When I See You Again

Cuando yo te vuelva a ver

Marisa Zulema Estelrich

Traducción español - inglés – Cynthia Jaramillo

How little they knew her!  How little they respected her! Julio said under his breath, while he contemplated the three satin ribbon and gold letter crowns of yellow carnations from the corner of his eye and made his way through the crowd  that whispered as if praying the rosary inherently memorized.  Lurking under his black tailored suit, two stale smelling halos turned the armpits of Julio’s white shirt translucent, but only the sparkle of his cuff links could have caught the attention of those present towards him.

Snuggled amongst the black pillows of the main funeral parlor sofa, with her white hair in a fluffy bun, resembling a snowflake, and, without yet becoming conscious of what had happened, Victoria’s mother stretched her thin lips into a mechanical smile as she felt the caresses on her limp shoulders and nodded, just like a bobbled head dog as she heard the words of sympathy of relatives and friends parading in front of her offering their condolences for her youngest daughter’s death.

Julio sat in the least conspicuous corner of the funeral home, next to the window.  He pivoted on his shiny squared pointed shoes and rested his forehead on the cold glass.  The promising sky, its apparent proximity and brightness, were the same as in days gone by.  Julio concentrated his gaze on the outline of a cloud, deciphering various shapes according to their starting point, in order to muffle the rumor in the parlor that was corralling him as the flight of a vulture over his prey.  His pupils shifting between the blue of the morning and the mourners’  quivering chins, held by precarious crutches made up of thumbs and pointer fingers that let go for a moment to dry a tear.