Small Hours - Laura Ramírez Vides

Texto en español en El patio de la morocha: "Madrugada".

Traducido al inglés por Roderick Cameron.

I hear a woman scream. A long, tearing scream, from deep down, deep inside; deep.
I feel a presence by my side. I am awoken by a touch on my breast. A finger touches the base of my sternum.
I turn my head as I open my eyes. There she stands, staring at me; I make her out in the dawn gloom seeping through the blinds. She shows me her stained arm, I touch it, it is sticky. Slowly I sit up. I look at her more closely and her face looks carelessly made up, untidy brush strokes around her mouth, on her cheeks, penetrating her nose. I ask her if she is all right. She nods. Her eyes show serene wisdom. I take her hand and we calmly walk together to the bathroom. I wash her, in silence. Blood flows away, cleansing that body I love so much. My voice cuts the ceremony short.
“Nose bleed?”
“Yes, mummy.”

Laura Ramírez Vides