Santiago Gamboa - Necropolis

The proposal surprised her. And why do you want to see me, Ramón? A lot of time’s gone by and I’m fat, when I was pregnant I gained nearly sixty pounds and I still have twenty I can’t get rid of, I don’t look like the girl you used to go out with anymore, don’t think I do. But he said, that doesn’t matter, Soraya, I only want to see you for a second and look you in the face and ask you if you really wanted them to kill me. . You don’t need to look at me to ask that, I already told you, they told me you were in the FARC and were going to kill Hernán. You can believe me or not. To believe you I need to see you, Soraya, that’s why I’m saying this. She thought about it for a while: if we see each other, will you leave us alone? Well, Soraya, that’s not up to me anymore, it’s up to the law. Yes, but the law can be handled, what matters is that you stop stirring things.

Come to Bogotá on Saturday, Soraya. Bring your cell phone. At three in the afternoon I’ll call you and tell you where, O.K.? O.K., but call me straight away, don’t make me wait. Don’t worry, I’ll call you straight away, make sure you have a signal and swear to me you’ll come alone. She said: after all this trouble who do you think I’m going to come with? The Virgin Mary?

Ramón traveled to Bogotá on the Friday, to get ready. He had made enquiries about private security and hired four bodyguards for the weekend, and he met them at the Hotel Charleston. He went for a walk with them, got to know them, and invited them out for a nice meal to get them on his side. Then he visited a fashionable brothel called La Piscina, and went into a private room with two women. The bodyguards protected him well and he got back to the hotel at three in the morning safe and sound.

The next day, he called Soraya about eleven in the morning and said, are you already in Bogotá? Yes, she said, tell me where you want to see me. He told her to wait at the entrance to the Carulla on Calle 85 and Carrera 15, and he would send for her. Then he changed hotels, moving to the Radisson in Santa Bárbara, and waited until two of his bodyguards informed him that they were already with her. Señor? The lady’s with us. Good, put her on. Hello, Soraya, the security measures are for me, but nothing’s going to happen to you, O.K.? Do what the men tell you, you can trust them.

The bodyguards brought her to the Radisson and he waited for her in a suite with a very nice view of Bogotá. When they came in he made them take her into one of the rooms in the suite and, before seeing her, he told his men to check the whole floor and take up positions, two inside and two outside the door. He dressed slowly and well, and at last made up his mind to enter the room.

Oh, thank God, she said when she saw him, I was starting to think this was a wasted journey. Ramón was silent, his eyes started to water and he had to bite his tongue in order not to sob. It was true that she had changed, but she was still pretty. She had put on a few pounds and her hair was dyed, which made her look older, but he recognized her, she was just the same. He saw her smile and remembered that last night, on the eve of his departure from La Cascada. He hadn’t gone with her to the Rey de la Pachanga because he had wanted to get up early in order to go to Villavicencio to talk to the police. She had stayed in La Cascada, with Jacinto and her brother Hernán.

Ramón asked her about that night, saying, tell me what happened exactly, I want the details, did you go straight to Jacinto or what? No, she said, I wasn’t with Jacinto, but with my brother Hernán. We were in the disco and Jacinto arrived there with Dagoberto. They talked for a while, and then Hernán said to me, Sorayita, there’s something important we need to ask you, is it true Ramón is going to Villavicencio tomorrow to inform on Dagoberto to the police about the business with the car? I went red and didn’t say anything, I didn’t want anything to happen to you, but Dagoberto looked at me and said, I already know what he’s going to do in Villavicencio, I only want you to confirm it, that’s all, you’re the man’s girlfriend and I respect you, but it’s only right you should know that Ramón is working for the FARC in La Cascada and Villavicencio and that’s why he’s against us, and what he wants is for them to capture me and then fuck things up for Hernán, that’s why it’s important that you confirm it for us, Sorayita, because things could get nasty. I asked them what they were going to do to you, and they said, just question him, tell him to let us do our work and not interfere. That’s what they told me. So I said, yes, Ramón is going to talk to the police, he’s a good man because he covered for you when you were trying to extort money from him for the car, but they said, what do you mean, extort, the truth is the man is working for the FARC, we ought to go and kill him right now, tonight, said my brother Hernán, who was already drunk, and then Jacinto said, don’t worry, Sorayita, you know Ramón and I have been friends since we were children and I wouldn’t let any harm come to him, but we do have to stop him because otherwise this town is going to become a hell for us. I believed them.

She said these last words with tears in her eyes, and Ramón felt the impulse to console her, but he did not approach her. He said: and were you so stupid you believed they weren’t going to do anything to me, when they’d filled La Cascada with bodies in ditches? Oh, Ramón, what could I do if the three of them were in agreement and convinced me? Nothing. Ramón looked at her angrily and said: and then you went off to screw Jacinto! She continued crying and got down on her knees. Look, Ramón, I hurt you a lot, but now I’m paying. My daughter is with her grandmother, my husband is in prison, they’ve taken away the two farms, the restaurants, and the house, they’ve confiscated everything, and here I am, on my knees, begging your forgiveness, what more do you need to be able to forgive me?

Ramón looked at her and said: there’s nothing you can do to make me forgive you, my mother is dead, she died alone because of you. What I wanted was to hear the story of your betrayal and tell you that I was the one who hatched this revenge, the one who got hold of Dagoberto’s laptop with the photographs and distributed them everywhere, because you should know that friend of yours was spying on you and taking photographs, of you and me too, maybe from even earlier, don’t you see? You’ve all ruined my life and now I’ve ruined yours, that’s what you gained from being bastards. You can go now, Soraya, I never want to see you again.

Ramón walked to the door but she rushed to him and fell at his feet, embracing him. When he felt her his body quivered, and in a second she was kissing him and taking out his cock to suck it, saying, let me give you something, like any other whore; let me pay back the hurt I did you even if it’s with this, O.K.? She took off her clothes and lay down on the couch. He lay on top of her and finished in five minutes. He stood up and said, come, I’ll take you to the Carulla, or wherever you want to go, are you going back to the Plains today? No, said Soraya, I’m staying with a friend in La Soledad. Drop me at the Carulla and I’ll take a taxi from there.

They rode without talking, without touching each other. Halfway, she asked: did you like it, at least? Ramón looked at her and said: yes, just like before, you’re very nice. Soraya smiled. If you like, we can do it again another time, just call me at this number and I’ll come wherever you say. Good, said Ramón, and dropped her at the Carulla. When she got out of the car he felt relieved. Then he said to the bodyguards and the driver: to the airport. That night he was back at home. He rubbed his crotch and lifted his hand to his nose, searching for her smell, and said to himself: the bitch, now she’s cheating on Jacinto because he won’t be out for at least ten years. It’s all backfired on him.