PUHON

“Puhon”

(“Puhon” is a Visayan term for “God willing”)

“Wake up,” Dodoy shakes Merto’s frail body. “It’s time to get up! We can’t have the sun catch us under the blanket. Come on!” This time Dodoy pulls Merto’s legs. 

Merto complains, “it’s still dark!”

“But if we linger some more, it will be hot by the time we reach the field,” Dodoy insists.  This time he pulls the blanket off Merto’s body.  Merto gets up as he forces his eyes to open. He slowly makes his way to the kitchen.  There Dodoy has prepared coffee made from roasted rice grain.

They make their way to the field.  They sing a lively tune as they climb a hill.  Soon they cross a brook.   They climb another hill.  Before long they see their field. The sky was already bright. In their language, they say “it is bright enough to see a louse in one’s palm.”

Before setting foot on the rice field, Dodoy looks up to the sky. After a moment of silence, he says, “God is good to us.  Today will be a hot day.”

“How did you know today will be a hot day?” Merto asks.

“Just look at the sky.  You can’t see any cloud,” Dodoy explains.  “So we have to hurry. We have to work fast and hard.  Or else we will get burned up by the heat of the sun.”

And so Dodoy and Merto started to work on the rice field. 

“Merto, you go check the water source. Make sure the water is able to irrigate the field. I will begin to pull out the weeds.  When you are done, come help me pull the weeds out.”

Dodoy and Merto worked side by side. Before long, they finished weeding the field.

“Look! The rice is pregnant!” Merto joked. “You mean, the palay is full!” Dodoy corrects.

As they stretch their bodies upward, they wished,  “Puhon! If God wills it, we shall have a good harvest!”

“May God have mercy.” Dodoy and Merto whisper.

After a long silence, Dodoy says, “Come, let’s get home. Maybe mother has prepared our breakfast. We have to get home before the sun gets so hot.”