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http://194.116.186.213/The slow morning clouds swerved on. It would be first light, the crack of dawn after a while, and he would be asking for his coffee, plain, strong and dark, but that would be in a few hours yet, he was now only cold, and remaining under his two blankets, as he tried to go back to sleep, which would cure that. His breathing appeared to be with less effortless now, in the thin mountain air, and then he decided to get up and walk about his first floor apartment, and he looked out the window, he knew it was near daybreak, the night almost ended. He could tell that from the streetlights and the bushes and flowers in the garden outside his window, everything had shadows now; the inky like night had turned into a light gradation of grays. Cars and other vehicles were starting to become constant and ceaseless on the street beyond his garden bushes, thus, giving over to the hummingbirds dancing over the tall foliage, next to his pantry window. He had got up, and stared out the window. He was a little stiff, his old bones, and muscles, he needed to stretch them out, walk to cure that cold inside them, and soon he knew there'd be sun. He went on outside with his wife to catch a taxi, toward the corner, where they sold the papers in a little cubicle, and there were many neighborhood voices, and bird calls, unending-all these quick and vital thumping hearts ready to meet the early July morning. He did not look anywhichway.

By the time they got to the caf, it was too late to eat breakfast. The old man grasped his belt, behind him the taxi had quickly taken off, his young wife by his side, holding his elbow; he had fallen three times in two days, lost his balance. He thought for a moment of pulling his arm away, but he did know himself, if he did, he could lose his balance again. So he looked down toward the ground and walked slowly to the caf door entrance. His pulse and breathe racing; presently he was in the road, about to step up onto the sidewalk. He could hear the movement of vehicles on the two crossroads, as if they were almost upon him, but he didn't look; he had to make sure he kept his balance, and even then he knew his ankles might give out, as if the body knew his very urgent need in that moment, if only he had wings, so he thought. He looked around him, it was a weed and rock choked road.

Once inside the Mia Mamma Caf, he saw in an instant in the far-off distance, the colorful silhouette of Mini, the chef. The early summer light, and coolness of the sky had not vanished, and shinned outward as if running from the glass doors to the kitchen, pausing now without knowing on two figures, Nancy and Mini, then on a third figure, but only on his back (Enrique).

"Hola, Hola!" he said, in Spanish.

His back towards the back doors, his face toward what he knew to be the caf kitchen, knowing behind the wall of the kitchen was the caf garden where he'd eat today, he was hugging his books, he was brave he thought, he didn't fall for the forth time in two days, God forbid.

Mini and Nancy gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he stumbled forward on his feet, looking for, the child he called the Little Elephant, a child, whom he was a Great Uncle to. His wife went to go fetch him. He was huge for six months old, much living meat and volume and weight as to any two children he had ever seen. He feared to hold him, lest he drop him. He had an astonishing high voice he thought, like the fighting call of Bruce Lee, that karate man of the movies. And when he returned the same call back to the child, troubled features appeared on his face. And this day, it was no different; when he first saw him this forenoon, the child only showed an expression of ox-like interest, when he saw the old man. Thereafter, his little arms were reaching for the old man's wife's neck, for security. His little heart and lungs drumming, as if they were looking for a safe-house; he almost burst into tears, sobbing for speech. He saw the astonished face of the old man, without knowing who he was, or perhaps knew who he was, and that in itself was the reason for his behavior.

"What?" the old man said in the caf kitchen. "Yes, the boy cries when I imitate him."

"Take him," his wife told him.

But it was too late this time too. The baby elefante, as the old man referred to the child, was being carried away, back through the door of the kitchen, near screaming.

Behind him, were the soups and hot dishes being prepared for lunch, it was 12:05 p.m., he lifted up the covers of the pots to smell the aroma, squatting beside them, as if he wanted to dive inside the big pots deliberately, if not for the aroma, to get away from the baby elefante.

