(Editor?s Note: Now on its 60th year, the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature (Palanca Awards) continues to live up to its reputation as the country?s most prestigious and longest-running literary contest.)

Established in 1950 in honor of Don Carlos Palanca Sr., the Awards aims to help develop Philippine literature by providing incentives for writers to craft their most outstanding literary works that reflect Filipino culture and values, and to serve as a treasury of Philippine literary gems.

An Excerpt from
?No Lipstick for Mother?
Grace D. Chong

1st Prize, Short Story for Children, 2005

EVERY night after Tatay was buried, Nanay would clean his tricycle till it shone, as he did every day at dawn. ?Haay, it took us years to save enough money to buy this,? she?d sigh, her thoughts far away. ?You should have seen your Tatay?s face when we finally brought it home!?

?Nanay, my mid-term exam is next week,? I reminded her.

?Ah, oo,? she said.

?I need to pay my tuition.?

?Tuition?? she asked absently, and then, ?Naku, the next installment!? she hissed, wringing her cleaning rag many times.

?My graduation fee is also due,? I added.

?Ha?! Oh, of course,? she remembered, wringing the rag a few more times.

Before the week was over, the change came. Like a sudden brownout on Christmas eve!

Nanay , have you gone crazy?! I wanted to ask but she was beaming widely while putting on Tatay?s helmet. ?Anak, I?ll drive you to school from now on. Then I?ll pick you up after school, ha? In between, I will take in passengers.?

Every pair of eyes in our neighborhood popped in shock when Nanay drove by. I put my face inside my bag.

I am ashamed of you! I?ve practiced saying the truth every day since, but there was never a perfect time to say it. So I decide to just say it or my head will burst, ?I?m asham?

?Know what, anak?? she exclaims, peeking through stringy hair which were once so shiny. ?Miss Domingo, your adviser, was my passenger today!?

NO!! My secret is out! My life is over! I want to scream but all I do is gape at her sun-toasted face, my tongue refusing to move.

?Miss Domingo said you are, ahahay, a candidate for top honors!? she giggles, then fondly mimics my adviser?s shrill voice. ?Always wiiilling to work hard! Has nice words about everythiiing!? Nanay pauses, saying softly, ?Your Tatay would have been very proud of you...?

For the hundredth time, I postpone telling Nanay what I feel. I ask instead, ?Did Miss Domingo say anything... about ?? I want to add, you?

?Ayy, she said it all,? she giggles again, missing what I mean.

I curl up under my blanket the next day, wishing I didn?t have to go to school and face my adviser.

Nanay lowers my blanket and touches my forehead. I feel sandpaper instead of palms. ?It?s National Heroes? Day, di ba? You may stay in bed till breakfast is ready.?

Holiday! How could I have forgotten? Relieved, I jump up and follow my mother to the kitchen, ?Nanay, where?s your lipstick??

?Ah, lipstick...? she mumbles. ?Diyan...? She waves her calloused hands in all directions.

?Why don?t you wear lipstick anymore?? I press.

?Ha? I never thought about that.?

?You used to wear lipstick everyday,? I push.

?Oo nga... ? she admits as we both set the table.

You were beautiful...I whisper to the wind.

?Anak, I would love to stay home with you, but the health center is packed with mothers and babies today. And there aren?t enough tricycles.... you?ll be busy anyway...? she recites all the housework she?s taught me while she pads off to drive my Tatay?s sunshine.

I go out to throw the trash and what do I see? Aling Ana and Aling Betty looking like a flower patch on the road. I don?t have to guess who they?re talking about. ?Mayang!? they call, rushing near me. ?Everybody?s talking about your mother!?

I wish I were invisible! I squirm.

Breathlessly, they swoon, ?Uuuuh, how brave she is for saving the Chua boy from being kidnapped!?

P-p-po?!

?It?s still all hush-hush,? they say, their voices piping down. ?The police won?t talk about the details. Would you know??

?A-a-a-a-h...? I stammer.

?Ahhh, you wouldn?t. Your Nanay never talks about herself!?

With that, I get my wish ? I become invisible. They yakety-yak as though I?m not there.

?She has a man?s job, mare, but she has a woman?s heart!? Aling Betty says, banging at her chest.

?Korek! Only a real mother would automatically care for others, especially children?? Aling Ana stresses, her neck veins swelling.

?Sinabi mo! I bet Mr. and Mrs. Chua will reward her well for what she just did!? Aling Betty butts in.

?Dapat!? Aling Ana agrees.

They nod and nod, as though their heads have batteries, and swoon again, ?Uuuuh, what a beautiful woman she is!?

I think of how old and plain Nanay has become and murmur, she wears no lipstick.

They hear that. And they both glare at me, saying words I will never forget, ?Ahhh, beauty is not what you see outside, but what you are inside. Mayang, you ought to know that!?

?She?s the only person I know who says, -- ?God is good, all the time? even after losing your father so suddenly?? Aling Ana quacks, waving flabby arms.

?...and now raising you all by herself!? Aling Betty cries through flaring nose.

?Driving a tricycle is hard even for a man! But your Nanay, why, she has to do it ? for you!? they blubber about the tough life Nanay?s going through.

Alone at home I groan like a hundred different animals: AWOOO! GRRRR! BRRIBUT! AWRRF! HISSSSH! I am more and more ashamed that I am ashamed of my mother! Dear God, forgive me... What have I been thinking?! And what Aling Ana and Aling Betty said about beauty... I n-never... knew t-that... before. Maybe I?m not so smart, after all!

The door swings open and Nanay dashes in. Smelling of sweat and dust, she ransacks every drawer!

?What are you looking for po?? I ask, wanting so much to hug her.

?My lipstick!? she says.

?Why, Nanay??

?Well, you were right, anak,? she answers, her creased face lighting up. ?Every day I wore lipstick. Maybe I should wear it again.?

Something makes me blurt out what Aling Ana and Aling Betty said, ?Beauty is not what you see outside, but what you are inside!?

?Ahahay! Nanay giggles, impressed. ?Miss Domingo is right... you are smart.? ?