The World is an Apple

Alberto S. Florentino

[Mario enters the scene from the left. He puts down his lunch bag, removes his shoes and puts the next
to his lunch bag.]

Gloria (calls from off-stage): Is that you Mario?

Mario: Um…. Yes….

Gloria (enters stage): I’m glad you’re home early.

Mario: How’s TIta?

Gloria: Don’t wake her up. She cried the entire day.

Mario: Has she been eating well?

Gloria: She can’t eat a mouthful of lugao. But I’m planning on buying her something….(slips hand into
pocket)I’ll take some money.

Mario (stands, annoyed): Gloria!

Gloria (shocked): Why are you so touchy all of a sudden?

Mario: Why wouldn’t I? I’m trying to talk to you about the child and you’re bothering me!
Gloria: Wasn’t I thinking of her? Why do you think I need money?
Mario: Tone down your voice. You’ll wake up the child up.
Gloria (low but intense): All I want is to buy her something to eat! That’s why I was “bothering” you!
Mario: I’m sorry, but… I don’t have any money… at least not now.
Gloria: Today is payday, Mario.
Mario: Yes… but … I don’t have it.
Gloria: What?! I waited for you the whole day and you tell me-
Mario: That I have nothing?! What do you want me to do?! Steal?!
Gloria: I’m not asking you to do such a thing! I just want to know what happened to it!

Mario (sits): Nothing is left of it. You see, I had a few drinks with my friends.

Gloria (puts hands on waist): Mario, do you think you can make a fool out of me? You don’t smell or look
drunk.

Mario: All right, so I didn’t go drinking. (Looks up at Gloria) It’s better you don’t know.

Gloria: Mario, I’m your wife. I have the right at least to know where it went!

Mario (deep breath) (rises): I spent it on another woman.

Mario: I didn’t know you had so much faith in me.

Gloria: No, what I mean is- you wouldn’t spend all of your money when you know your daughter needs
some of it. You love her too much.

[Mario buries his face in his hands]

Gloria: What’s wrong, Mario?

Mario (turns his face away): Nothing, Gloria.

Gloria (sits next to him): I know something is wrong, Mario. Tell me what it is.

Mario (stares at the ground): Gloria, I’ve lost my job.

Gloria (rises, shocked): What?! No!

Mario: It’s true Gloria.

Gloria (frustrated): What about your pay for the week?

Mario: I lost my job a week ago.

Gloria: And you never told me!

Mario: I thought I could get another one without you noticing.

Gloria: You think you can get another one in five months? It took you that long before you got the last
one.

Mario: It won’t take that long. I promise.

Gloria: But how did you lose it? Have your sinful hands brought you to trouble again?

Mario: Now, Gloria, don’t accuse me as they did!

Gloria: What did they accuse you of?

Mario: Just what you meant to say, pilfering, they would call it.

Gloria: What, according to them, did you steal, or in this case, pilfer?

Mario: It was nothing much. Nothing.

Gloria: What was it?

Mario: It was an apple.

Gloria: An apple! You mean-

Mario (rises): Yes. An apple! Don’t you know what an apple is?!

Gloria: You mean, you took one apple.

Gloria: That’s what you get-

Mario: Could I have guessed they would do that for one apple? When there were millions of them? I saw
one- just one- and took it.

Gloria: That’s the trouble with you! When you think of your own stomach, you think of nothing else!

Mario: I wasn’t thinking of myself. I was thinking of Tita! One day I took her out for a walk and we some
delicious apples sold at the grocery store for 70 centavos each. She wanted one but I didn’t have enough
money. So what I did was I bought her a small green apple they sell in the sidewalk, but she just threw It
away, saying it wasn’t real. So when I saw the apple, I thought of her.

Gloria: You should’ve just brought home pan-de-sal, or rice, or milk. We’re not rich! We don’t need
apples.

Mario: Didn’t God create everything for everyone, and the apples not just for the rich only.

Gloria: So for a measly apple, you lost your job.

Mario: For my daughter, I don’t mind losing a thousand jobs!

Gloria: Where is this apple? Did you bring it home for Tita? (Gets the lunch bag)

Mario: They kept it as evidence.

Gloria: You lost your job trying to filch an apple which you even lost.

(Gloria puts away the shoes and the lunch bag. She sits on the steps and remains silent for a time)

Gloria (rises): Getting an apple is too small of a reason to kick you out of work. You should try to ask for a
second chance, Mario.

Mario: They won’t do that.

Gloria: Why not?

Mario (rises): Can’t you see, Gloria? They’ve already wanted to throw me out for any reason so they may
bring their own men in.

Gloria: You should complain.

Mario: If I did, they would dig up my police record.

Gloria: But Mario, that was so long ago. Why would they do that.

Mario: They’ll do anything to throw me out (holds her arm). But don’t worry, I can find one. It’s not that
hard to get a job nowadays. (From this point on, he tries to avoid her eyes.) I’ve been job hunting for a
week now, and I think I found a good one.

Gloria: There you go again with your lying.

Gloria (Holds his arm): Honest?

Mario (Avoids her eyes): Honest! (Sits down)

Gloria: I knew God wouldn’t let us down. I shall pray to Him tonight so you could get the job. (Looks at
Mario) But, wouldn’t that mean that you have to stay out all night?

Mario: I can always sleep during the day.

Gloria (brushes him like a cat): What I mean is, it will be different when you aren’t beside me at night.
(Walks away) But I’ll get used to it. Why don’t you see this friend of yours right now? It’s wise to see him
as early as you can.

Mario (after pause): Yes. I think I’ll do that.

(Gloria crosses to the steps to get his shoes, followed by Mario.)

