Gabriel Garcia Marquez

No One Writes to the Colonel

First published in 1961

The colonel took the top off the coffee can and saw that there was only one little spoonful left. He re o!ed the pot fro the fire" poured half the water onto the earthen floor" and scraped the inside of the can with a knife until the last scrapin#s of the #round coffee" i$ed with bits of rust" fell into the pot. %hile he was waitin# for it to boil" sittin# ne$t to the stone fireplace with an attitude of confident and innocent e$pectation" the colonel e$perienced the feelin# that fun#us and poisonous lilies were takin# root in his #ut. &t was 'ctober. ( difficult ornin# to #et throu#h" e!en for a an like hi self" who had sur!i!ed so any ornin#s like this one. For nearly si$ty years)))since the end of the last ci!il war))the colonel had done nothin# else but wait. 'ctober was one of the few thin#s which arri!ed. His wife raised the osquito nettin# when she saw hi co e into the bedroo with the coffee. The ni#ht before she had suffered an asth a attack" and now she was in a drowsy state. *ut she sat up to take the cup. +(nd you,+ she said. +l+!e had ine"+ the colonel lied. +There was still a bi# spoonful left.+ The bells be#an rin#in# at that o ent. The colonel had for#otten the funeral. %hile his wife was drinkin# her coffee" he unhooked the ha ock at one end" and rolled it up on the other" behind the door. The wo an thou#ht about the dead an.+ He was born in 19--"+ she said. +.$actly a onth after our son. (pril /th.+ 0he continued sippin# her coffee in the pauses of her #ra!elly breathin#. 0he was scarcely ore than a bit of white on an arched" ri#id spine. Her disturbed breathin# ade her put her questions as assertions. %hen she finished her coffee" she was still thinkin# about the dead an. +&t ust be horrible to be buried in 'ctober"+ she said. *ut her husband paid no attention. He opened the window. 'ctober had o!ed in on the patio. 1onte platin# the !e#etation" which was burstin# out in intense #reens" and the tiny ounds the wor s ade in the ud" the colonel felt the sinister onth a#ain in his intestines. +&+ wet throu#h to the bones"+ he said. +lt+s winter"+ the wo an replied. +0ince it be#an rainin# &+!e been tellin# you to sleep with your socks on.+ +&+!e been sleepin# with the for a week.+

&t rained #ently but ceaselessly. The colonel would ha!e preferred to wrap hi self in a wool blanket and #et back into the ha ock. *ut the insistence of the cracked bells re inded hi about the funeral. +&t+s 'ctober"+ he whispered" and walked toward the center of the roo . 'nly then did he re e ber the rooster tied to the le# of the bed. &t was a fi#htin# cock. (fter takin# the cup into the kitchen" he wound the pendulu clock in its car!ed wooden case in the li!in# roo . 2nlike the bedroo " which was too narrow for an asth atic+s breathin#" the li!in# roo was lar#e" with four sturdy rockers around a little table with a co!er and a plaster cat. 'n the wall opposite the clock" there was a picture of a wo an dressed in tulle" surrounded by cupids in a boat laden with roses. &t was se!en)twenty when he finished windin# the clock. Then he took the rooster into the kitchen" tied it to a le# of the sto!e" chan#ed the water in the can" and put a handful of corn ne$t to it. ( #roup of children ca e in throu#h a hole in the fence. They sat around the rooster" to watch it in silence. +0top lookin# at that ani al"+ said the colonel. +3oosters wear out if you look at the so uch.+ The children didn+t o!e. 'ne of the be#an playin# the chords of a popular son# on his har onica. +4on+t play that today"+ the colonel told hi . +There+s been a death in town.+ The child put the instru ent in his pants pocket" and the colonel went into the bedroo to dress for the funeral. *ecause of his wife+s asth a" his white suit was not pressed. 0o he had to wear the old black suit which since his arria#e he used only on special occasions. &t took so e effort to find it in the botto of the trunk" wrapped in newspapers and protected a#ainst oths with little balls of naphthalene. 0tretched out in bed" the wo an was still thinkin# about the dead an. +He ust ha!e et (#ustin already"+ she said. +Maybe he won+t tell hi about the situation we+!e been left in ) since his death.+ +(t this o ent they+re probably talkin# roosters"+ said the colonel. He found an enor ous old u brella in the trunk. His wife had won it in a raffle held to collect funds for the colonel+s party. That sa e ni#ht they had attended an outdoor show which was not interrupted despite the rain. The colonel" his wife" and their son" (#ustin 5 who was then ei#ht ) watched the show until the end" seated under the u brella. 6ow (#ustin was dead" and the bri#ht satin aterial had been eaten away by the oths. +7ook what+s left of our circus clown+s u brella"+ said the colonel with one of his old phrases. (bo!e his head a ysterious syste of little etal rods opened. +The only thin# it+s #ood for now is to count the stars.+ He s iled. *ut the wo an didn+t take the trouble to look at the u brella. +.!erythin#+s that way"+ she whispered. +%e+re rottin# ali!e.+ (nd she closed her eyes so she could concentrate on the dead an. (fter sha!in# hi self by touch ) since he+d lacked a irror for a lon# ti e )the colonel dressed silently. His trousers" al ost as ti#ht on his le#s as lon# underwear" closed at the ankles with slip)knotted drawstrin#s" were held up at the waist by two straps of the sa e aterial which passed throu#h two #ilt buckles sewn on at kidney hei#ht. He didn+t use a belt. His shirt" the color of old Manila paper" and as stiff" fastened with a

