The Magical Tales of Melusina

CHAPTER 3. La Squadra (Level 2)

“WHERE is your work?” istriktang tanong ni Dean Cortez. Kaagapay nito sa paglalakad ay ang dalawa pang miyembro ng council na kapwa may hawak na folder, sina Mrs. Esguerra at Mr. Enriquez.

Lumakad siya patungo sa corner ng classroom kung saan naroon ang kaniyang kapirasong artwork. Inalis niya ang puting telang tumatakip dito at kasabay niyon ay ang pagsinghap ni Dean Cortez.

“Magnificent!” bulalas naman ni Mrs. Esguerra sa Adam and Eve painting niya pero maagap itong sinaway ng dean. Naniningkit ang mga mata nito nang bumaling sa kaniya.

“What’s this, Madison? Hindi ba malinaw ang specifications na natanggap mo?”

“I don’t understand. Ano po ba ang mali sa ginawa ko?”

“Why, you were tasked to do acrylic painting! Clearly, you didn’t follow the instructions!” Tila naeeskandalo ito sa tono ng pananalita. She actually used watercolor.

“Dean Cortez, LDV painted the Adam and Eve using watercolor cartoon for a tapestry—”

“And who cares? As far as I remember ay hindi iyon ang isinasaad sa task na natanggap mo.”

“But—”

“No buts! There was no solid evidence on that, da Rossi. Kahit si Vasari ay wala namang naipakita bukod sa vivid description niya tungkol sa painting. How could we be sure that it was really a watercolor cartoon tapestry, sige nga?”

“If that is so, then this one would be better.” Kinuha niya ang isang blankong canvas na nasa sulok ng silid at ipinakita sa mga judge. “Because in the first place, you are right, Ma’am. There was no solid evidence that it was really a watercolor cartoon tapestry. What if hindi naman talaga ito ninakaw at ang totoo ay hindi lang ito natapos ni LDV? Ni wala nga tayong proof na gumawa talaga siya niyon. So that means we can now forget that Adam and Eve as if it had never existed. Does it make sense, Dean Cortez?”

Umiling nang ilang ulit si Dean Cortez. “That is absurd, Madison. Who are you to doubt the universal genius? As if you are not a scholar of SLDVP!” Tila hindi ito makapaniwala sa mga sinasabi niya.

“Dean Cortez, the objectives of the task were very clear. You wanted us to finish that artwork but you failed to give us the type of painting that was appropriate to use. I only did what I was supposed to do. The Adam and Eve was painted by using watercolor, not by acrylic.”

Ilang saglit na hindi sumasagot ang dean. Nakipagpalitan ito ng tingin sa dalawang katabi at pagkatapos ay muling tumingin sa kaniya.

“Okay,” anito kasunod ng isang buntong-hininga. “I must admit you did a good job for this one, Ms. da Rossi. You actually amazed me with your impressive work and clever mind. Brava!”

Halos mapalundag sa tuwa si Madison. Hindi niya inaasahang papanig sa kaniya ang suwerte. Nang gawin niya ang painting ay rebellion ang nasa isip niya dahil sa naging takbo ng pag-uusap nilang mag-ina. Nag-iisang litrato lang ng ama ang tanging koneksyon niya rito. Her mother did not bother to add any more information about him. Masyado itong maramot sa kagustuhang pigilan siya sa nais niyang gawin. So she thought that just like Leonardo’s Adam and Eve, her father might also be considered as hearsay—except that her nonna of course, was always full of stories about her and her father’s childhood years. So she chose to use watercolor which was the original medium that Leonardo used for Adam and Eve, instead of acrylic that she was supposed to use.

Napangiti siya at palihim na pinuri ang sarili. ‘Success, Signorina Madison da Rossi! L’hai fatto bene!’

MULA sa kinatatayuan sa labas ng classroom ay kitang-kita ni Madison ang pawis sa noo ni Yohan. Ito naman ang nakasalang ngayon. Nakapalibot dito ang tatlong miyembro ng council na kanina lang ay nasa harapan niya. At base sa hitsura ng tatlo, hindi nasisiyahan ang mga ito sa nakikita.

“How dare this student, Dean Cortez! That painting is clearly not the Adam and Eve!” bulalas ni Mr. Enriquez.

“Pero Ma’am, Sir, sinubukan ko pong i-research ang painting na ‘yan pero wala talaga akong makitang painting na gawa ni Leonardo.”

“So why on earth are you giving us this piece of s**t?! Gusto mo bang makapasok sa Squadra talaga o mas gusto mong ma-expel?” galit na tanong ni Dean Cortez. Ang isang kamay nito ay nakapatong sa dibdib na tila ano mang oras ay aaatakehin ito ng sakit sa puso sa nakikita.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Yohan. “Ma’am, this is Andrea Salai, the little devil, the model of St. John the Baptist and Monalisa.”

