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Tuesday, December 17, 2019 | December 17, 2019 |
Lamay Ni Pining (Excerpt) *Note: this is an excerpt from a screenplay I am in the process of writing. It is unfaithfully inspired by Finnegan's Wake. More details on this as I write more. Title: LAMAY NI PINING EXT. GARDEN. NIGHT. A solitary figure of a man sits on a hammock, a cup of coffee on his left hand while in his right hand is a lit cigarette. He takes a puff from it, and the milky smoke dissipates around him under the light of the moon, clouding him in an aura of mystery. Jake, having been shoo'd away by his dad because of his silly statements, approaches the man described. He turns out to be his uncle Steve. JAKE Uncle Steve, uncle Steve, bakit ang daming umiiyak na babae sa loob? Di ko naman sila kakilala ah? STEVE Ah Jake. Ganun talaga sa tradisyon nating mga Chinese eh. Kailan may umiiyak sa lamay. JAKE Ganun po pala. Hmm, naalala niyo po ba ang huli niyong pag-uusap ni Lola Pining? Kasi ako tinanong ko siya sa ospital kung mamamatay na siya sa araw na yun-- Uncle Steve chokes on the contents of his cup. Obviously he was shocked with what he just heard. STEVE Jake naman. Hindi lahat ng nasa isip mo, kailangang mong isiwalat. Lalo na kung napaka-sensitibo. Kailangan konting hinay sa pananalita. JAKE Turo po sa akin ni Lola bad maging sinungaling katulad niyo. For the second time that night, uncle Steve's 3-in-1 coffee was snorted out through his nose. STEVE Ako? Sinungaling? Sabi ni Mama yun? JAKE (nodding his head a little too eagerly) Opo, sabi ni lola bakla ka daw pero ayaw mong aminin. STEVE (In a significantly high-pitched tone of voice) Talaga lang ha? Bakit? Alam mo ba ang isig sabihin ng salitang bakla? Batang ito. JAKE (Eyebrows furrowed in deep thought) Actually po wala akong idea. Pero sabi ni lola kung inamin mo lang sa kaniya na bakla ka magpapa-party daw siya. Silence permeated over them for a minute. Steve looked forlorn and nostalgic, a ghost of a smile haunting his lips. He turns to Jake. STEVE Sinabi sa iyo ni mama yun? JAKE Opo, uncle. Sabi ko nga sasabihin ko rin kina papa na bakla ako para magpa-party rin sila kaso tumawa lang si lola. Bakit kaya? STEVE (Mildly chuckling, and ruffling Jake's hair) Madami ka pang hindi alam sa buhay, Jake. Ika-nga, marami ka pang bigas na kakainin. JAKE (Eyes wide and looking defiant) Ay hindi po, lahat ng dapat kong malaman sa buhay sinabi na po sa akin ni lola. STEVE (Raises an eyebrow) Hmm? Tulad ng ano? JAKE Ang pinaka-importanteng natutunan ko po sa kaniya ay ang ultimate secret niya. Jake leans in toward Steve, and in a conspiratorial voice, whispers: JAKE Pag namatay daw si lola sasanib siya sa katawan ni Maine Mendoza. Kaya yang Maine Mendoza na napapanood mo sa TV, hindi na siya yun, si lola na yun. Steve looks like he’s not sure whether to laugh or cry. Jake and his mother were as close as can be, but he didn't expect that his mother, Jake's lola Pining, would tell these outrageous tales to a young innocent boy. STEVE (In an exasperated tone of voice and gesture) Ganito yun ha, Jake, yung mga kwento ni Lola Pining mo, para lang aliwin ka. Huwag mong masyadong seryosohin yun. Love na love ka niya kaya gusto siya na-aaliw ka sa mga sinasabi niya. JAKE Pero uncle Steve, may pruweba po ako. Ayun oh-- Suddenly, excited shrieks came out from inside the chapel as if a celebrity were in the area. And true enough, when Steve turned his head toward the direction Jake was pointing at, he saw Maine Mendoza struggling to walk with a walker towards them. JAKE (Running excitedly) Lola Pining! MAINE Jake, I missed you my apo! With this scene before him, Steve was quite sure that the world would end any minute now. Was it too much nicotine? Too much caffeine? STEVE posible bang malasing sa kape? kasi ang lakas ng amats ko eh. And all around him, darkness, as he fainted to the floor. Labels: 2019, aiko lactaotao, asian writers, christmas, filipino women writers, screenplay, script, writers |