A Tale of Two Writers

While we were in Starbucks this afternoon, and as Alex and Caehl were sitting comfortably preparing to read, I commented on their book purchases.

“Aba, dalawa pala ang books na binili ni Daddy.”

Then Caehl said, “I’m not much into fiction.”

Me: What? What do you mean? You don’t prefer fiction, you don’t like reading fiction?

Caehl: No. Parang hindi (ina-accept) ng brain ko.

I just laughed. I didn’t know how to process that. “Grabe ka naman.”

Why, he asked.

Me: Because your dad and I are fictionists.

Me: Didn’t you know that your dad is the UST Rector’s Literary Award winner in 1992? And didn’t you know that I published my first fiction when I was 17, and I got paid for that?

Come to think of it, yes, Caehl isn’t much into fiction. He has always been a no-nonsense, serious reader. I know we tried to introduce him to some teen / young adult literature but he is really into reference books. His collection is composed mostly of dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, and atlases. And I realized after that conversation that yes, fiction was my life then. I was a short story writer. And his dad, too.

Alex is the better writer between the two of us, there’s no contest and I acknowledge that (well, in fact UST did). While I got paid for my published works in local women’s magazines when we were in college, he won literary awards for his short fiction and poetry. And he was one of the favorites of the late Dean Ophelia A. Dimalanta (one of the country's most respected writers).

I told him, “Nakakamiss din magsulat ng fiction, no? Kaya ko pa kaya?”

Why not, he said. Bakit hindi mo gawin? Mas marami ka ngang time ngayon.

I don’t know if I still can. When I was still working, puro memos, project proposals, presentations na lang ang alam ko. Now naman, puro blogs na lang sinusulat ko. I mean, as in real-life, honest-to-goodness everyday experiences, moments and adventures. Hindi ko alam kung kaya ko pa gumawa ng fiction. Dati nun, nagreresearch pa ako sa settings ko.

Wow, napapailing na lang ako. Yan nga pala ang past life ko. I cannot remember now how many short stories of mine were published (maybe more than 10?), and some poetry. Magazines may be a thing of the past now, but it was a big deal back then. Imagine my thrill as a seventeener when I received a checque way back 1988. I just graduated from high school then, trying to make my summer memorable before entering college. As I didn’t have a bank account, I had to go to the branch in Binondo to encash it, and the other checques that followed nung nasa UST na ko. My parents were so proud of me. Lalo na ang Papa ko na kasama ko palagi sa bank. In fact, I had a compilation of my short stories, two volumes yun, type-written na naka-bind (Jimmy Doe and Other Stories, Volume 1 and Volume 2). But sadly, I lost them, I don’t know how. Maybe it was after we moved back to my parent’s house in Laguna after 4 years in QC. Tapos binabaha pa bahay namin nun.

I also dreamed of writing a novel. I remember seeing myself in a beach house na nagsusulat kahit matanda na ko. 

I still can dream, can’t I?

Note: The Gawad Ustetika Rector's Literary Award is given to a literary work that best reflects the “University’s Catholic vision of grace and redemption.” 

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#talesofthegoodgirl | May 21, 2023