PLAYLIST
A selection of stories from a reading at the Brixton Book Jam in March 2015
A little bonus from the Anguilla launch of the collection
And the transcripts of these and a few other stories:
El oráculo
Se acerca el momento de la partida y, con ella, una nueva interacción banal. La cortesía, en exceso, también es repulsiva. Hasta luego –un placer –mucho gusto –que aproveche –y, de pronto, de la nada, imprevisto, casi indiscreto, con un timbre diferente, acaso sincero, un verbo sacado de alguna profundidad humana –que tenga éxito.
Quise voltear a examinar los ojos grises que acompañaban a aquellas palabras. Desistí, por temor a defraudarme.
The Oracle
The time to depart nears and with it the danger of renewed banality. Courtesy, in large doses, also becomes nauseating. Nice to meet you—see you later—my pleasure—enjoy—and suddenly, uninvited, almost indiscreet, a verb spoken with a different tone of voice—perhaps a truthful one—surfaced from the depth of human sentiment—I wish you every success.
I meant to turn to scrutinise the grey eyes that accompanied those words. I refrained, for fear of disillusion.
The Stranger
A glance, a light touch and her lingering scent penetrates my senses.
Parallel lines meet in the distance. Opposite paths cross each other, eyes meet eyes, gazes lock and in an instant she walks past.
The next sighting is less governed by chance. Her predictable steps place her within my reach again. But I recognise an element of intrusiveness in the situation, and the fun is spoiled.
I see her disappear in the haze, the beautiful stranger I allowed to walk away, unharmed.
La extraña
Una mirada, un roce, y su aroma penetra mis sentidos.
Dos líneas paralelas se juntan en la distancia. Se entrecruzan caminos opuestos, se encuentran miradas y, tras un intercambio fugaz, ella pasa de largo.
La siguiente ocasión le debe menos a la fortuna. Sus predecibles pasos la han vuelto a poner al alcance de mi mano. Pero percibo un toque invasivo en la situación, y desvanece el encanto.
La veo desaparecer entre la bruma, la hermosa extraña a la que he permitido escapar, ilesa.
In flagrante
Su pierna derecha sobre mi hombro izquierdo.
Su espalda descansando en el ancho listón de madera.
Su cabeza contra la columna de piedra.
A mi izquierda un mesón con moluscos, una botella a medio beber.
A mi derecha el contraste del mar turquesa sobre el blanco de la arena.
En la distancia un caminante incauto y los aullidos de un perro extraviado que se confunden con el jadeo compartido del amor.
In Flagrante
Her right leg over my left shoulder.
Her back resting on the wide wooden board.
Her head against the stone column.
To my left, a bottle halfway through, shellfish on a table.
To my right, the contrast of the turquoise sea on the white sand.
In the distance an unaware recreationist and the howling of a lost dog that blends into the shared panting of love making.
Two Lovers
Despite each other, their lips parted.
Dos amantes
Sus labios se separaron, a pesar de ellos.
Tres son multitud
Sin mirar atrás, abordó su vuelo, se alejó de ella.
Ella nunca descubrió en su ansiado beso cuán cerca había estado de perderlo.
Three Is a Crowd
Without looking back, he boarded his flight, left her behind.
She never discovered in his longed-for kiss how close she had been to losing him.
The bilingual magazine ViceVersa published four pieces: “The Stranger”, “Mid-Atlantic“, “The Blonde at Arrivals” and “Back to Work” in English and “La extraña”, “En medio del Atlántico”, “La rubia de Llegadas” and “De vuelta al trabajo” in Spanish.
The Venezuelan online magazine Ficción Breve published “El mendigo“.
The literary supplement of Venezuela’s El Nacional newspaper published transcripts of “Epifanía”, “Más allá de la ventanilla”, “La ruptura”, “Falsa alarma”, “El terrorista”, “En la intimidad”, “De vuelta al trabajo”, “Otro cafecito” and “Una vida compartida” on its edition of Thursday June 4, 2015, available online here.
The Venezuelan online magazine Letralia published “Un amor perfecto“.
Want more? Read additional material on B-SIDES, or explore the COVERS we considered and discarded before publishing the book.