Horacio Castellanos Moya - Tyrant Memory

“We had to try to leave when we had the opportunity. Don’t be such an ingrate. You should thank the guide for going to get Mono Harris while we waited on the beach after the wreck. ”

“. ”

“It was all so weird, Clemen: that squall, those swells, they appeared out of nowhere. There was no storm anywhere, the sky was completely clear. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

“What, now you think the sea has to give you an explanation? Don’t give me this shit, Jimmy. There weren’t any clouds but that wind was very strong. There are none so blind as those who will not see, as my grandmother used to say.”

“Pass me the water. I’m thirsty.”

“Pass me the lamp, and I’ll pass you the water.”

“What do you want the lamp for?”

“What do you want the water for?”

“Look, Clemen, it’s about time you started acting like a grown-up.”

“You, too. Pass me the lamp. You know very well I don’t like the dark.”

“I don’t understand what I’m doing with you. It’s like some kind of a punishment.”

“I tell myself the same thing.”

“Pass me the god-damn water!”

“Don’t shout at me, you turd!

“Don’t call me a turd!”

“. ”

“. ”

“Jimmy, what was that?”

“What?”

“That splashing. Over here, on my left.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

“Shh. You hear?”

“You’re right.”

“What the fuck is it, Jimmy?”

“A fish.”

“Fish are in the water, not out of it. It’s probably a snake.”

“Here, Clemen, take the lamp. Turn it on and move it to that side. careful.”

“You got the gun ready?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You see something?”

“Nothing.”

“I think we’re too close to the mangroves, Jimmy. A snake, or all kinds of other creatures, can jump down on us from the branches. We should move the boat more into the middle of the canal.”

“We’re about ten feet from the branches. And if we go more to the middle, we run the risk of being seen by a fisherman or the soldiers. Here we’re more hidden: in an emergency, we can slip into the swamp and disappear.”

“I’m afraid a snake or a monkey is going to jump on my neck.”

“You and your dramas. Turn off the lamp and pass me the water.”

“Let’s leave it on for a while.”

“We’re using up the kerosene just for the hell of it.”

“No, we aren’t. The light scares off the creepy crawly things.”

“On the contrary: look at the tons of mosquitoes. They’re going to eat us alive. Turn it off, you’ll be more afraid when we’ve got the soldiers on top of us.”

“You think they’re going to be poking around at night in these swamps?”

“Better not be overconfident.”

“It’s that asshole with the gold tooth who wanted to confess to you who’s after us. Mono Harris himself said he was a motherfucker. By now he must have realized we took him for a ride. ”

“Too bad I didn’t have a chance to confess him; it would have been a hoot.”

“They must have wired our photos from the capital, and he recognized us.”

“Mono Harris would have said something, but all he said was that the National Guard is inspecting the island, just like they inspect all properties; he didn’t say they knew we were hiding there.”

“We were doing so well at Don Mincho’s, like a vacation. The best ten days I’ve spent in a long time. The only thing missing were girls.”

“Look: a shooting star. ”

“Where?”

“There, just above Mars.”

“Let’s make a wish.”

“My only wish is to leave this country as soon as possible.”

“We could also wish the soldiers don’t catch us, and that they leave the island and don’t come back, so we can get out of these swamps and return to Don Mincho’s house.”

“What then? We’re going to spend the rest of our lives waiting till they just happen to drop in on us?”

“I’d rather that than drown. No way in hell I’m getting back in a canoe and back out onto the high seas. If you want to try it again, you can go to Punta Cosigüina alone. ”

“. ”

“It’s true, right, you learned your lesson, too?”

“It was a miracle, Clemen. ”

“Damn right it was a miracle. If it hadn’t been for that sand bank, we would’ve drowned. And luckily the upside-down canoe was floating on the empty water barrel. If the canoe had sunk, we wouldn’t have lived to tell it.”

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

“About how long were we floating around holding onto the canoe, adrift and about to drown, until we hit the sand bank?”

“I’m telling you it was a miracle because I prayed to the Virgin. ”

“At least a quarter of an hour, hovering between life and death. I still can’t believe it.”

“She heard my pleas. ”

“What the hell are you talking about, Jimmy?”

“The Virgin answered when I cried out, ‘Virgin of Guadalupe, save us!’”

“The Virgin answered you?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re crazy, Jimmy.”

“It was just seconds after I prayed for her to save us, after I shouted out in despair, that we hit the sand bank.”

“But, what. ”

“You don’t believe me? You didn’t hear me shouting?”

“We were all shouting, scared shitless, Jimmy, don’t be an ass. The one who shouted loudest was that fat oarsman, the one next to me, who didn’t know how to swim and was squealing like a pig. He almost pulled me under, the motherfucker. He sure made up for his silence earlier. ”

“That good-for-nothing, he’s why you didn’t hear me shout.”

“We all asked God to save us and now it turns out the Virgin answered you. I think it was really bad for you to dress up as a priest. ”

“I’m telling you, it was a miracle. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Okay, so the Virgin was right there, in the waves, waiting for you to pray to her. Really? She appeared to you, without the rest of us seeing her?”

“Stop making fun of me.”

“So stop talking crap. We were lucky we capsized before we’d gotten too far from shore. That’s what really happened.”

“You don’t believe in miracles?”

“Yeah, but the miracle wasn’t for you, it was for all of us, and it wasn’t because you shouted but because we all begged for help. You military guys think that even God is under your command. ”

“If we come out of this alive, I’m going to go to the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico to offer up thanks.”

“Just pass me the water, I’m thirsty again.”

“Here. Careful! Don’t fall!

“Calm down. ”

“. ”

“Jimmy, about what time is it?”

“I lost my watch in the wreck.”

“I know, but you’re good at figuring out the time. You think it’s about nine?”

“My father gave it to me, before he died.”

“. ”

“It was my best keepsake from him.”

“I don’t know why we had to get involved in this. ”

“What are you talking about, Clemen?”

“The coup. The whole thing. Look where we are: in a canal lost in the middle of a swamp in the bay, in this little boat, without the least idea what will become of us.”

“We’re alive, that’s what matters most.”

“You know what would be the worst, Jimmy? If after all this they caught us. ”

“Don’t even think about it. I’m not going to let them get me. If you want to surrender, go ahead, but I’ve got this gun.”

“That Mono Harris, what a guy, he even left you his gun.”

“We owe him our lives. He got us this boat, he towed us into this canal that is difficult to find, and he came back to bring us provisions. He’s like our guardian angel.”