KATAWANG KATUWANG

MAKALIPAS ang sambulat at pasyon ng mga puso’t puson, ibibisaklat ang araw ng mga “X” sa noo—Miercoles de Ceniza—upang maipagduldulan ang makalupang pagnanasa’t kamunduhan na nilalaman ng bungo’t laman… the times sign or “X” rating on the forehead means “Go forth and multiply”… o ang tao’y marupok dahil nilalang lang mula sa alabok… na ang abo mula pinagsunugan ay mayaman sa potassium at gusto ‘to ng pananim na sili at saging.

Kagimbal-gimbal na sakuna. Nabagsakan ng mga nagliliyab na par lights ang super model sa kanyang mukha—a face that could launch a thousand ships, endorse myriad cosmetic products and fashion bling-blings, maybe send off a thousand shrimps as ingredients for okoy.

Super model survives third degree burns— but it will take years for a series of reconstructive surgery, skin grafts, implants, all that jazz on a hellish hideousness to restore a semblance of the face that could touch off a twister of envious sighs and fits of tumescence.

Inararo niya ng angas, pinutakte ng katsang ang kawawang esposo, isang bihasang siruhano. Bumigay ang lalaki… na kahit kahila-hila-hila-hilakbot na ang anyo ng asawang (asuwang?) pinandirihan na ng mga dating amigo’t amiga, talagang mahal na mahal pa rin niya.

So the surgeon gives in to super model missus’s urgent whim.

Naghagilap ng organ donors—yes, the skin is the human body’s biggest organ. Wala naman talagang papayag na magpabakbak ng balat para maisalpak sa mukha ng matindi ang pangangailangan na muling mabihisan ng kaakit-akit na anyo. Wala nang tutol, walang palag ang unang involuntary donor—na ginilitan… surgery becomes butchery.

Napanumbalik ang mukha, balik sa dating kapritsong gawi’t gawa ang esposa… hindi naman makabalik sa kanyang medical practice ang esposo.

In less than a month, the facial skin graft is rejected… and it’s back to the hellish tongue-lashing for the rueful surgeon… again, he succumbs and seeks out prey, all for the love of a vain woman.

So, there’s a cycle of butchery on unwilling donors and surgery on a beautiful virago—a full year’s calendar with a poor victim as flavor of any month.

Sarap magdildil ng dili-dili na may putok at kiliti ng kili-kili. Gusto kong bunuin ang umiiral nang ikid ng isipan hinggil sa panlabas na kagandahan, skin-deep beauty, epidermal macabre… something to slam in your face like a piping hot pie-- ang sapilitang paghihiwalay ng katawan sa diwa sa halip na pagsasanib bilang katawandiwa o bodymind.

I have learned from a quaint kung fu style, the wuyiquan… a fusion of mind, body and spirit… mind and spirit hurls faster than, let me c = 300,000 kilometers per sec, yeah, the speed of light. The body is a frail vessel, a sort of vehicle nudged by mind and spirit… every action can be mindful, every act can be spiritual… and as mind and spirit go faster than light… hand or foot unleashed can be faster than the wink of an eye.

I’d have to ask a priest to mark my forehead with “XXX,” mwa-ha-ha-ha-haw!