ANG PAG-IBIG NI DALISAY

One of my favorites, Pag-ibig ni Dalisay was published in Liwayway on June 22, 1987. I chose this because I felt it somehow gave a “glimpse” of the way we were then.

A few weeks ago, two high school seniors from Ateneo de Manila came to our house to interview me about my stories that won in the Palanca Awards for Literature Contest. This is in connection with their subject in Pilipino on writers and their writings. They went to the Palanca Library in Makati and among so many winners, came to choose me.

As in all other interviews, they asked if the characters I portray in my “kwento” are real flesh and blood people, like Regina, my bida in my winning piece “Si Regina at Ako”. I called Regina, my househelp for almost four decades and who was then busy at the kitchen and introduced the young men to her. Kilig naman si Regina, imagine, mga Atenista, ini-interbyu rin siya.

BUT, generally, my characters are just composite of people I know. Or if ever my character happens to look or sound exactly someone real, the “kwento” where he or she plays bida, is just a figment of my imagination. OR if the “kwento” seems to have a semblance of “reality” in it, one must remember how every writer indulges in what we call “literary license”. In political lingo here in dear, old Philippines, we also call it “dagdag-bawas”.

Kaya, anumang pagkakahawig o pagkakatulad ng karakter ni Dalisay sa isang tunay na tao ay nagkataon lamang at hindi sinasadya (humahaba ba ang aking ilong?). She could be you, she could be your sister, your friend, an acquaintance, or anybody from our past.

And her story could very well be our very own love story!

Abangan si Dalisay!!!