Of Love and Other Demons by Garcia Marquez Gabriel

Author:Garcia Marquez, Gabriel [Garcia Marquez, Gabriel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-10-17T21:35:30+00:00

FOUR

father cayetano DELAURA was invited by the Bishop to wait for the eclipse beneath the canopy of yellow bell-flowers, the only place in the house with a view of the ocean sky. The pelicans, motionless in the air on outspread wings, seemed to have died in mid-flight. The Bishop, who had just finished his siesta, moved a slow fan in a hammock hung from naval capstans on two wooden support beams. Delaura sat beside him in a wicker rocking chair. Both were in a state of grace, drinking tamarind water and looking over the rooftops at the vast cloudless sky. Just after two it began to grow dark, the hens huddled on their perches, and all the stars came out at the same time. The world trembled in a supernatural shudder. The Bishop heard the fluttering wings of laggard doves searching for their lofts in the darkness.

"God is great," he sighed. "Even the animals feel it."

The nun in his service brought a candle and several pieces of smoked glass for looking at the sun. The Bishop sat up in the hammock and began to observe the eclipse through the glass.

"You must look with only one eye," he said, trying to control the whistle of his breathing. "If not, you run the risk of losing both."

Delaura held the glass in his hand but did not look at the eclipse. After a long silence, the Bishop scrutinized him in the darkness and saw his luminous eyes indifferent to the enchantment of the counterfeit night.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Delaura did not reply. He looked at the sun and saw a waning moon that hurt his retina despite the dark glass. But he did not stop looking.

"You are still thinking about the girl," said the Bishop.

Cayetano was startled, despite the fact that the Bishop made this kind of accurate guess with almost unnatural frequency. "I was thinking that the common people will relate their troubles to this eclipse," he said. The Bishop shook his head without looking away from the sky.

· "Who knows, they may be right," he said. "The cards of the Lord are not easy to read."

"This phenomenon was calculated thousands of years ago by Assyrian astronomers," said Delaura.

"That is the answer of a Jesuit," said the Bishop.

Cayetano continued to observe the sun, not using the glass out of simple distraction. At twelve minutes past two the sun looked like a perfect black disc, and for an instant it was midnight in the middle of the day. Then the eclipse recovered its earthbound quality, and dawn's roosters began to crow. When Delaura stopped looking, the medal of fire persisted on his retina.

"I still see the eclipse," he said, amused. "Wherever I look it is there."

The Bishop considered the spectacle finished. "It will go away in a few hours," he said. He stretched and yawned as he sat in the hammock and gave thanks to God for the new day.

Delaura had not lost the thread of their conversation.

"With all due respect, Father," he said, "I do not believe the child is possessed.

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