excerpt
Like most of the vendors, this one also sells
tickets for only a drachma each that give the buyers a chance to win
a dozen sweets of their choice. Like all the other boys, Eteocles and
Nicolas always hope they will be the boy that is called on to pull the
lucky number, because it is customary for the draw winner to treat
the boy who pulls his number with at least one sweet of the dozen
he wins.
Today Eteocles is chosen at last. His eyes shine with anticipation
as he glances at Nicolas standing next to him, who knows his brother
will share whatever sweet he is given. He puts his arm into the
small bag that holds all the paper tickets inside. His small fingers
rummage around and select one ticket, which he pulls out and hands
to the vendor. the number is shouted out, and a short, skinny man
in a hat rushes over and shows the vendor his matching ticket and
then points out the dozen sweets he prefers. One by one, the vendor
puts the twelve sweets on a cornet and then hands the selection over
to the skinny man.
Eteocles and Nicolas stand there waiting to see what the short
man will do. Finally, he smiles and looks at Eteocles.
“Which one would you like?”
Eteocles says nothing. All the appropriate words are already written
on his happy smiling face, in his gleaming eyes, and trembling
legs. He points to two cones in the cornet the skinny man is holding.
The man laughs and gives one of them to him. Then a miracle happens.
The man notices Nicolas next to his brother and asks, “Is he
your brother?”
“Yes” Eteocles mumbles, and the man takes the other cone and
gives it to Nicolas. The two boys relish their cones down to the last
shred and then lick the syrup off their fingers.
Then, as suddenly as it is unexpected, the sun peeks through a
gap in the clouds to warm the faces of the spectators for a few fleeting
moments while at the same time some flies begin to circle as if they
want some of the cones Eteocles and Nicolas have been enjoying,
sugar attracting them as surely as it does the young boys who follow
the vendor around, craving the sweets of the man with the cart who
is there with them every Sunday, with them like the sun above …
Libros Libertad 