THE PAIN OF SILENCE [EN/ES]
The grandson, who could not get over his astonishment after hearing the story, squeezed his grandmother's wrinkled hands between his own, trying to transmit the support that the old woman needed.
Imagen de Gaertringen en Pixabay
-I have to confess that I feel, I have shed the heavy burden that prevented me from walking upright in life - said Rosalia to her grandson with tears in her eyes.
The young man was moved, for he could not remember ever seeing his grandmother cry. He had often wondered how she combined the gentleness with which she always treated him with the strength to face the most difficult moments of his life. It seemed that she knew in advance the purpose that destiny had for her and she was prepared to face it.
-A thousand times I regretted the strange pact I signed with those voices, when I gave my approval, the night your grandfather really died - she continued while with the back of her hand, she erased from her face the evidence of the pain that this subject caused her.
The grandson, who could not get over his astonishment after hearing the story, squeezed his grandmother's wrinkled hands between his own, trying to transmit the support that the old woman needed. Rosalía recovered her usual serenity, feeling that she was receiving the understanding of her beloved interlocutor. She had broken the silence of so long, achieving a reconciliation with the peace of her inner self, lost more than 40 years ago.
When Renato returned home after a week in the hospital, his wife began to doubt the decision she had made. She thought that the voices had not played fair with her. They had taken advantage of her vulnerability to gain her approval in a deal that she would later have no way of breaking. That night, in the lonely waiting room of the hospital, she clung to the proposal made to her by the disembodied beings, without stopping to meditate on tomorrow.
After midnight, the day he was urgently admitted, Renato passed away. His body could not overcome the heart failure that afflicted him. Sometime before, he had been diagnosed with Eisenmenger's syndrome, a congenital condition that would inevitably lead to his early death. As usual, Rosalía knew in advance that this moment would come and thought she was prepared for it.
-She was really wrong - the old woman acknowledged with regret - Renato and I, at that time, were full of projects. Your father was already an independent young man and we were beginning to enjoy a second wind in our relationship. - Again, Rosalia felt sadness overflowing the moisture in her eyes.
The woman paused from the monologue that had become the conversation with her grandson to recover. The young man who had come in search of an explanation, after randomly discovering a piece of the confession he would later hear, was struck dumb by surprise.
-When the voices proposed to me to extend your grandfather's life for 20 years, I didn't think twice. I was confused - explained Rosalia seeking approval - They didn't give me many details, other than that Renato would continue living using something they called the vital essence of one of them.
A grimace of confusion appeared on the old woman's face. It was impossible for her to understand what had actually happened. The navigators of time, coming from a distant future, had to fulfill the mission entrusted to them, and to do so they needed a body donor. Renato was the chosen one after Rosalia gave her hasty approval.
-At the hospital, I thought it was the divine answer to my pleas. Later at home, when I had time to reflect on what had happened, I understood that I had let myself be carried away by selfishness. I had no right to decide for Renato's life - Rosalia concluded in anguish.
After learning the secret that his grandmother had long kept, the young man was puzzled. She assured him that she never noticed any sign that anything had changed in her husband. She often caught herself watching Renato's every gesture, wanting to detect some clue that would confirm her uncertainty about the person she loved so much. She could not shake the feeling that she was living with a stranger. The change she was busily seeking in Renato had, in fact, occurred in her.
She was never the same person again, although she managed to conceal it with great effort. She felt responsible for having altered the natural order of the life of a man who meant so much to her. What at first she believed to be the work of God, she eventually attributed to a deception of the evil one. Guilt ate away at her feelings of love for Renato, allowing hatred to occupy the space left in the depths of her soul. No one but her knew of that inner war.
Rosalia's confession to her grandson was liberating for her. At her age, she was no longer worried about being thought crazy. After all, insanity was the fate of many of her contemporaries. In the young man's tender gaze, she found the forgiveness she needed.
This is my entry in The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #194, proposed by @theinkwell. Thanks for the opportunity.
This story is part of a trilogy published in this community. In the links I leave you will be able to read the 2 previous parts, which will allow you to better understand the argument of the current post.
DISEMBODIED VISITORS
Thank you for reading.
EL DOLOR DEL SILENCIO
-Tengo que confesarte que siento, me he desprendido de la pesada carga que me impedía andar erguida por la vida- dijo Rosalía a su nieto con lágrimas en los ojos.
El joven estaba conmovido, pues no recordaba haber visto llorar antes a su abuela. Muchas veces se había preguntado como ella lograba conjugar, la dulzura con que siempre lo trataba, con la fortaleza para enfrentar los momentos más difíciles de su existencia. Tal pareciera, que conocía con antelación, el propósito que tenía el destino con ella y estaba prevenida para enfrentarlo.
-Mil veces me arrepentí del extraño pacto que firmé con aquellas voces, al dar mi aprobación, la noche en que realmente murió tu abuelo - continuó mientras con el dorso de la mano se borraba del rostro la evidencia del dolor que aquel tema le causaba.
El nieto, que no lograba salir de su asombro tras escuchar el relato, apretó entre las suyas, las manos arrugadas de la abuela, intentando transmitirle el apoyo que la anciana necesitaba. Rosalía fue recuperando su serenidad acostumbrada, al sentir que recibía la comprensión de su querido interlocutor. Había roto el silencio de tanto tiempo, logrando una reconciliación con la paz de su interior, perdida hacía más de 40 años.
Cuando Renato volvió a casa, luego de una semana de ingreso hospitalario, su esposa, comenzó a dudar de la decisión tomada. Pensó que las voces no habían jugado limpio con ella. Se aprovecharon de su vulnerabilidad para obtener su aprobación, en un trato, que después no tendría forma de romper. Aquella noche, en la solitaria sala de espera del hospital, se aferró a la propuesta que le hicieron los seres incorpóreos, sin detenerse a meditar en el mañana.
