stop in the middle of the road Happiness has believed to see on the horizon, the faint reflection of the taillight auto. Now in the darkness closed the field, only distinguished the moon and her wedding dress. Sitting on a rock beside the bathroom door concludes that there should be taken so long. Tulle clear from a few grains of rice. Just can guess the landscape: the countryside, the route and the bathroom.
want to mourn, but still can not. Corrects the folds of her dress, nails look, and see, every so often, the route he is gone. Then something happens:
"Not again," says one woman. Happiness
gets scared and cries. For a second thought be faced with a ghost. Attempted to control, but the body does not stop trembling. Look at the woman, nothing seems to startle, is old and bitter expression, but keeps the wrinkles big blue eyes and perfect lips dimensions.
"The route is a shit," she says. Out of his pocket a cigarette, lights it and takes it to his mouth sucks. The worst ...
A white light appears on the route, passing lights, and vanishes with its reddish hue.
- So what? Will you wait? - she says.
She looks at the side of the route by which, to return her husband would receive the car and not encouraged to respond.
"Nene" says the woman, and offers his hand.
She spreads his doubt and greet. Nene movements are firm and strong.
"Look," said Nene, sits next to Happiness "I will give you the test short-PISA just started smoking, emphasizing the words "tired of waiting and leave you. That's it. It seems that hope is something that can not tolerate. Then they cry and wait ... And wait ... And above all, for a long time: cry, cry and cry even more.
Although he tries, fails to understand happiness. It is sad, and when most needed fraternal support, when only another woman could understand what it feels like after being abandoned alongside a road bath, she just has that old hostility that before he spoke and now yells.
- And they keep crying and crying every minute, every hour of every damn night! Happiness
deep breath, his eyes fill with tears.
And mourn and mourn goal ... And I tell you something: this is over. I'm tired, tired of listening to so many stupid miserable. And one more thing I say ... "is interrupted, seems to doubt and question," What did you say your name?
She means happy, but swallows crying, hiccuping.
"Hello ... Is your name ...?
-Fe, li ... - is controlled. It does not work, but solves the phrase "capacity.
"No, no, no. Do not even think. At least endure anything more than the others.
Happiness begins to mourn.
-No. I will not longer bear it. I can not. Happiness! She
force noisy breathing and keeps crying, but then the situation is unsustainable and it all begins again.
I can not believe that he ... - respiratory
I have ... Nene is incorporated, looks happy with contempt and away furiously in field. She tries to restrain himself, but finally download:
- Inconsiderate! - Yells, but then gets up and catches up, Wait ... Do not go, you understand ...
ignoring Nene walks. "Wait
Happiness returns to mourn. Nene
stops.
-Shut up, "he says calibrated Shut! Then
Happiness stop mourn and Nene to it in the darkness of the field.
-Shut up and listen.
She swallows. It focuses on not mourn.
"Well, what? Do you feel? - Look to the field. Happiness
imitates try to concentrate.
-cries too, now we must wait until you get used to hearing. Happiness
makes an effort, twisting his head slightly. Nene waiting impatiently for her to finally understand.
-cry ... - said Happiness, softly, almost in shame.
"Yes. Cry. Yes, cry! Cry the whole damn night! Do not see me face? When I sleep? Never! All I do is hear it every damn night. And I will not soportarlo más, ¿se entiende?
Felicidad la mira asustada. En el campo, voces y llantos de mujeres quejumbrosas repiten a gritos los nombres de sus maridos.
-¿Y a todas las dejan?
-¡Y todas lloran!- dice Nené.
Entonces gritan:
-¡Psicótica!
- Unhappy, insensitive!
And other voices are added:
- Let us mourn, hysterical! Nene
faces everywhere. Shout to the field:
- What about me ...? How about that for more than forty years we are here, also abandoned, and we need to hear your stupid Penitas every damn night? Huh? What?
- Take a painkiller! Loca! Happiness looks
Nene and understand how much greater the sadness of this woman compared to yours. Nene bites her lip and refused. At the field yelling are increasingly violent.
- Come, turrita!; Come and give your face!
"Come, give. To see how hard you this new friend ...
- Where are you old! Talk unhappy!
- When you were here crying because we still went out with them miserable!
Some voices screaming to stop laughing. Nene
dropped and feel resigned.
- Leave her alone! - Said Happiness. Nene is coming and hugs as she hugs a girl.
"There ... That fear ... - said one of the voices, so now you have classmate ..." I'm not
classmate anyone, "says Bliss, just trying to help ...
" Oh ... Just trying to help ...
- Do you know what was left on the road?
- Why it's a skinny walrus!
"No, because ... they left - they laugh" ... because while she tried on her wedding dress, we already went to bed with her hubby ... - laugh again.
heard voices getting closer. It's a crying where it is difficult to separate the cry of that laugh.
-¡Porqué no se callan, cotorras!- grita Nené.
-¡Ya te vamos a agarrar, turra!
Felicidad siente bajo los pies el temblor de un campo por el que avanzan cientos de mujeres desesperadas. Nené comienza a retroceder hacia la ruta. Felicidad la sigue.
-¿Cuántas son…?- pregunta.
-Muchas- dice Nené- demasiadas.
Pero Felicidad no puede escucharla, los insultos son tantos y están ya tan cerca que es inútil responder o tratar de llegar a un acuerdo.
-¿Qué hacemos?- insiste Felicidad.
Entonces Nené adivina en ella los signos contenidos del llanto.