copper stud which ser!ed at the sa e ti e to hold the detachable collar. *ut the detachable collar was torn" so the colonel #a!e up on the idea of a tie. He did each thin# as if it were a transcendent act. The bones in his hands were co!ered by taut" translucent skin" with li#ht spots like the skin on his neck. *efore he put on his patent))leather shoes" he scraped the dried ud fro the stitchin#. His wife saw hi at that o ent" dressed as he was on their weddin# day. 'nly then did she notice how uch her husband had a#ed. +8ou look as if you+re dressed for so e special e!ent"+ she said. +This burial is a special e!ent"+ the colonel said. +lt+s the first death fro natural causes which we+!e had in any years.+ The weather cleared up after nine. The colonel was #ettin# ready to #o out when his wife seized hi by the slee!e of his coat. +1o b your hair"+ she said. He tried to subdue his steel)colored" bristly hair with a bone co b. *ut it was a useless atte pt. +& ust look like a parrot"+ he said. The wo an e$a ined hi . 0he thou#ht he didn+t. The colonel didn+t look like a parrot. He was a dry an" with solid bones articulated as if with nuts and bolts. *ecause of the !itality in his eyes" it didn+t see as if he were preser!ed in for alin. +8ou+re fine that way"+ she ad itted" and added" when her husband was lea!in# the roo 9 +(sk the doctor if we poured boilin# water on hi in this house.+ They li!ed at the ed#e of town" in a house with a pal )thatched roof and walls whose whitewash was flakin# off. The hu idity kept up but the rain had stopped. The colonel went down toward the plaza alon# an alley with houses crowded in on each other. (s he ca e out into the ain street" he shi!ered. (s far as the eye could see" the town was carpeted with flowers. 0eated in their doorways" the wo en in black were waitin# for the funeral. &n the plaza it be#an to drizzle a#ain. The proprietor of the pool hall saw the colonel fro the door of his place and shouted to hi with open ar s9 +1olonel" wait" and &+ll lend you an u brella:+ The colonel replied without turnin# around. +Thank you. &+ all ri#ht this way.+ The funeral procession hadn+t co e out of church yet. The en dressed in white with black ties 5 were talkin# in the low doorway under their u brellas. 'ne of the saw the colonel ;u pin# between the puddles in the plaza. +Get under here" friend:+ he shouted. He ade roo under the u brella. +Thanks" friend"+ said the colonel. *ut he didn+t accept the in!itation. He entered the house directly to #i!e his condolences to the other of the dead an. The first thin# he percei!ed was the odor of any different flowers. Then the heat rose. The colonel tried to ake his way throu#h the crowd which was ;a ed into the bedroo . *ut so eone put a hand on his back" pushed hi toward the back of the roo throu#h a #allery of perple$ed faces to the spot where ) deep and wide open))the nostrils of the dead an were found. There was the dead an+s other" shooin# the flies away fro the coffin with a plaited pal fan. 'ther wo en" dressed in black" conte plated the body with the sa e

