Moving from a house is something more than a change of place; it’s also a rebirth intended to erase the past and dodge a supposed destiny, but the protagonist doesn’t know that besides the furniture and personal possessions that he transports to his new house, he carries the thread that he has been tied to from the beginning of his life. At the same time he doesn’t know that a new stigma awaits him: all the neighbors considering him an intruder. Two fronts of harassment are opened then, the irrevocable past that he brings with him and the destructive efforts of the neighbors, whose only objective is to destroy him.

LETRANTERÍAS

The most fitting letters for placing books along the central shelf are, no doubt, E, H, and A. H is excellent, but it has only one shelf. E is unsuitable because it holds few books; on the highest and lowest shelves, which are the widest, a few more fit, but some books are very near the floor and easily become dirty, those above collect some dust, besides to reach them one must be very tall or mount a chair; hardly two or three fit in A, always only when they are not very thick, though they are well protected from dust, but the triangular shape of the opening prevents putting tall books on the sides, where however two jars of marmalade, for example, fit perfectly. Z has the same unsuitability as E to which are added those from A because of the lack of perpendicularity of one of its sides, on the lowest shelf. Something similar to E happens with F, L, and T. The rest show impractical curve lines, such as B, D, P, R and G with the aggravation of little stability. C, J, O, Q and  S are no worth putting anything on because they are easily destabilized by the least jarring, and O particularly comes loose; under I one or two books hardly fit; under K, M, N, Ň, V, W, X and Y all have sharp angles, ideal for storing skeins of yarn but not books.

 Norberto Luis Romero. Cologne, February 2007

OFICIOS SIN BENEFICIO

LA MUJER DEL VERDUGO

Estoy harta, rezonga a menudo la esposa del verdugo. Por qué tienen que recordármelo a toda hora y en todo sitio, si hasta en la panadería me dejan el pan apartado y boca abajo, y cuando entro los demás clientes me miran de soslayo, con desprecio y, nada más irme, los siento murmurar a mis espaldas:

 ¡Es la mujer del verdugo! ¡Es la mujer del verdugo!

Lo mismo corean los chicos cuando me los cruzo en la plaza, y fingen que juegan a la ronda:

¡Es la mujer del verdugo! ¡Es la mujer del verdugo!

Y cada vez que me acerco al pie del cadalso a recoger la mandrágora mojada de semen, no se corta un pelo ésta tampoco, y en el momento de arrancarla me grita con su vocecita chillona:

¡Es la mujer del verdugo! ¡Es la mujer del verdugo!

Palma de Mallorca, 9-5-08