapansin.”
Sinubukan ni Dax na iguhit siya. Sinara niya ang mata niya at sinubukang isipin ang kagandahan niya. Buhok na bagsak hanggang balikat gaya ng talon. Mga kamay na akala mo’y bulalakaw sa gabi kapag hinahaplos ang buhok. Inisip niya ang paglakad ng babae, kapag naihip ang hangin na akala mo’y ginagabayan siya sa paglakad. Ang ngiti niya, labi, ilong, lahat ay perpekto, halos nagpapatigil sa pagtibok ng puso niya.
Natapos ni Dax ang kanyang sketch, ibinaba ang kanyang lapis. Hindi niya alam kung bakit matapang ang pagkakaguhit niya sa mga mata niya, parang nakatitig sa kanya na parang naiinggit.
Nang gabing ‘yon, tumayo siya sa tapat ng pinto ng Apartment 5E at sinabi niya sa sarili na ito na ang pagkakataon para subukan. Kumatok si Dax sa pinto at inaasahang sasagutin lang siya ng katahimikan.
Nang biglang bumukas ang pinto.
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English Version
Every night he hears the songs from the apartment beside him. They’re not all the same, some nights it’s a quiet melody, almost like a love song. Other nights it’s a loud aria. But it’s always the same voice. Her voice.
5E, he always wished he was brave enough to knock that door and see for himself. Dax tried to imagine what she looked like, though the only descriptions he could ever get from his neighbors weren’t helpful.
Lola Anding who lived in the building the longest said the woman had long hair, though she only ever saw it from the back. “She never liked to small talk with the rest of us, though I don’t blame her.” Lola Anding smiled “I remember when she moved in, all the young men would go to her door and bother her all day and night. Most of them left the building after she wouldn’t answer them. “
He asked Jaime, who lived a floor above if there was anything he could tell him about the woman. “Don’t bother. I tried too.” Was all he told Dax.
Nadine had more to say. She lived in the unit across Dax and liked to gossip. “She’s rich or feeling rich. The few times I saw her she would have really expensive jewelry around her neck, gold and diamonds. It’s probably fake, Tito Deng on the 3rd floor said she told him that she worked as a guard! I don’t know who she’s trying to fool. She probably works as an escort.”
The last person Dax talked to was Alfonso. He only spent his time in the building, especially after his brother went missing. “She’s beautiful.” Alfonso’s voice was cold “That’s what Kuya told me. He always tried to bring her flowers, but she never opened the door for him. I think he was in love with her, but she never even noticed him.”
Dax tried to draw her. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine her beauty. Her hair flowed like a waterfall gently falling over her shoulders. Her hands moved through it, like shooting stars across the night sky. He thought of her walk, when the wind would move to guide her way. Her smile, her lips, her nose were perfect, almost as if they were made to make his heart pause. Dax finished his sketch and dropped his pencil. He didn’t know why he drew her eyes with such cruelty, she stared at him with a look that reminded him of envy.
That night he stood across the door to apartment 5E and told himself it was time to try. Dax knocked on the door and was prepared to wait in silence.
That is, until the door opened.
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*Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a quarter of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by the majority. Its standardized form, officially named Filipino, is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages alongside English.
Written by Karl Gaverza
Ilocano Translation by Christopher B. Padilla
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Translation Copyright © Christopher B. Padilla
Based on the Boringkantada description in Bikol Beliefs and Folkways: A Showcase of Tradition. Nasayao 2010.
Boringkantada Illustration by emirajuju
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Watercolor by Catherine Chiu
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