Gloria (hands him the shoes): Put these one and go. I’ll step up and wait for you. (Sits on the steps and
watch him)

Mario (putting shoes): Don’t wait for me, Gloria. I may be back quite late.

Gloria: Fine. But I don’t think I can sleep a wink until you return.

(Gloria finishes up to him after he finishes and tries to hug him, but he pushes her away. Suddenly
confused, he sits on the steps. Gloria sits beside him and plays with his hands.)

Gloria: Mother was wrong. She was all like “You’re going to commit the greatest mistake marrying that
good-for-nothing man.” Oh, how much I wish she were alive now. She would’ve seen how much you’ve
changed.

(She sees someone behind the tree: Pablo. He has been watching them for a time now.)

Pablo: (Sarcastic) Aw, how romantic!

Mario: Pablo!

(Mario starts to fidget. Gloria rises and walks to the center, her eyes looking angry. Pablo lights a
cigarette, never taking his eyes off her.)

Pablo: (Sarcastically sad) You’re not glad to see me? (Puts a foot on the bench)

Gloria (angry): What are you doing here and what do you want?

Pablo: That isn’t the right way to receive a visit. You haven’t changed a bit Gloria.

Gloria: Neither have you. Nobody cares about your visits, Pablo!

Pablo: You’re still that same woman who cursed me to hell just because I happened to become Mario’s
friend long before you met him. I guess time doesn’t make you any kinder to me.
Gloria: Yes! And I’s wish that you’d stay away from us for the rest of our lives!

Pablo: Am I already not?

Gloria: Then why the hell are you here?!

Pablo: God! Can I not see you even see you now and to see if life has been kind to the both of you? How
are you getting along?

Gloria: (Scornfully) We are doing well,… well… until you showed up!

Pablo: Your daughter was only this high the last time I saw her. How is she?

Gloria: She’s all right!

Pablo: Oh! And I thought she had not been very well.

Gloria: (Suspicious) How did you know? (To Mario) Did you tell him?

Mario: How? I haven’t seen him in a long time. (Sits down) Until now of course.

Pablo: What is she sick with?

Gloria: (Curtly) We don’t know.

Pablo: Don’t you think you should take her to a doctor? (Puts his foot down and pull out his wallet.)
Here, I’ll loan you a few pesos. It can help your daughter get well.

Gloria: (Scornfully) We need it all right, but no thanks.

Pablo: Why don’t you take it?!

Gloria: Paying you back would mean seeing your face once again.

Pablo: Then take it as a gift.

Gloria: That’s a bigger reason to refuse it.

Pablo: Fine, if that’s how you want it. (Sits and pays with the wallet)

Gloria: Mario has stopped depending on you since the moment I took him away from your “clutches.” I
have no regrets.

Pablo: How about Mario? Does he have no regrets either?

Gloria: None at all.

Pablo: How can you be so sure? We would go to first-class, air-conditioned movie houses ever other day.
I’ll bet everything in this wallet right now (brandishing his wallet) that he has not been to one since you
have taken him away from my “clutches” which was four years ago.

Gloria: One cannot expect too much from honest money- and we don’t.
Pablo (rises and walks around): What is honest money? Does it look better than dishonest money? Does
it buy more? Honesty? What is it? Dressing like that? Staying in this dungeon you call a house? Is that
what you call “honesty”?

Mario (rises): Pablo!

Pablo: Look at your daughter. That is what honesty has done to her. How can honesty help her now?
She’s not sick, she needs food. Good food.

Mario: Pablo!

Gloria: I know you’ve come back to lead him back to your dishonest ways, but no! He won’t listen!
We’ve gone this far and we can go on living without any of your help!

Pablo: (Sarcastically) Living? You call this living? This ,Gloria, is what you call dying. Slowly. Minute-by-
minute. (Laughs)

Mario (Crosses to him and shakes him): Stop it, Pablo! You shouldn’t have come!

Pablo: I got tired waiting for you!

Gloria: So you have been seeing each other! I was afraid so!

Pablo: He came to the house yesterday.

Mario: Pablo, don’t.

Pablo: (Ignoring Mario) He said he’s be back by noun. But he didn’t show up. I came because I was afraid
his conscience was bothering him.

Mario: Pablo! I told you she should not know!

Pablo: It’s fine Mario. She’ll find out Mario. Tell her what you told me: that you no longer believe in the
way she wanted to live.

(Mario turns his back on him.)

Gloria: Mario… is this what you meant by another job?

Mario: Gloria, … please understand.... I tried… but I could not left us out of this kind of life…

Gloria: (shouts at Pablo) It’s your fault! You son-of-a-devil!

Pablo: He came to me first-

Gloria: When you know he’ll cling to anything and do anything, even return to the life he hate! Get out!

Pablo: I’ll leave as soon Mario’s ready to live.

Gloria: Mario’s not going anywhere!

Pablo: Really now? Why not ask him? (sits on bench, grinning)

Gloria: (to Mario) You’re not going with him, are you, Mario? Tell him to leave and never come back! Tell
him to go, please…Mario. I know he has tried to poison your mind again… but don’t go with him.
Mario (holds her): …Gloria…I

Pablo: Gloria, don’t worry about him, he’ll be fine with me.

Mario (pulls her away): Pablo, you stay there. I’ll be with you a minute.

Mario: I’m going with him, Gloria.

Gloria: Don’t, Mario. Don’t.

Mario: You can’t stop me now, Gloria. I’ve thought about this for a week now.

Gloria: No, no Mario. No. (Holds fast to him)

Mario: Take good care of yourself and our child. I’ll take care of myself. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll come
home very late.

(Mario walks away with Pablo. Gloria stares at them, then she shouts.)`

Gloria: Mariooooooo!

(She covers her face with her dress and cries into it. The daughter, from inside, joins her crying)

THE END