Lifestyle
Mga oliba sa katapusan ng mundo
(Salin mula sa Ingles ni Mikael de Lara Co)
Magugunaw na ang mundo at kumakain ako ng mga oliba. Pizza ang plano ko talaga, pero noong pumasok ako sa tindahan at walang nakita kundi mga bakanteng istante, napagtanto ko, puwede na sigurong kalimutan ang masa para sa pizza at ang tomato sauce.
Sinubok kong kausapin ang kahera sa express lane, isang matandang babae na may ka-Skype sa telepono. Nag-eespanyol sila, at sinagot niya ako nang hindi man lang ako tinitingnan. Nanlulumo siya. “Binili na nilang lahat,” bulong niya, “wala nang natitira kundi napkin at atsara.”
Ang natitira na lang sa istante ng atsara: isang garapon ng olibang may palamang pimiento, paborito ko. Lumuluha ang kahera nang makabalik ako sa bayaran. “Para siyang mainit na piraso ng tinapay,” sabi niya, “ang apo kong napakaliit, napakabait. Hindi ko na siya makikita uli, di na maaamoy, di ko na mayayakap muli ang baby ko.”
Sa halip na sumagot, inilapag ko ang garapon sa conveyor belt at humugot ng singkuwenta mula sa bulsa ko. “Okey lang,” sabi ko nang mapansing hindi niya kukunin ang pera, “hindi ko kailangan ng sukli.”
“Pera?” hirit niya, “magugunaw na ang mundo tapos bibigyan mo ako ng pera? Ano’ng gagawin ko dito?”
Nagkibit-balikat lang ako. “Gusto ko talaga itong oliba. Kung hindi kasya ang singkuwenta, magdadagdag ako, kahit magkano…”
“Yakap,” sabi ng luhaang kahera habang iniuumang ang mga braso, “yakap ang bayad.”
Nakaupo ako sa balkonahe sa bahay ngayon, nanonood ng TV at kumakain ng keso at oliba. Nahirapan akong ilabas ang TV dito, pero kung ito na nga ‘yun, walang mas gaganda pang paraang tapusin ito kundi ang kasama ang mabituing langit at ang masagwang teleserye mula sa Argentina.
Episode 436 na ito at wala akong kilala sa mga tauhan. Ang gaganda nila, ang emosyonal, at nagsisigawan sila sa Espanyol. Walang subtitles kaya mahirap maintindihan kung ano ba talaga ang pinagsisigawan nila.
Pumikit ako at inisip ang kahera sa tindahan. Nang nagyakapan kami, sinubok kong paliitin ang sarili ko, para maging mas mainit sa normal. Sinubok kong mag-amoy nang para bang bagong panganak ako.
***
ETGAR KERET
Born in Ramat Gan in 1967, Etgar Keret’s books were published in more than 45 languages. His writing has been published in The New York Times, Le Monde, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Paris Review and Zoetrope. Over 100 short movies have been based on his stories. Keret resides in Tel Aviv and lectures at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He has received the Book Publishers Association’s Platinum Prize several times, the Prime Minister’s Prize (1996), the Ministry of Culture’s Cinema Prize, the Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize (UK, 2008) the St Petersburg Public Library’s Foreign Favorite Award (2010) and the Newman Prize (2012). In 2007, Keret and Shira Geffen won the Cannes Film Festival’s “Camera d’Or” Award for their movie Jellyfish, and Best Director Award of the French Artists and Writers’ Guild. The two also co-wrote and directed “The Middleman” (2019), a French-Belgian mini-series, inspired by some of Etgar’s stories. The series won the best screenplay award at La Rochelle fiction TV festival in France. In 2010, Keret was honored in France with the decoration of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Keret’s book, “The Seven Good Years”, was chosen by The Guardian as one of the best biographies and memoirs of 2015. Keret was the winner of the 2016 Charles Bronfman Prize. His latest collection, “Fly Already” won the most prestigious literary award in Israel- the Sapir prize (2018).
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