“So you believe that? Saang website ka ba kumukuha ng research at mukhang puro tsismis ang napupulot mo?”

“Hindi po ito tsismis, Ma’am. Please give me a minute. I can explain the relevance.”

“No need,” sagot naman ni Mrs. Enriquez. Iiling-iling ito habang nakatingin sa artwork ni Yohan. Dahil doon ay biglang kinutuban si Madison sa kung ano ang laman ng painting. Kusa siyang napahakbang papasok ng classroom upang mas maulinigan ang pinag-uusapan ng apat sa loob.

“Dean Cortez, please,” pakiusap ni Yohan. “Leonardo Da Vinci was born in 1452 and in 1467, he was sent to Florence to work as an apprentice to Andrea Verrochio. By that time, he was just 15 years old. Since his first drawing that has been recorded was the Landscape of the Arno Valley which was finished in 1473, so the Adam and Eve which was supposed to be a commissioned project for the king of Portugal must be one, if not the first painting that he had done. According to Vasari, the said painting was seen in the house of Ottaviano de’ Medici in 1540s. It might be true that it was stolen but there is a rumor that LDV gave the cartoon painting to Amadori, the brother of his first stepmother named Albiera, when he left Florence in the year 1482. Then Amadori might be the one who gave it to Medici. Iyon na ang huling nakatalang record ng painting, nothing more. Ang malinaw lang, hindi tapos ang painting kung nasaan man ito ngayon.”

“So sinasabi mo ba sa amin na sa dinami-rami ng naipinta ni Leonardo,  ang painting na ‘yan na hindi naman sigurado kung sino ang gumawa, ang napili mong iprisinta sa council kapalit ng Adam and Eve?”

“I-I just wanted to let you know Ma’am, that I did my best to perform the task but unfortunately, I didn’t find any record of it anywhere, so I’ve decided to work on this one.”

“But how does that trash, related in any way with the missing cartoon painting?”

“This is not trash, Ma’am. Don’t you recognize, this is St. John the Baptist—”

“Oh, with that er*ction? No way!” malakas na sagot ni Dean Cortez.

“Okay, Ma’am…the so-called Adam and Eve presented the couple when they sinned in the earthly paradise, right? According to Giorgio Vasari, it was a masterpiece. So posibleng makikita sa anyo ng dalawang unang tao ang pagsisisi habang naglalakad palabas ng hardin…” Huminto itong saglit, bumuntong-hininga at muling nagpatuloy. Itinutok nito ang laser pointer sa painting nito. “This one I have here is actually the Angel Incarnate, the controversial painting of LDV. Pinaniniwalaang si Andrea Salai ang may gawa nito tulad ng pagpinta din niya sa Mona Vanna, ang n***d counterpart ng Mona Lisa, pero tulad ng sabi niyo, posibleng haka-haka lamang ang mga ito. Actually, this painting was not even formally included in LDV’s list of works. Why? Could it really be painted by Salai, himself? Or maybe there’s something else?”

Itinutok nito ang laser pointer sa daliri ng subject ng painting nito. “This pointing finger and the seductive eyes of the subject, not to mention the exposed nip...these are come-on-gestures of the model to LDV. If it was indeed Salai, your imagination might help you understand that the subject himself, was the serpent. He was the little devil, remember? And LDV, being the artist, was actually the Eve who was tempted and sinned. If the Adam and Eve was all about agony and repentance, the Angel Incarnate was clearly about the act of tempting. And both paintings are still missing up to now.”

“We can not judge our Leonardo by your concept of perception, Alvarez. This is a work of art. Marami pang painting na higit na h***d kaysa riyan at hindi napag-iisipan ng hindi maganda ang artist. I don’t believe that the Angel Incarnate was done after a s****l i*********e between the painter and the model.”

“But you were aware that LDV was accused of sodomy when he was just 24, right? He was believed to be a Florenzer, Ma’am, a German term which was used to refer sodomites or gays in Florence during the high renaissance.”

“Enough, Mr. Alvarez…enough,” may tiim sa boses na sabi ni Dean Cortez. “The instructions we gave you were very clear. You were asked to finish the missing painting for a very sacred purpose. Lahat ito ay ginagawa natin to educate people about Leonardo’s contributions. Kung ipininta mo siya bilang military engineer sa Milan ay baka naunawaan ko pa. But this one…” Napailing pa ito matapos magsalita.

Seryosong nag-uusap ang tatlong miyembro ng council nang mapalingon si Dean Cortez sa gawi niya. Sinenyasan siya nitong lumabas at isara ang pinto na dali-dali naman niyang ginawa matapos bigyan ng isang sympathetic look si Yohan.