Magnificence by Estrella Alfon - 5402 Words

MAGNIFICENCE by Estrella Alfon There was nothing to fear, for the man was always so gentle, so kind. At night when the little girl and her brother were bathed in the light of the big shaded bulb that hung over the big study table in the downstairs hall, the man would knock gently on the door, and come in. He would stand for a while just beyond the pool of light, his feet in the circle of illumination, the rest of him in shadow. The little girl and her brother would look up at him where they sat at the big table, their eyes bright in the bright light, and watch him come fully into the light, a dark little man with protuberant lips, his eyes glinting in the light, but his voice soft, his manner slow. He would smell faintly of sweat and†¦show more content†¦Thank him, their mother called. The little boy smiled and said, Thank You. And the little girl smiled and said, Thank You, too. But the man said, are you not going to kiss me for those pencils? They both came forward, the little girl and the little boy, a nd they both made to kiss him but Vicente slapped the boy smartly on his lean hips, and said, Boys do not kiss boys. And the little boy laughed and scampered away, and then ran back and kissed him anyway. The little girl went up to the man shyly, put her arms about his neck as he crouched to receive her embrace, and kissed him on the cheeks. The man’s arms suddenly tightened about the little girl until the little girl squirmed out of his arms, and laughed a little breathlessly, disturbed but innocent, looking at the man with a smiling little question of puzzlement. The next evening, he came around again. All through that day, they had been very proud in school showing off their brand new pencils. All the little girls and boys had been envying them. And their mother had finally to tell them to stop talking about the pencils, pencils, for now that they had, the boy two, and the girl three, they were asking their mother to buy more, so they could each have five, and three at least in the jumbo size that the little girl’s third pencil was. Their mother said, Oh stop it, what will you do with so many pencils, you can only write with one at a time. And the little girl muttered under her breath, I’llShow MoreRelatedMagnificence: Writing and Vicente1141 Words   |  5 PagesI. Title: MAGNIFICENCE II. Author: Estrella D. Alfon Biography Estrella Alfon was born in San Nicolas, Cebu City on March 27, 1917. She went to medical school to finish her medicinal studies but when she was misdiagnosed for having tuberculosis, she had to withdraw from her studies. She finished her education with a degree in Associate of Arts instead. She became the first and only female member of the Veronicans, a group of writers in the 1930s, prior to the Second World War, ledRead MoreLife and Works of Estrella Alfon7175 Words   |  29 PagesMANDAUE EBENEZER ALLIANCE ACADEMY INC. M.L. QUEZON STREET , MAGUIKAY , MANDAUE CITY TERM PAPER IN ENGLISH SUBMITTED BY : ROLLY A. COLINA SUBMITTED TO : MR. LESLIE T. ONES i. ABSTRACT ii. INTRODUCTION Estrella D. Alfon  (July 18, 1917 – December 28, 1983) was a well-known prolific Filipina author who wrote in English. Because of continued poor health, she could manage only an A. A. degree from the  University of the Philippines. She then became a member of the U. P. writers club and earned