The Boat Comes In

The morning boat tied up at Stromness. The houses stand with their backs to the water. Polly stepped onto wet flagstones and understood the wind. It was not a gust. It was a condition. A collie sat at the end of the pier. Polly went over to him. "Can you show me the way?"

Dumaong ang barko ng umaga sa Stromness. Nakatalikod sa tubig ang mga bahay. Tumapak si Polly sa basang mga bato at naunawaan niya ang hangin. Hindi iyon simpleng ihip. Isa iyong kalagayan. May collie na nakaupo sa dulo ng pantalan. Lumapit si Polly sa kaniya. "Maituturo mo ba sa akin ang daan?"

He asked where she wanted to go. She did not know yet. There are close to seventy islands, and about twenty have people on them. There is no forest and nothing tall for miles. "Could you tell me where I can catch a bus?" she asked. He tipped his head toward a shelter up the slope.

Tinanong siya nito kung saan siya patungo. Hindi pa niya alam. May halos pitumpung isla, at mga dalawampu ang may nakatira. Walang kagubatan at walang matataas na bagay sa malayong paligid. "Maaari mo bang sabihin sa akin kung saan ako makakasakay ng bus?" tanong niya. Itinuro nito ang isang silungan sa itaas ng dalisdis.

Then she asked a city question. "How long does it take to walk to the city center?" The collie looked along the one street that runs the length of the town. Eleven minutes, he said, if you stop at the windows.

Pagkatapos ay nagtanong siya ng tanong ng taga-lungsod. "Gaano katagal maglakad papunta sa sentro ng bayan?" Tiningnan ng collie ang iisang kalsadang umaabot sa buong haba ng bayan. Labing-isang minuto, sabi niya, kung titigil ka sa mga bintana.

"Can you tell me if there are any interesting events today?" The ferry timetable is the local news, he said. There was a boat to the seal rocks. There was a chapel built by prisoners. There was a village that lay under sand for four thousand years.

"Masasabi mo ba sa akin kung may kawili-wiling kaganapan ngayong araw?" Ang iskedyul ng ferry ang balita rito, sabi niya. May bangkang patungo sa mga batuhan ng seal. May kapilyang itinayo ng mga bilanggo. May nayong nakalibing sa buhangin sa loob ng apat na libong taon.