No: 440, written: 7-8-2009, Huancayo, Peru

Spanish Version

El Beb Obeso

Las nubes se haban esparcido lentamente, dentro de poco iban a aparecer las primeras luces de la maana y l estara pidiendo su taza de caf bien cargado sin azcar, pero eso sera en unas cuantas horas ms adelante, ahora l estaba solamente con fro y permaneca debajo de sus dos frazadas mientras trataba de volver a dormir. Su respiracin era menos dificultosa ahora, en el aire fino de las sierras; luego l decidi levantarse y caminar en su departamento de un piso, mir a travs de la ventana, l saba que era cerca del amanecer, la noche casi haba terminado; l poda decirlo por las luces de la calle y las ramas y flores en el jardn afuera de su ventana, todo tena sombras ahora; la noche oscura se haba vuelto con tonos grises ligeros. En la calle, ms all de los arbustos de su jardn, los carros y otros vehculos empezaron a volverse ms constantes y continuos, dejando as paso a los colibres que danzaban sobre los altos follajes, cerca de la ventana de su cocina. l se haba levantado, y miraba por la ventana; estaba un poco adormecido, necesitaba estirar sus viejos huesos y msculos, caminar para curar el fro dentro de ellos, y l saba que pronto el sol saldra. Ms tarde l y su esposa salieron a la calle, a la esquina donde vendan peridicos en un kiosco, para coger un taxi, y all haba muchas voces de los vecinos, y cantos de pjaros sin fin-todos estos rpidos latidos vitales de los corazones listos para encontrar la maana temprana de Julio. l no mir hacia ningn lado.

Para el rato en que llegaron al caf, era muy tarde para tomar desayuno. El anciano se ajust su cinturn, detrs de l el taxi se alej rpidamente, su joven esposa estaba a su lado, cogindolo por el codo, l se haba cado tres veces en dos das, haba perdido su equilibrio. l pens por un memento en jalar su codo y soltarse de las manos de su esposa, pero l saba bien que si lo haca l poda perder su equilibrio de nuevo. As l mir al suelo y camin lentamente hacia la puerta de entrada del caf. Su pulso y su respiracin estaban rpidos; actualmente l estaba en la pista, cerca a un paso de la vereda. l poda or el movimiento de los vehculos en las dos pistas, como si ellos estuvieran casi encima de l, pero l no mir; l tena que estar seguro de mantener su equilibrio, e incluso entonces l saba que sus tobillos podran agotarse, como si su cuerpo sabra su necesidad urgente en ese memento, si slo el tuviera alas, eso l pens. l mir alrededor suyo, era una calle de tierra, piedras y mala hierba.

Una vez dentro del caf restaurante La Mia Mamma, l vio por un instante en la distancia, la silueta colorida de Mini, la chef. La temprana luz de verano y el frescor del cielo no haban desaparecido y brillaban extendindose como si corriendo desde la puerta de cristal hacia la cocina, posndose ahora sin saber sobre dos figuras, la de Nancy y Mini, luego sobre una tercera figura, pero slo en su espalda, la de Enrique.

"Hola, Hola!" l salud en espaol.

Su espalda daba hacia la puerta de entrada, su cara hacia lo que l saba era la cocina del caf, sabiendo que detrs de la pared de la cocina estaba el jardn del caf donde l comera hoy da, l estaba abrazando sus libros; l era valiente, l pens, de no haberse cado por cuarta vez en dos das, Dios no lo permita.

Mini y Nancy le saludaron con un beso en la mejilla, y l se balance hacia delante sobre sus pies, buscando al beb al que l llamaba el Beb Elefante, un nio del que l era su to abuelo. Su esposa fue a buscar al beb; l era enorme para un beb de seis meses, mucha carne viviente, volumen y peso como dos nios juntos que l nunca haba visto antes. l tema cargarlo, por temor a soltarlo. l tena una asombrosa voz alta, l pens, como los gritos de pelea de Bruce Lee, ese karateka de las pelculas. Cuando l le devolva esos mismos gritos al beb, facciones de molestia aparecan en su carita. Y este da no fue diferente; cuando l lo vio por primera vez esta tarde, el nio slo mostr una expresin como la de un buey molesto cuando vio al anciano. Luego sus bracitos trataron de abrazar el cuello de su esposa, por seguridad. Su corazoncito y pulmones estaban rpidos como si estuvieran buscando una casa segura; l casi rompe en llanto; gimiendo por hablar. l vio la cara de asombro del anciano, sin saber quin era l, o talvez saba quin era l, y eso, en s mismo era la razn de su comportamiento.

"Qu?" el anciano dijo en la cocina del caf. "Si, el nio llora cuando lo imito".

"Crgalo" su esposa le dijo.

Pero era muy tarde este vez tambin. El Beb Elefante, como el anciano se refera al nio, estaba siendo llevado a travs de la puerta de la cocina, casi gritando.

Detrs de l se estaban preparando las sopas y los platos calientes para ser servidos en el almuerzo, eran las doce y cinco de la tarde, l levant las tapas de las ollas para oler el aroma, agachndose al lado de ellas, como si queriendo zambullirse dentro de las grandes ollas deliberadamente, si no por el aroma para escaparse del beb elefante.

No: 440, escrito: 8-Julio-2009, Huancayo, PeruBy

Dr. Dennis L. Siluk