Solitude: A Novel of Catalonia by Caterina "Víctor" Albert "Català"

Author:Caterina "Víctor" Albert "Català" ["Català", Caterina "Víctor" Albert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-22T23:48:01+00:00

X

Relics

Next morning, Gaietà found the front gates unbolted and went out to see who had risen so early. As he looked down the slope, he spied Mila seated on a boulder, her arms dangling limply, staring into the distance.

“What got you up so early, hermitess? You’re just like a child...”

Mila slowly turned to face the shepherd. Her gaze was as blank and desolate as the day he’d shown her the belfry, and her pale, expressionless face resembled a marble head with painted lips. Gaietà was surprised. She tried to climb down, but her steps were unsteady, as though her legs had been hobbled by an invisible rope. The shepherd reached up to help her.

“You aren’t sick, are you?” he asked uneasily.

As swiftly and unexpectedly as a falcon seizes its prey, she clasped his wrinkled hand in her soft fingers, pulling him toward her.

“Look!” she mumbled hoarsely, like one who has just awakened. And she pointed to several places in the hollow below them. Though Gaietà then understood the cause of her mood, he lacked the courage to reply. She again stared into the distance and nervously bit her lip. When the shepherd tried to free his hand, she clasped it more tightly.

“Oh! And don’t think that’s all!” Still holding his hand, she rushed down the rocky slope, while the shepherd struggled to keep up with her, and led him to the fig trees, the orchard, the Roar, the pine groves... Each time they stopped, she bit her lip harder and her eyes grew colder till at last Gaietà, placing his other hand upon hers, halted that overheated machine by crying: “Now stop that! Don’t show me any more! I knew about it before you did!”

“Did you ever see anything so sad?” she replied, holding back her tears.

The man shrugged his shoulders.

“What can you do, hermitess? ... For years I’ve thought folks aren’t as good as they should be, but it’s no use banging your head against the wall. That won’t solve anything... God’ll help those who need Him, y’know?”

“They broke all my pots!”

“Well, good thing it wasn’t your ribs instead... Ask that old hazelnut lady...”

He tried to smile bravely, but her expression stopped him.

“And they didn’t even pay for it!”

“Listen: don’t think I’m saying I told you so, but remember what I said the day before yesterday? I warned you not to trust anyone with as much as a clove of garlic. You’re too nice and don’t look people over close enough. Someone who’s empty-handed: say goodbye and good luck to him! I didn’t let anyone out of the sitting room without paying...”

“They all said they’d pay when they brought the stuff back, and here’s the thanks I get.”

“Hermitess, sometimes you act like a babe in arms. Stuff you don’t get paid for in advance is stuff you can kiss goodbye. Once they’ve eaten their fill, they’ll cram what’s left into their sacks. And if they don’t have sacks they’ll smash your casseroles, use your pitchers for target practice,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.