Excerpt
The night seemed eternal. Losada forbade anyone from going
beyond the perimeter of the camp. Courtesy prevailed, and
everyone looked away when somebody relieved himself in plain
view.
Small fires burnt around the campsite. Crickets and frogs intoned
their nightly songs. Fireflies danced in the darkness, oblivious of the
Arbacos, who had begun their racket anew. Listening to them in the
dark made my skin feel like a plucked chicken’s.
We eventually found her huddled in the shadows, paler than the
shift she was wearing. Her reddish-brown hair hung in strands
about her face, emphasizing the helplessness in her brown eyes.
She sat on a chest her husband had found for her. They held
hands while she nodded uncontrollably, unable to stay awake any
longer. He stretched a blanket onto the ground near the fire. Sitting
on it, his back resting against the chest, he convinced her to lie down
and rest her head on his lap.
His face lit up when she looked at him. He had the attitude of
someone who had realized he had made a bad choice for himself
and his loved one, but there was nothing for it now. He laid one
hand on his harquebus, the other protectively on her waist. The
crevice between his thick brows deepened as he scanned our
surroundings, as though by the force of his glare the darkness would
reveal its secrets.
He gaped in a jaw-breaking yawn. A contagious one, too. I didn’t
bother to cover my mouth as I picked up on it. My eyes watered, and
everything danced before me. I rubbed my face vigorously in the
hope of dispelling sleep.
Gregorio and Benjamin sat beside me, close to the fire to rid
ourselves of the plague of insects. Benjamin dozed off, snoring
suddenly and waking himself up. Gregorio blinked owlishly,
looking into the fire and shaking his head to remain awake, but
yawning repeatedly. Off and on, I found him looking in the
direction of the girl, his eyes hooded by long eyelashes.
Libros Libertad 