Archipelagic Short Stories Would Lead
Us Nowhere
1.
SPY AND DREAM
I
did see that the Secretary was wearing a pair of eyeglasses: this was of course
meant for his eyes although it rested on the wings of his nose. And he had
graying hair, some parts of which had gone white, some remaining black but
threatening to gray. That was his condition.
He was old. He was
achievement-prone. Bent on making his mark on history, and on a biography on
him. Or on his autobiography.
He was old but he was
brilliant. They said that the Secretary was a man to behold since most others
would not care a bit about their tracks---they'd skip their respective
tracks' integrity, they said, for all the dirt they can have while on
those respective tracks. The dirt everybody there wanted. That made them want
to go there in the first place.
So the Secretary was a
man to behold. But those others on the other side would say, he's good. But
he's stupid. He's good but he's stupid, so he's still no good. That was what
those on the other side said.
Me, I keep training
myself to become better than the Secretary, better than anybody on this side,
and even those on the other side. Which was my side.
2.
MAGAZINE
The
whole island was on the cover of the magazine. Green water contoured the edges
of the island, getting lost at the dark blue edges of the magazine cover.
The island was the
poorest island in the archipelago. But the archipelago wasn't affected.
Or the archipelago was
affected. Okay. So what.
My story number 2 is
more interested in those mountains . . . on the island . . . on the magazine
cover.
The artist did it
pretty well, copying God who did pretty well with the real island.
But the writer in the
magazine said the island wasn't real. The island, she said, was a mere
nightmare, and those mountains weren't as interesting in reality.
Anyway, whatever we
say, the island with its mountains was still the poorest island, even if you
can't believe anyone. Even if you don't believe in God.
3.
NIPPLE
The
rich people of the archipelago were all the same. On island number 1, some were
like this and some like that. But on the whole the island had rich people who
were all the same.
On island number 3,
which had rich sugar mountains that had the taste of nipples, the poor people
gathered below like cells of cancer.
The rich people of the
archipelago were all the same. They were all babies everybody agreed should
grow, sucking on mountains of sugar or coconuts.
On island number 3
some of the babies grew strong and tall, some died at the feet of the mother.
But these were two different kinds of babies. And the rich people were all the
same.
They were all babies
everybody agreed should grow. In the archipelago which was the mother.
On island number 3
there were orphans.
4.
THE PARTY
The
government of rich people assured everyone of prosperity. Everybody agreed that
prosperity was coming.
Then the prosperity of
rich people assured everyone of government. Everybody agreed that government
was coming.
And they came, they
came and . . . prosperity's sick, she couldn't come. I've been authorized to
represent prosperity.
5.
THE VISITORS
Come
in, come in, the people of the hospitable island said to the fighters. Some of
the fighters were from island number 5. They were sent to island number 3 to
fight the guerillas.
The hospitable people
of the island welcomed them all. The guerillas who had men/women from all the
number islands, and the fighters that came to fight the guerillas.
Some of the women of
the hospitable island were raped, because they were suspected of being friends
of the guerillas of history. Some of the huts of the villages became torches,
to light the way of history.
This happened because
some of the guerillas and some of the fighters melded with the hospitable
people, so that it made every hospitality suspect.
And there's nothing we
can do. Even if the people there try to cease to become hospitable, they are
already branded with the island's curse of hospitality and are required by the
island's fate to remain hospitable---whether they like it or not.
The General even joked
once, "We can even build hospitals here, hahahahaha!"
Which was not funny.
Because the guerillas and the fighters both spat on the hospitality of hospital
wards. That they cursed at the General instead.
Who was himself not
funny, because even though you saw him laugh he was actually nervously serious
about the whole business. Go apologize to him! And come in, come in, he'd say,
fondling his hospitality girl, to anyone of you who's lost his/her hospitality.
6.
LAUGHINGSTOCK
The
archipelago had a problem. The archipelago had borrowed a tremendous amount of
money from another nation not an archipelago, a solid nation.
In the liquid
archipelago, the solid weight of the debt so pressed down on everyone's pockets
that many people got tired of walking.
So the President said,
just to cheer them up, "We just have to bear it. Since we are an
archipelago, we can go around swimming."
And the people learned
to laugh at their problem.
7.
JOURNALIST AND DREAM
The
Secretary pointed out to me the items on his agenda. First, there was this
problem. Second, there was that problem. Third, there was this other problem.
And so on, and so forth. He showed me many problems. And every time he smiled
at me and said, that problem's no more---he'd suddenly angrily frown and
whisper, I think this call means there's another problem.
That was how the
Secretary's job went. But he loved his job; since I'm able to help the
archipelago, the Secretary said.
So I said to the
Secretary, many people think that you are the problem, Sir.
Fuck them, he said,
they don't know anything. They think I should do away with the abstract policy
and deal with problems in the concrete, on a case to case basis! Archipelagic
short stories lead us nowhere, son. We have to have an abstract!
But that's what
they're saying, Sir, we have to have an abstract.
Exactly, son.
Archipelagic short stories lead us nowhere. . . . Arrrrgh, I HATE THIS JOB! the
Secretary said.
Exactly what the
Secretary said. He knew, though, he'd have to stick it out there. The nation
needed him, he was sure. So that he could only go back to his agenda, eluding
in the process his own abstract.
Even though he
already knew it.