-No se te ocurra llorar- le dice.
Increasingly rapid retreat. Are almost along the route. In the distance, a white dot grows as a new ray of hope. Happiness think now, for the last time in love. Thinks to herself, not to leave, not leave her.
"If we got shouts for Nene.
- What?
are already near the bathroom. "That
if the car for ...
The buzz followed them, and already appears to be on them. We could not see, but know they are there, a few meters. The car stops in front of the bathroom. Nene returns to Happiness and ordered to advance, and without getting too close, yet hidden in darkness, waiting for the woman to sit her down and force the man to lead. But he is moving down. With the lights by cutting the road has not seen the women and rushed down clutching his crotch. Then the noise increases. The laughter and jokes forget Nene and are intended for him. Stops but it's too late, in his eyes the terror of a rabbit in front of the beasts. Meanwhile, Nene around the car to raise the driver's side, but when you try to open the door meets the woman has put up barriers.
- Open, go! We have to go! - Nene says he struggles while the door.
"If you want to let it down," says Happiness "around them if they want.
From inside the car the woman shouts what they want, where they come from, one question after another. Nene desperate screams and hits the glass:
- I opened it, baby! I opened!
The woman changes seats and start the engine. The man hears the car but does not turn to look. Is absorbed and seems to know, in the dark, hulking mass of women who run toward him.
- I opened calibrated! - Nene hits the glass with his fists, wrestles the door handle. Behind
, Happiness and Nene looks at the man, man and Nene. Women nervous doing skate faster wheels. Nene and happy retreat. Part of the order falls to the shoulder and splashes of mud. At last the wheels hit the asphalt again and the car moves away.
While behind them the cries of women continue, the orange glow of the taillights seem anchoring them away in a quiet sadness. A hug would have liked Felicity Nene, leaning on his shoulder at least. This is when small pairs of white lights begin to illuminate the skyline.
- are back! - Said Happiness.
But Nene is not responding. He lights a cigarette and looks at the route the first couple of lights that are almost on them.
- them! "- Said Happiness" repent and return to pick us ... "No,"
Nene and releases a puff of smoke they are, yes, but return it.
Tego was scrambled eggs, but when he finally sat down and looked at the plate, he discovered he was unable to eat.
- What? I asked.
take my eyes took in the eggs.
"I'm concerned," he said, I think I'm losing speed.
moved the arm to and fro in a slow, maddening, I suppose the way, and stared, as if awaiting my verdict.
"I have no idea what you mean," I said, I'm still too sleepy.
- Did not you see what it takes to answer the phone? In answering the door, reaching for a glass of water, brush my teeth ... It is an ordeal. There
Tego a time when flying to forty miles per hour. The circus was the sky, I dragged the barrel to the center of the track. Hid lights to the public, but we heard the cry. The velvet curtains opened and Tego appeared with his silver helmet. Raised his arms to receive the applause. His bright red suit on the sand. I was in charge of gunpowder while he was up and got her slender body in the barrel. The drums of the orchestra asked all was silence and in my hands. The only sound packages were then popcorn and a nervous cough. Drew from my pocket for matches. He took them on a silver box, which still preserve. A small box but so bright you could see from the last step of the bleachers. Opened it, took out a match and rested on the sand at the base of the box. At that point all eyes were on me. With a fast-moving fire arose. Turned on the rope. The sound of the sparks was expanding in all directions. I was acting a few steps back, hinting that something terrible would happen, the public eye on the match that was consumed, "and suddenly, Boom. And Tego, a bright red arrow, went out at full speed. Tego
stepped aside eggs and rose with difficulty from his chair. I was overweight, and was old. I breathed a heavy snoring, because the column was squeezing something or the lungs, and moving around the kitchen using the chairs and the counter to help, stopping every few minutes to think, or to rest. Sometimes you just sighed and continued. He walked in silence to the kitchen door and stopped.
"I do believe I'm losing speed," he said. Miró
eggs. "I think
I'm going to die.
I pulled the plate to my side of the table, just to make it wildly.
"That happens when you fail to do well what you do best," he said. That, I thought, that one dies.
but I tried the eggs were cold. It was the last conversation we had after that took three steps toward the living clumsy and fell dead on the floor.
Journalist of a local newspaper interview comes a few days later. He signed a picture for the note, where we are with Tego along the canyon, he with his helmet and his red suit, I in blue, with the box of matches in hand. She is delighted. To learn more about Tego, I asked if there is something special that I want to say about his death, but I have no desire to continue talking about it, and I can not think of anything. As there will, I offer you a drink.
- Coffee? I ask.
- Sure! "She says. It seems be willing to listen forever. But scrape a match against my silver box to light the fire, several times, and nothing happens.
Schweblin Samantha (Buenos Aires - 1978), Argentina writer, is a graduate of the career of Image and Sound of the UBA. His storybook The core of the disturbance won the first prize of the National Endowment for the Arts 2001, and his story "By the gay capital of civilization," the first prize in the National Haroldo Conti. Participated in anthologies published by the Editorial Siruela, "Cuentos Argentinos" (Spain 2004); Norma Editorial, "The Young Guard" (Argentina 2005) and "A terrace" (Argentina 2006) and several anthologies of cultural centers such as the General San Martín and Ricardo Rojas. Some of their stories and are translated into English, French, German and Swedish. His second book of short stories, Birds in the mouth (2009), won the Prix Casa de las Americas 2008.
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