Everyone at the table laughed and he went on.
Okay Manuel, because youre so old you have to learn new things, so I think what your father says is right. English is interesting, I would have loved to have learned it, because sometimes I couldnt read a book because I didnt know it, and I had to settle for not knowing the content.
Tono, who had been eating quietly, which is rare for him, but since today there was a Russian salad, which was his favorite dish, said to Grandma, as he did whenever she made it:
Nana, youre the best cook in the world.
Since it made Mom look a bit sad whenever he said such things, he would always thoughtfully say:
Well, you too Mom, dont get upset, you do other things well, you know that.
There can only be one whos the best, who is it? they asked him in jest.
It depends on what food you make Mom, he said softly, when you make lentils they dont turn out very well, admit it.
It was true that hed never liked them, and whenever she prepared them, he had to force himself to eat them, because Mom said that he couldnt leave them; his body needed iron and thats what lentils were full of.
Im not a nail Mom, why do I want iron? he would protest so he wouldnt have to eat them.
Look Tono, you have to eat everything, your body needs it, she answered and neither his protests nor his grumbles would work. He ended up eating the lentils like the rest of us.
And what about you Nana, because you dont study it, you always say that You can never know too much, because even if you have so many books, surely one more wont matter, Tono, who had stopped chewing, was saying.
When he heard it, Grandpa took stock for a moment, looking at him.
Be quiet and keep eating, this does not involve you, my father said.
But it seems that he had made a good point, because my grandfather, although he had already turned 70, started studying English after that, and with all the enthusiasm of a little kid. When I went to his house, or when he came to ours, he was always speaking to me in English, as he said, For practice.
The rest of the family found it amusing to hear us speaking something they didnt understand. Chelito sat on Grandpas knees and asked him, What are you saying? How do you say hello? And bread? And cookies? And cat?
Girl, leave your Grandpa in peace, youre pestering him, Grandma scolded her.
He ran his hand through my sisters hair, saying:
Little one, know that thats a good thing.
I know that my grandfather spent long hours studying, because as my grandmother used to tell me, He was not a young man anymore and it was hard for him to remember those difficult words.
That suited him though, because he had a vision, to be able to talk to me with the new words he had learned and thus to make me apply myself more, because I had to know them in order to respond to the phrases he was directing toward me when we saw each other, either at his house, when I went to visit them or on Sundays, when they came to eat at ours.
By so doing, I was putting in more and more effort, because Ive never liked losing, and being told something that I didnt understand bothered me. So what we started doing was giving ourselves a task with ten new words, which we both wrote down on a scrap of paper, and the next time we saw each other, we had to have made a sentence with each word. That little trick has served me well in life. Those small daily tasks have forced me to strive every day, and to get more out of what Ive had to do.
CHAPTER 2.
Lots of memories come to mind when Im nervous, it must be an internal mechanism, something Ive always had to relieve the tension of the moment. The same thing used to happen to me when I had an exam. During the first few moments, when I would be sitting with the paper in front of me, I would recall, for example, those games with my siblings on the street on sunny days, or that game with the new toy I had just unwrapped on the morning of the feast of the Epiphany. Those memories would relax me so much that I could then take the exam calmly. It was as if my mind would transport me to some other pleasant place and there it would tell me, You see? Theres no problem, everything is fine.
I was doing the same thing now, recalling those long ago moments, seated here waiting to enter the room where I had to present the book, the book that had caused me so much hardship to write, until Id finally finished it. Years of research, going through a thousand and one ups and downs to find those answers I needed. So many incomprehensible situations, which could only be navigated by those who had enough interest in knowing the truth. So many stumbling blocks, and even those moments of danger that I had to get through to deliver myself from certain death. Oh man! I just cant believe it myself, why someone could want to maintain the status quo, for everything to remain hidden, what incentives do they have? Above all though, who are they?
To my mind, who would get me into that mess? I had a quiet student life, without any problems and with almost no responsibilities. Well, a normal student life, going to class, having a good time on vacation, studying a little, my sports and stuff like that. The outdoor activities were only possible weather permitting, because the rain where Im from only affords us a few days to enjoy. I think that was what made me decide to change my interests, so that at least I was doing something to distract myself, something different, and then as time went by I also saw that it served a purpose.
Of course, what started as a game, as a young university student, became increasingly serious. Such a long time ago, that first day when we went to that place they assigned us, with our faces painted with surprise over what we were going to start, something unknown at the time, but that we were about to discover. I remember we were commenting on the street:
We can try it, and if we dont like it or its too boring, we can leave it and we wont come back tomorrow. We can say were not well.
Our Expert colleague, as we called him, because he had been doing it last year, and it was he who was in charge, who took us to the place and who would teach us everything that we had to do, told us:
You wont know what to say, youll be hooked on this, and when vacation is over and everything is finished, youll miss it. Thats whats happened to all of us, and Im sure itll happen to you too.
Well, that may be the case for you, but Im pretty sure Ill get annoyed on the first nice day we get and I wont come to work, I answered laughing, and added softly, Ill go off and play soccer as always.
Well see, he said, give it time and then well talk.
Tell us, where are you taking us? we asked him several times, but he wouldnt tell us anything other than:
Have some patience, were almost there, and we continued walking in silence.
We left the streets of Santiago behind, and surprised by our departure, we asked him again, but nothing, he insisted on not clarifying where he was taking us.
Following our guide in single file, we directed our steps along a lonely path. We continued on toward the place that only that colleague knew. Coming out of a bend, we saw some ruins in the distance of what must once have been a house, but now it was already half-crumbled.