Pasada la medianoche, del día en que fue ingresado de urgencia, Renato falleció. Su cuerpo no pudo superar la insuficiencia cardíaca que le aquejaba. Un tiempo atrás, había sido diagnosticado con síndrome de Eisenmenger, dolencia congénita que, irremediablemente, le provocaría la muerte temprana. Como de costumbre, Rosalía conocía de antemano que ese momento llegaría y creyó estar preparada para cuando sucediera.
-Realmente estaba equivocada - con pesar reconoció la anciana - Renato y yo, en ese momento estábamos llenos de proyectos. Tu padre ya era un joven independiente y nosotros comenzábamos a disfrutar de un segundo aliento de la relación de pareja. - nuevamente, Rosalía sintió que la tristeza desbordaba la humedad de sus ojos.
La mujer hizo una pausa del monólogo, en que se había tornado la conversación con su nieto, para recuperarse. El joven que había llegado en busca de explicación, después de descubrir al azar una pieza de la confesión que más tarde escucharía, enmudeció por la sorpresa.
-Cuándo las voces me propusieron extender la vida de tu abuelo por 20 años, no lo pensé dos veces. Estaba confundida - explicó Rosalía buscando aprobación - Tampoco me dieron muchos detalles, más allá, de que Renato continuaría viviendo por medio de algo que llamaron la esencia vital de uno de ellos.
Una mueca de confusión se dibujó en el rostro de la anciana. Era imposible que entendiera lo que en realidad había sucedido. Los navegantes del tiempo, venidos desde un futuro distante, tenían que cumplir la misión encomendada y para lograrlo precisaban de un donante de cuerpo. Renato fue el elegido, luego que Rosalía diera su apresurada aprobación.
-En el hospital, creí que era la respuesta divina a mis súplicas. Luego en casa, cuando tuve tiempo para reflexionar sobre lo sucedido, comprendí que me había dejado llevar por el egoísmo. No tenía ningún derecho a decidir por la vida de Renato – concluyó angustiada Rosalía.
Después de conocer el secreto que por largo tiempo había guardado su abuela, el joven quedó desconcertado. Ella le aseguró que nunca notó señal alguna para pensar que algo había cambiado en su esposo. Con frecuencia se atrapaba a sí misma observando cada gesto de Renato, queriendo detectar algún indicio que confirmara su incertidumbre sobre la persona a la que tanto amaba. No podía evitar la sensación de que estaba viviendo con un extraño. El cambio que afanosamente buscaba en Renato, en realidad, había ocurrido en ella.
Nunca más fue la misma persona, aunque logró disimularlo con gran esfuerzo. Se sentía responsable por haber alterado el orden natural de la vida de un hombre, que significaba mucho para ella. Lo que al principio creyó una obra de Dios, con el tiempo lo atribuyó a un engaño del maligno. La culpa fue carcomiendo sus sentimientos de amor hacia Renato, permitiendo que el odio ocupara el espacio dejado en lo profundo de su alma. Nadie más que ella supo de aquella guerra interior.
La confesión de Rosalía a su nieto fue liberadora para ella. A sus años, ya no le preocupaba que la tomaran por loca. Al final de cuentas, la demencia era el destino de muchos de sus contemporáneos. En la mirada tierna del joven, encontró el perdón que necesitaba.
Esta es mi participación en The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #194, propuesto por @theinkwell. Gracias por la oportunidad.
Este relato forma parte de una trilogía publicada en esta comunidad. En los enlaces que les dejo, podrán leer las 2 partes anteriores, lo que les permitirá comprender mejor el argumento del presente post.
Contenido original de ✏️ Original content by @leopard0
Escrito original en Español ✒️ Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Imágenes referenciadas 📸 Referenced images
I'm still expectant in this trilogy, I think I would read a little more about what has happened in this strange pact between her and these voices that came on the ship.
Who was it that occupied Renato's body?
What were the goals of these people who were groomed for it?
Couldn't she change the future from the past?
You're telling us a tale with a bead: It's not fair.
🥺
So nice to read your comment, friend!👍
I started writing the first story to participate in The Ink Well Fiction Prompt weekly with no intention of continuing it.
When I finished, I decided that I had a plot to continue writing about the subject. In a short story, there is no room to give free rein to the imagination. In addition, a user left me a stimulating comment that motivated me to continue writing. The topics proposed in the following weeks for the prompt allowed me to do so.
The result has been a mixture of mysteries, drama and science fiction that tells the story of the visit of some travelers from the future, descendants of the earthlings who managed to escape from the environmental catastrophe that destroyed our planet. On a new Earth, they founded a civilization that reached a level of development that made time travel possible for the first time.
The purpose of the journey into the past was to gather information on the ground that would allow them to understand what had led the ancients to the ecological disaster. They could not change anything in the past, as these were events that had already happened, they only wanted to learn from the experience to avoid repeating the mistakes on the new Earth.
In Renato's body was lodged the vital essence (a concept I invented, a mixture between the soul and the breath of life) of one of the travelers. I did not go into details as to why he was the chosen one. The other 2 were necessary for the process. The idea was that the vital essence did not change the host, who would prolong his life for the designated time.
I really enjoyed writing the stories, that's what I like.
The translation did not allow me to understand the last sentence of your comment.🤷♀ I didn't get the idea of what you thought was an injustice.😞
Thanks for reading, you are always welcome. 🌻
Thank you @theinkwell