Excerpt
Their slingshots are master-crafted tools that only the older boys
know how to make, but Antony is the master craftsman who always
knows which branch of osier to cut at which point of junction, where
the twig divides into two thinner branches that he ties with a string
to create the special curved design the weapon needs. It usually takes
about three months for the tied osier branch to take the proper shape
and become the handle of the slingshot, and when Antony judges
that the handle has just the right shape, he ties the pieces of rubber
on it that come from the insides of old tires. He cuts two different
widths, one for making the long rubber parts and thinner pieces for
tying the longer pieces to the handle. Then he adds the leather back
piece cut from tongues of old leather shoes. This is where the stone
will be placed before it can be hurled against the innocent birds.
This is the first day Eteocles has a slingshot for himself, and mimicking
the older boys, he gathers a dozen round little stones as they
walk toward the olive grove where the cicadas sing as if they are
members of an orchestra unheard before. Their searching and chasing
of birds is in full swing when Antony, whom Eteocles is following,
signals his brother to stop and come closer. When Eteocles gets next
to Antony, he points to an olive tree about ten meters away. There is
some commotion in the branches, Eteocles’s first target.
Eteocles summons all his skill, and walking slowly so not to
spook the bird, he creeps close enough to have a good shot. He places
a stone in his slingshot, takes aim at the point in the branches where
some movement can be seen, and lets go. Something falls to the
ground, and Eteocles’ heart jumps to a thousand pulses a minute as
adrenaline rushes through his veins. He feels an exuberance unfelt
before. He is a hunter who has hit his target.
Eteocles runs to the spot and finds a small bird still squirming
on the ground, halfway between life and death. He picks up the bird,
then feeling it squirm, drops it in fright. Antony laughs and tells him
to pick it up again and kill it by squeezing its neck with two fingers,
gesturing to show his cousin how.
Libros Libertad 