Author: Milusca Benavides
Translation: Duan Yuechu
Image from the web
The adults took Grandma Adele behind the door. One of the girls stood there with wide eyes, trying to decipher the whisper. A few minutes later, they brought her back. Despite the girls' fears, they sat in chairs peeling peas and listened to a story that had barely changed. But the old woman did not continue to tell the story she had been telling until they interrupted her. She pursed her mouth.
She said, what I'm going to tell you is not a lie, but a present. "When I was their age, I came to the house of a very nice woman who was strict but nice."
She looked at them with blind eyes and went on to say:
My mother, who has seven children, said, "I can't keep my eldest daughter with me." My family would sometimes go to sell wool that Senora thought was popular, so I met her. "Come on, Adella," she said, promising me she would take me in. I cried when I said goodbye.
"I was there for several years. I learned to cook and ironed the clothes of the wife's father, whose name was Mr. Justo Navaz, a very respectable and pleasant man. They said the woman's mother died of a stomach problem many years ago. I was calm. I lived in my room, and the men pestered me, but the lady warned them, "No one is allowed to touch her." "The ladies' sons also loved me like family. One day many years later, when I came to the house, Mr. Justo complained that he had a headache on the front and back of his neck. Madame sent someone with herbs. They gave him some painkillers. Then her father said, "Daughter, it hurts, call the doctor." "She didn't" go past Daddy. Don't take it that seriously," she said. As the days went by, we gave him some pills, and one day the gentleman could no longer get out of bed. I had to support him with my shoulders or he wouldn't be able to stand up. "Madame, let's call the doctor," I told her. I was young, but I realized that my husband was in a terrible situation. We didn't call the doctor, and the lady warned us: "Don't tell the people on the street and in the market that my father is sick." My father didn't want to be discovered," no one said anything, only to see the gentleman, his hands dry, pale as if he had been sucked out of his guts. One night, the lady said to us, "Our Lord has taken my father." We sobbed. They came from all over the world to say goodbye to him and the rumors began. They said the doctor didn't come. "He was dead when he woke up," said the young lady, tears streaming down her face. Who dared to contradict her. In the house, we gradually realized that the lady hoped that her father would die, so we did not call the doctor. That was her hope. Some say they have problems. Because of her hopes, her father died. She wanted him to die and that's when I decided to leave and go far away.
The old lady coughed and continued, "That woman is very powerful. "They said a lot of things I can't tell you right now and I left home with my first crush, Don Mario, and we didn't know where to go. He—may he rest in peace—told me, "If I stay, I will have nothing, or I will die." "That's what he said when we left
The old woman gradually became quiet and looked toward the door. The adults were hurrying past—lunch was being served.
"And then what?" The girl asked.
Then we went far away. Don Mario became a miner and died of lung disease. Years later, I met my new lover at San Da mi á n, and years later we came to Lima, a desert-only place. One day, I was walking downtown and met a friend from my hometown. We greeted each other, and then she said "Mademoiselle said you stole her stuff." She also said she would find you anyway who knows what you'll tell anyone else. Mario was dead. I have a new crush. "I had a son with Mario," I told her. "So take good care of him. You know what a lady looks like, right? She's looking for you she's very vicious" She warned me "Why should I care that she's looking for me? I said. She didn't quit. I always remember this warning to my friend.
The old woman watched intently.
"Although the lady must be dead by now."
By then they had already peeled the last pea. Soon a woman came in and threw vegetables into the pot. She stretched out her shoulders to the old woman and tried to help her into the living room, but the old woman refused her with rude movements. The girls shook the evening gowns they had worn for the visit and joined the cousins who ran through the corridors, yards and streets. They were waiting to eat the lunch they had helped prepare, and they left the old woman alone at the table, savoring her memories.
Article from Granta Newsletter Kingdom Excerpt: https://granta.com/kingdoms/