FILIPINO BOOK: ANG PAMBIHIRANG BUHOK NI RAQUEL ni Dr. Luis Gatmaitan with TAGALOG Subtitles PHILIPPINISCHES BUCH: RAQUELS AUSSERGEWÖHNLICHES HAAR von Dr. Luis Gatmaitan mit TAGALOG-Untertiteln FILIPINO BOOK: RAQUEL'S EXTRAORDINARY HAIR by Dr. Luis Gatmaitan with TAGALOG Subtitles FILIPIJNS BOEK: RAQUEL'S BUITENGEWONE HAAR door Dr. Luis Gatmaitan met TAGALOG-ondertitels

ANG PAMBIHIRANG BUHOK NI RAQUEL RAQUEL'S EXTRAORDINARY HAIR

Kuwento ni Dr. Luis Gatmaitan Story of Dr. Luis Gatmaitan

Guhit ni Beth Parrocha-Doctolero Drawing by Beth Parrocha-Doctolero

(MUSIC) (MUSIC)

Bilib na bilib ako kay Raquel. Sa lahat ng aking mga pinsan siya ang aking hinahangaan. Ang kulay ng buhok niya ay iba-iba. May asul, dilaw, at saka pula. Pambihira talaga! I am very impressed with Raquel. Out of all my cousins she is my favorite. Her hair color is different. There's blue, yellow, and then red. Really rare!

Hindi alam ni Raquel, naiinggit ako sa kaniya. Maganda kasi siya. Makinis ang kaniyang balat. Kay puti-puti. Raquel doesn't know, I'm jealous of her. Because she is beautiful. His skin is smooth. White-white.

May dimpol siya pag ngumingiti. Hindi galawgaw kung kumilos. Kay galing niyang mag-Ingles. He has dimples when he smiles. It's okay to act. Because he speaks English well.

A, 'yun pa nga, mayroon siyang kakaibang buhok. Bakit kaya wala ako ng mga meron siya. Tuloy, pag ikinukampara ko ang sarili ko kay Raquel parang ang layo-layo ko. Oh, by the way, he has weird hair. Why don't I have the ones he has? Then, when I compare myself to Raquel, I seem to be far away.

Madalas, ginagaya ko siya. Ang kaniyang pagngiti, pagdadamit, pagkandirit, at pagkanta-kanta. Kapag sinabi niyang, "Wow!" Ang g'ling-g'ling," gano'n na rin ang laging bigkas ng aking bibig. Often, I imitate him. His smiling, dressing, squeaking, and singing. When he says, "Wow!" The g'ling-g'ling," is what my mouth always says.

Dadalhin ko 'yon sa buong panahon na kami ay magkalayo. Buti na lang, minsan sa isang taon, tuwing panahon ng mangga at duhat, daigdig namin ay nagtatagpo-- I'll carry that with me the whole time we're apart. Fortunately, once a year, during the mango and duhat season, our worlds meet--

sa pamimitas ng sinigwelas, sa paglalaro ng piko, sa panghuhuli ng alitaptap. picking sinigwelas, playing pickaxe, catching fireflies.

Hindi siya maselan kahit ang bango-bango niya, at ako'y amoy-araw. Palagi niya nga akong hinahalikan! Even her perfume is not delicate, and I smell like sunshine. He always kisses me!

Hindi siya isnabera kahit taga-Maynila siya at ako'y taga-baryo. He is not a stranger even though he is from Manila and I am from a village.

Siya pa nga ang nauunang pumansin sa akin. At, hindi niya ako pinagtatawananan kahit mali-mali ang Ingles ko. He was even the first to notice me. And, he doesn't make fun of me even though my English is wrong.

Pero napapansin ko, lagi niyang sinasabi sa akin, "Ana, Ana, mas mapalad ka." Aba'y bakit kaya? But I noticed, he always told me, "Ana, Ana, you are more fortunate." Why is that so?

