The Secret Life of Insects and Other Stories by Bernardo Esquinca

Author:Bernardo Esquinca
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Valancourt Books
Published: 2023-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

XIII

Alma raised a hand to her mouth and broke into tears. Then she got up, walked across the room, and locked herself in the bathroom. Ignacio stood up too, ready to console her, but Ismael stopped him with a sign: better to leave her alone. Alfonso poured the last drops of tequila into his glass and finally got around to lighting his cigar. A thick cloud of smoke floated around them like fog from the woods. Minutes later, Alma emerged from the bathroom and returned to her seat.

‘I’m fine,’ she told them, forcing herself to smile. ‘I thought I’d never be able to talk about that.’

‘It’s all right,’ said Ignacio. ‘Like we said, none of this leaves here.’

Ismael gave a deep sigh. He had been keeping something in all night and now it was time to let it out.

‘It’s been really moving hearing all these stories, really, especially since they belong to the darkest corners of ourselves. But I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned the episode. It’s something we’ve been avoiding ever since we got here. All of us saw Teresa at dinner, don’t tell me it didn’t surprise you.’

‘Surprise us?’ Alfonso exhaled the smoke from his cigar as he spoke. ‘She was cleared on all charges and released two weeks ago, why shouldn’t she be here?’

‘Remember,’ said Ignacio, ‘that very few of us witnessed that. Most of our classmates have no idea it happened.’

‘But everybody knows she was accused of killing her two kids,’ Ismael went on. ‘And that didn’t stop her from coming.’

‘Don’t you understand?’ Alma got to her feet. ‘She came to show her innocence . . . I don’t want to keep talking about this. I’m tired, I’m going to bed.’

‘I’ll walk you back to your cabin.’ Ignacio got up too and, addressing the others, said, ‘See you tomorrow.’

‘I’m going too.’ Alfonso pointed to the bottle to show it was empty. ‘Tomorrow we’ll buy more tequila in the village.’

The three of them went out into the cold wind in silence and shut the door behind them. Ismael knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Since the episode, which took place more than twenty years ago, none of them had stopped thinking about Teresa, and much less could they do it that night when they were so close to where it had happened. Ismael settled in his chair and, surrounded by the ghostly shadows the fire cast on the walls, sank into his memories.

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