Preludes by Daryll Delgado DOCX

Title	Preludes by Daryll Delgado
Author	Jay-Ar Francisco
Pages	3
File Size	16.3 KB
File Type	DOCX
Total Downloads	90
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Summary

Description

Preludes By Daryll Delgado A man died singing. He had sung a total of three songs before he heaved his last breath and collaps"d o.r u chair. It happened at the Municipal Hall. The time was three in the afternoon-. The sun was high. Heat seeped into people's bones. Tuba warned their blood even more. Someone's ninth death anniversary was being celebrated. Another man's life in that party ended. It ended on a high note. At that very moment, Nenita the wife, was at home, picking leaves for a medicinal brew. Earlier that day, Nenita had been lying on the sofa, slipping in and out of an afternoon sleep she should not have heeded, embracing Willy Revillame in her dreams. She had had n-o plans of taking a nap. She had just wanted to catch a glimpse of Willy after she sent off her grandson for the city, just before she resumed her cooking. At the sala, she opened the window to let some breeze in. But the air was so dry. Outside it was very quiet. Everyone was at the Hall, to attend the ninth death anniversary of the juez. Most of them bore the judge a grudge, but they were all there anyway, eager to see what kind of feast his children had prepared. The children had all come home from America and Europe for this very important occasion in the dead man's journey. Nenita herself did not mind the judge really, even if she had always found him rather severe. It was the wife whom Nenita did not feel very comfortable with. There had been some very persistent rumors involving the judge's wife that Nenita did not care so much for. As soon as Nenita was certain that her grandson had left, she positioned the electric fan in front of her, sat on the sof4 and turned on the TV to catch the last segment of her favorite show. The next thing she knew, Willy Revillame was pulling her into his arms, soothing her with words of condolences, before handing her some cash and offering his left cheek for a kiss. There was a huge applause from the studio audience, even if they were all weeping with Willie, shaking their heads in amazement. Nenita forced herself out of the dream and the motion brought her entire body up and out of the sofa. She found herself standing in the middle of the sala, face-to-face with a teary-eyed Willy. Her heart was beating wildly. Her armpits were soaked in sweat. Her hair bun had come undone. She looked around guiltily, she thought she heard her husband swear at her. She felt her husband's presence in the living room with her, even if she knew he was at the death anniversary parry. She quickly turned off the TV and made her way to the kitchen. She should not have taken that nap, Nenita berated herself. There was an urgent order for ten dozens of suman she had to deliver the next day, for the judge's daughters who were leaving right after the anniversary. There was already a pile of pandan leaves on the kitchen table, waiting to be washed and warmed, for wrapping the sweet sticky rice rolls with. She had spent all night until early morning boiling the sticky rice and mixing it with anise, caramel and coconut milk, until her hands trembled and the veins swelled. By the time she was almost done, she had to prepare breakfast and brew a special tea concoction for her grandson who had spent all night drinking. Her grandson had very barely made it home-drunk as a fish, crying out a woman's name like a fool—early that morning....