Isang tag-araw, nainip ako sa kahihintay pero hindi siya dumating. Tinanong ko sina Tatay at Nanay kung magbabakasyon sa amin si Raquel. One summer, I got bored waiting but he didn't come. I asked Dad and Mom if Raquel would go on vacation with us.

Hindi raw muna. Nasa ospital daw kasi si Raquel. Sa aking isip noon, itinatanong ko, "Paanong dinalaw ng sakit ang batang kay linis linis?" Not at first. Raquel is said to be in the hospital. In my mind then, I asked, "How did the disease visit the clean child?"

Kinabukasan, lumuwas kami ng Maynila para dalawin ang hinahangaan kong pinsan, at doo'y napansin ko ang maraming pagbabago sa kaniyang itsura. The next day, we left Manila to visit my beloved cousin, and there I noticed many changes in his appearance.

Mas lalo ba siyang pumuti? Nagtampo na ba ang kaniyang mga ngiti? Does he get whiter? Have his smiles sulked?

Pero nakalimutan ko agad 'yon. Bigla ko kasing napansin ang kaniyang buhok. Noong huli ko siyang nakita, pinaghalong dilaw at pula ang kulay nito. Ngayon ay kulay asul. But I immediately forgot that. I suddenly noticed his hair. The last time I saw him, his color was a mixture of yellow and red. Now it's blue.

Talagang iba ang pinsan kong taga-Maynila. Ang dating buhok na itim, naging iba-iba. Pambihira! My cousin from Manila is really different. The once black hair, became different. Extraordinary!

Naging madalas ang pagluwas namin para dalawin si Raquel. At hindi puwedeng di kami maglaro kapag kami'y nagkikita. We went out often to visit Raquel. And we can't not play when we meet.

Pero, doon na lamang kami sa bahay nila. Hindi na raw puwedeng maglaro si Raquel sa mga parke't karnabal. Baka raw kasi siya mahawa ng sakit sa ibang mga bata. But, we were just there at their house. It is said that Raquel can no longer play in parks and carnivals. It is said that he might catch the disease from other children.

Inip na inip tuloy ako sa Maynila. Buti sana kung may naliligaw na alitaptap sa bakuran nina Raquel. I'm so bored in Manila. It would be good if there were stray fireflies in Raquel's yard.

O Kaya'y may maaakyatang puno ng sinigwelas. Kaya hayun, ang buhok ni Raquel ang aking napagbalingan. Or So there is a sinigwelas tree that can be climbed. So, Raquel's hair is what caught my eye.

"Raquel, gusto mo ititirintas ko ang buhok mo?" "Raquel, do you want me to braid your hair?"

Tatango siya, ngunit may paalala, "Dahan-dahan lang, ha!" He would nod, but with a warning, "Take it easy, ha!"

At, nagsimula akong magtaka sa kakaibang hibla ng kaniyang buhok. Bakit kay galas? Bakit hindi madulas? Bakit parang nakaalsa ang mga buhok na 'yon? And, I began to wonder at the strange strands of her hair. Why are you so excited? Why not slip? Why do those hairs seem to stand up?

Sinalat ko pa ang aking buhok para ikumpara. Hindi ito katulad ng buhok ni Raquel. Mas kagaya ng manyikang basahan ang kaniyang buhok. I even combed my hair to compare. It's not like Raquel's hair. Her hair is more like a rag doll.

A, baka gano'n ang sosyal na buhok! Ah, maybe that's social hair!

Minsan, habang inililipad ng hangin ang kaniyang buhok, may nasilip akong kakaiba sa kaniyang ulo. Itinanong ko tuloy kung ano ang makikita sa ilalim ng kaniyang makulay na buhok. Sabi niya, doon daw ay -- Once, while the wind was blowing his hair, I caught a glimpse of something strange on his head. I then asked what could be seen under his colorful hair. He said, that's where --

may kahariang nakatago, may bahaghari, may taong maliliit na napakakukulit. there is a hidden kingdom, there is a rainbow, there are small people who are very naughty.

