Thank God for those little chicken soups.

Physically tired and mentally drained from finishing the first draft of a script at work (for a program I’m in charge of developing), I got home at around 8 p.m. feeling starved and aching to eat something ‘soupy’. Sabi ko nga, I’m the one person na parang hindi makakain nang masaya pag walang ‘sabaw’. Totoo. Even my two kids sa akin yata nagmana. Every time Joy would call us for lunch or dinner, you can almost always hear the question, either from me or Belle, or lately from Ivan, “May soup, Mama?”

But there was no soup, technically, the soup na hinihigop, on the table. Joy cooked pinakbet and an inadobong isda ( I forgot the name) con pruned kamias. I can’t complain. Nakadalawang plato ako sa sarap. But I’m getting a head of the story for this blog.

Naabutan ko si Joy helping Belle with her Geometry project. I was about to go straight to our room to change my clothes when Belle told me about a book she borrowed from the library earlier. “Papa, I will read to you something, naiyak ako.”

Belle just turned 9 last July 26, and since she started reading from the age of four if I’m not mistaken, this is the first time I hear her say na “naiyak ako.” Sure, Belle is “mababaw ang luha” when it comes to senti children’s movies, but “naiyak” because of a story she’d just read? I was curious to find out kung anong kuwento iyon.

While Joy was re-heating my dinner, I sat beside Belle while she read for me lines from the book called Chicken Soup for Little Souls: The Best Night Out With Dad. The story was adapted from “The Circus” by Dan Clark, and written by Lisa McCourt with illustrations by Bert Dodson. The story is about a young boy named Danny who just met a fellow young boy named Vincent at the entrance of the Circus gates. Both of the young boys were accompanied by their fathers, in what promises to be a wonderful night out. Danny is used to watching spectacles after spectacles from the circus show while this is going to be Vincent’s first. When it’s time to purchase the entrance tickets, Vincent’s dad was crestfallen because the coupon he presented to the ticket agent was no longer honored. In an instant, Vincent’s excitement evaporated into thin air. He was taken out of the line and he and his father started to walk away far from the gates. Danny was troubled. What would he do?

Belle read one of the first lines from page one and skipped to the last few pages, reading a bit fast but pausing for the dramatic lines to emphasize the crucial lines. I was half-paying attention as I smelled the food from the stove, their aroma almost intoxicating my starved stomach. But looking at Belle’s eyes as she read the lines with intensity and gusto, manghang-mangha ako. Yes, siguro nga I’m beginning to witness how advanced her reading comprehension is compared with mine when I was the same age. When I was nine, I only remember me still reading Aesop’s fables, a few Enid Blyton’s which I can’t hardly understand at all or the tales of Peter Rabbit. But here is my girl, immersing herself in a story ringing with paternal issues and social relevance.

Once I finished eating my dinner, agad kong binasa ang libro. Dahil sa pananaw ko, maaaring touching ang kuwento – pero nakakaiyak? But wait. Once I started reading the large-type book, it didn’t take ten minutes bago ako napasinghot at naiyak sa kuwento! Yeah, Belle’s vibe on the story was for real.

Kaya ako, hindi ko na inulit magbasa ng Chicken Soup series lalo na kapag nakapila ako sa may shuttle terminal sa labas ng village namin. Dahil one time, nakakatawa, habang nakatapat ako sa may Security Agency pa naman, dumaloy na lang basta ang luha ko. Siyempre hindi pinahalata, kunwari napuwing lang ako habang pasimpleng pinupunasan ang luha ko; at kunwari na rin, nililinis ko lang ang salamin ko. I just closed the book and stopped reading. Diyahe.

Nakakabilib din dahil itong Chicken Soup series ay ginawan na rin ng picture book version ng Scholastic. Ano kaya ang susunod, TV series?

Right now I’m really thankful dahil Belle is proving to be one of my staunchest critics when it comes to my first drafts. Siguro a few more months puwede ko nang ipabasa sa kanya ang mga ‘mushy’ children’s stories na nagawa ko noon – at hindi ko sasabihing ako ang nagsulat – at pag naiyak siya – I’ll be happy. J