DAHONG PALAY

by Arturo Rotor

 Just after the harvesting of rice in their

place, Sebio sliced fire woods while thinking

about how he could be so strong. He thought
about the people who teased him and called
him Sebiong Pasmado (Sebio the weakling)
and admiring his possible capability of being
a stronger boy despite his puny appearance.

 That evening, Sebio worked his way

towards Tia Binays place where some

workers were gathered, some of them
pounding grains of rice, some are singing
kundiman to match it. Sebio was placed
into spotlight when Tia Binay asked him
who he was. With the teasing around, he
wasnt able to escape it himself and was
called by his nickname, Sebiong
Pasmado.

 Shamefaced, Sebio sat in the farthest

corner until Merci, Tia Binays daughter,

followed, bringing suman for him. Sebios
likeable self rose from him. Tia Binay
assigned Sebio, Merci and Pacio, the
bully, together to pound the grains using
pestles.

 Pacio showed off how strong he was and

taunted Sebio. He felt competitive to also

make Merci and the other villagers
admire him but how, he doesnt know.
Pacio, with the attention of the crowd,
asked Tia Binay what her son-in-law
would be like. Merci cried that he needed
to be her husband first which silenced
the teasers for a while.

 Milio, the village clown, made a show of

bending a pretend horseshoe made of

bamboo. While everyone laughed at this,
Pacio strained himself to straighten out a
real horseshoe. This made the audience
amazed by what had taken place.

 Having caught the piece of iron, Sebio

tried to bend it to no effect. Yet he knew

for sure that he couldve done it.
Embarrassed, he retreated to a corner.
Merci, having felt Sebios depression
approached him and asked him to help
her gather hays to make a fire. Sebio
eagerly followed her to the hay pile.

 While Sebio and Merci gathered hays,

Merci suddenly shrieked. Sebio went to

see what caused it and saw the deadly
dahong palay ready to attack at Merci
who was like frozen to the ground.
Instinctively, Sebio managed to place
himself between the girl and the danger.
He fell on his face and before he could
get up, the snake had bitten him on the
calf of the leg and was gone.

 Sebio couldnt think well, his thoughts

whirled crazily. While the few stood

there, barking orders, desperate to help
Sebio, others were paralyzed into
inaction. It was Merci who tied a ligature
above the wound on the leg of Sebio,
trying to keep the poison from spreading.

 Unexpectedly, Sebio ordered a knife.

Several sped to get a knife and someone

was able to give him a large knife. With
the crowd witnessing, Sebio seized the
horseshoe and, before the faces that had
frequently taunted him, he straightened
it as if it were a hairpin. Then he
wrapped a piece of cloth around one end
and shove the other end into the fire.

 The onlookers could only stare and stare,

now at the colorless face of Sebio, grim
and twisted. Then, Sebio took the sharp
knife and slashed across the two pin
pricks. Dark blood oozed out slowly. He
then grasped the red hot iron and
plunged it into the wound. The smell of
the burning flesh filled the air. The
women shrieked and those who could no
longer stand the sight, fainted. With him
held up, he told the crowd calmly that
never again would he be called Sebiong

 Who is Sebio? What is your opinion

of Sebio after reading the first part
of the story?

 Why was he the object of jokes among

the young people of the barrio? Were
they fair to him? Have you ever felt what
Sebio must had felt?

 How was Sebio publicly

embarrassed during the early

part of the evening at Tia Binays
place?

How did he prove that he

was not a weakling after
all?

Do you think people will still call

him Sebiong Pasmado? Why?

Should we be very critical of

others? Why?

What are the important

details that the story tells

us to be?

How are we going to use the

gift of bravery to be a benefit

to others who are less
fortunate?