Wiling-wili ako sa pakikinig at pangangarap ng sinasabi niyang pambihirang daigdig. Hindi ko napansin ang pagtakas ng kulay sa kaniyang mukha. I am interested in listening and dreaming of what he says is an extraordinary world. I did not notice the color escaping from his face.

Blag! "Raaqqqquueeellllll! " Lumatag sa sahig ang maputlang katawan ni Raquel. Takot na takot ako. Nanginginig. Blah! "Raaqqqquueeellllll! " Raquel's pale body lay on the floor. I'm so scared. Trembling.

"Ano'ng nangyayari sa aking pinsan? Kagagawan kaya ito ng taong malililit na nagtatago sa ilalim ng kaniyang buhok?" "What is happening to my cousin? Is this the work of a small person hiding under his hair?"

Habang tumatakbo palapit sina Tito at Tita, nasulyapan ko ang ulo ni Raquel. Natanggal ang kaniyang pambihirang buhok! As Tito and Tita ran closer, I caught a glimpse of Raquel's head. His extraordinary hair was removed!

Walang kaharian. Walang bahaghari. Walang taong maliliit sa ilalim ng kaniyang buhok. There is no kingdom. There is no rainbow. There are no small people under his hair.

Kalbo si Raquel! Raquel is bald!

Peluka lang pala ang buhok na kakaiba! The hair is just a wig, which is weird!

Noon ko lang nalaman kung ano talaga ang sakit ni Raquel. It was only then that I found out what Raquel's illness really was.

LU-KIM-YAH, gano'n ang bigkas ni Tita. LU-KIM-YAH, that's how Tita pronounces it.

Nagmamadaling isinugod nila si Raquel sa ospital. Baka kailangan na raw siyang salinan ng dugo at bigyan ng panibagong gamot. They rushed Raquel to the hospital. He said he may need a blood transfusion and another medication.

Umiyak ako nang umiyak kay Nanay, I cried when I cried for Mom,

"Bakit gano'n?" tanong ko. "Why is that?" I will ask.

"Talagang gano'n," sagot ni Nanay. "Kahit ang mga bata ay hindi puwera sa kanser." At pinahid niya ang aking mga luha. "That's right," replied Mom. "Even children are not immune to cancer." And he wiped my tears.

Bigla kong naalala ang madalas na sinasabi sa akin ni Raquel na mas mapalad daw ako kaysa sa kaniya. Noon ko lang 'yon naintindihan. I suddenly remembered what Raquel often told me that I was luckier than her. I only understood that then.

Hindi nga kami mayaman. Hindi ako maganda o maputi. Pero, malusog ang aking katawan. We are not rich. I'm not pretty or white. But, my body is healthy.

"Ang kalusugan ay kayamanan," 'yan ang madalas sabihin ni Tatay. "Health is wealth," that's what Dad often said.

Nang lumabas ng ospital si Raquel, mapula na naman ang kaniyang pisngi. May ngiti na uli ang kaniyang labi. When Raquel left the hospital, her cheeks were red again. There was a smile on his lips again.

"Tinakot ba kita?" biro niya. "Did I scare you?" he joked.

Hindi ko na sinagot ang kaniyang tanong. Basta't niyakap ko na lang siya nang mahigpit. Mahigpit na mahigpit na para bang hindi ko na siya pakakawalan pa. I didn't answer his question. I just hugged him tightly. Tightly tight as if I can't let go of him.

Hanggang ngayon, sa lahat ng aking mga pinsan, si Raquel pa rin ang aking hinahangaan. To this day, of all my cousins, I still admire Raquel.

Kasi.. higit sa pambihirang buhok... taglay niya ay ....pambihirang.... tapang. Because.. more than extraordinary hair... he has ....extraordinary.... courage.