John Bengan on the Ending of His Story, Armor

JOHN CARL RONATO

But Ronnie got up, unfettered by his garments, his limbs springing back to life. Refusing to
believe that the boy was gone, he thrust himself into the aisle. His body shimmering, he
cleared the rows of bewildered observers, ran beyond the exit, and stumbled into a sudden,
cool night. (Bengan, 2012)

This is the last scene of John Bengans short story, Armor: Ronnie, the storys protagonist,
leaves the stage to go after the man who has just pulled Biboy out of the hall on the night of the
pageant. On a Facebook chat interview last Saturday night with John Bengan, the author said
that he wrote the ending this way because he wanted to illustrate an important turning point in
Ronnies life which is this spur-of-the-moment urge to do something [crucial] after giving up
pretty much on [it].

Right from the beginning of the story, we immediately learn that Ronnie is planning to commit
suicide, which we later discover is because of heartbreakhis boyfriend has just left him to
marry a woman who he has knocked up.

Many of us, including our students, are still probably intrigued by what happens after Ronnie
leaves the hall. What horror does he see? Does he find Biboys dead body outside or see
something else? The implication of the words sudden, cool night gives us a rather blurry
conception of what Ronnie sees out there. And yet, some of us still resist yielding to the morbid
thought that Biboy is dead, as how Ronnie refuses to believe it too.

I guess its not what he finds thats important [t]he rest I leave to the readers to think about,
said Bengan.

When asked about how he would envision what happens next or what Ronnie discovers upon
leaving the hall, John Bengan laughed and said, I havent thought of that, honestly. [] In any
case, what I say as an author outside of the work will not be so important.

Perhaps, Ronnie will see Biboys bloodied dead body on the street or he will find the boy still
struggling to free himself from the man. We may interpret it in multiple ways but what is
important is the choice that Ronnie makes: to go after the man, hoping that Biboy is still alive so
he can save him.

I am honestly flattered that my Davao story has reached that far, said Bengan upon learning
how his work received positive reception from the senior high school students studying 21st
Century Literature in University of the Cordilleras, and from the teachers as well. He also
expressed his willingness and joy to give a talk on creative writing to UCs students in the future.

[A]ny time. Invite me. Id be happy to come, the author said.

John Bengan, who currently lives in Davao City, is a professor at the Department of Humanities
in University of the Philippines Mindanao where he teaches literature. He earned his Master of
Fine Arts in Creative Writing in 2011 from The New School in New York, USA. His short story,
Armor, published in Likhaan 6: The Journal of Contemporary Philippine Literature in 2012 won
first prize in the 63rd Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature in 2013.

February 26, 2017