Excerpt
“Same as the other day; none of them run around chasing
each other, none of the girls played anything either. They just
stood around waiting for the time to pass so they could go back
inside. It’s truly hopeless and disheartening to see them.”
He stopped. Suddenly the heaviness of the smoke floating in the
air, the brightness of the sun attacking the laundry room through
the narrow long window, an unexpected attack, like a violation,
sat heavy on Anton’s chest. He went to the window. He opened
it. He stood there breathing the fresh air coming in from the
school grounds. He felt lighter, almost drunk of the sunlight,
almost happy in this unhappy place, with these unhappy Indian
kids, the savages, who no one ever knew how to handle, other
than with discipline, punishment and humiliation.
Dylan felt his co-worker’s sadness and standing up from
his seat, he put out the cigarette, though he hadn’t finished it yet,
he coughed a strong phlegmatic cough and shuddered a little,
then he sat down again on the chair which, for the first time, as
Anton noticed, creaked.
“Are you okay?” Anton asked the old man
Dylan shook his head. “I feel oozy.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to breath and I can’t” the old man whispered.
Anton knew this could be something serious. Dylan could
be having a heart attack. He walked close to him; the bright light
suddenly became painful to the eyes; Anton took Dylan’s wrist
and counted the old man’s pulse, which seemed normal. He didn’t
know what else to do.
“Perhaps I should let know the head priest, Father Nicolas,”
Anton said.
“No, don’t do anything, I’m better, I feel better,” he said
and drew a deep breath of air.
Libros Libertad 