e$pression with which one watches the current of a ri!er. (ll at once a !oice started up at the back of the roo . The colonel put one wo an aside" faced the profile of the dead an+s other" and put a hand on her shoulder. +&+ so sorry"+ he said. 0he didn+t turn her head. 0he opened her outh and let out a howl. The colonel started. He felt hi self bein# pushed a#ainst the corpse by a shapeless crowd which broke out in a qua!erin# outcry. He looked for a fir support for his hands but couldn+t find the wall. There were other bodies in its place. 0o eone said in his ear" slowly" with a !ery #entle !oice" +1areful" colonel.+ He spun his head around and was face to face with the dead an. *ut he didn+t reco#nize hi because he was stiff and dyna ic and see ed as disconcerted as he" wrapped in white cloths and with his tru pet in his hands. %hen the colonel raised his head o!er the shouts" in search of air" he saw the closed bo$ bouncin#" toward the door down a slope of flowers which disinte#rated a#ainst the walls. He perspired. His ;oints ached. ( o ent later he knew he was in the street because the drizzle hurt his eyelids" and so eone seized hi by the ar and said9 +Hurry up" friend" & was waitin# for you.+ &t was 0abas" the #odfather of his dead son" the only leader of his party who had escaped political persecution and had continued to li!e in town. +Thanks" friend" said the colonel" and walked in silence under the u brella. The band struck up the funeral arch. The colonel noticed the lack of a tru pet and for the first ti e was certain that the dead an was dead. +<oor an"+ he ur ured. 0abas cleared his throat. He held the u brella in his left hand" the handle al ost at the le!el of his head" since he was shorter than the colonel. They be#an to talk when the corte#e left the plaza. 0abas turned toward the colonel then" his face disconsolate" and said9 +Friend" what+s new with the rooster,+ +He+s still there"+ the colonel replied. (t that o ent a shout was heard9 +%here are they #oin# with that dead an,+ The colonel raised his eyes. He saw the ayor on the balcony of the barracks in an e$pansi!e pose. He was dressed in his flannel underwear= his unsha!en cheek was swollen. The usicians stopped the arch. ( o ent later the colonel reco#nized Father (n#el+s !oice shoutin# at the ayor. He ade out their dialo#ue throu#h the dru in# of the rain on the u brella. +%ell,+ asked 0abas. +%ell nothin#"+ the colonel replied. +The burial ay not pass in front of the police barracks.+ +& had for#otten"+ e$clai ed 0abas. +& always for#et that we are under artial law.+ +*ut this isn+t a rebellion"+ the colonel said. +&t+s a poor dead usician. The corte#e chan#ed direction. &n the poor nei#hborhoods the wo en watched it pass" bitin# their nails in silence. *ut then they ca e out into the iddle of the street and sent up shouts of praise" #ratitude" and farewell" as if they belie!ed the dead an was listenin# to the inside the coffin. The colonel felt ill at the ce etery. %hen 0abas pushed hi toward the wall to ake way for the en who were carryin# the dead an" he turned his s ilin# face toward hi " but et a ri#id countenance. +%hat+s the atter" friend,+ 0abas asked.

The colonel si#hed. +&t+s 'ctober.+ They returned by the sa e street. &t had cleared. The sky was deep" intensely blue. &t won+t rain any ore" thou#ht the colonel" and he felt better" but he was still de;ected. 0abas interrupted his thou#hts. +Ha!e a doctor e$a ine you.+ +l+ not sick"+ the colonel said. +The trouble is that in 'ctober & feel as if l had ani als in y #ut.+0abas went +(h.+ He said #oodbye at the door to his house" a new buildin#" two stories hi#h" with wrou#ht)iron window #ratin#s. The colonel headed for his ho e" an$ious to take off his dress suit. He went out a#ain a o ent later to the store on the corner to buy a can of coffee and half a pound of corn for the rooster. The colonel attended to the rooster in spite of the fact that on Thursday he would ha!e preferred to stay in his ha ock. &t didn+t clear for se!eral days. 4urin# the course of the week" the flora in his belly blosso ed. He spent se!eral sleepless ni#hts" tor ented by the whistlin# of the asth atic wo an+s lun#s. *ut 'ctober #ranted a truce on Friday afternoon. (#ustin+s co panions ) workers fro the tailor shop" as he had been" and cockfi#ht fanatics ) took ad!anta#e of the occasion to e$a ine the rooster. He was in #ood shape. The colonel returned to the bedroo when he was a left alone in the house with his wife. 0he had reco!ered. +%hat do they say,+ she asked. +>ery enthusiastic"+ the colonel infor ed her. +.!eryone is sa!in# their oney to bet on the rooster.+ +& don+t know what they see in such an u#ly rooster"+ the wo an said. +He looks like a freak to e= his head is too tiny for his feet.+ They say he+s the best in the district"+ the colonel answered. +He+s worth about fifty pesos.+ He was sure that this ar#u ent ;ustified his deter ination to keep the rooster" a le#acy fro their son who was shot down nine onths before at the cock) fi#hts for distributin# clandestine literature. +(n e$pensi!e illusion"+ she said. +%hen the corn is #one we+ll ha!e to feed hi on our own li!ers.+ The colonel took a #ood lon# ti e to think" while he was lookin# for his white ducks in the closet. +&t+s ;ust for a few onths"+ he said. +%e already know that there will be fi#hts in ?anuary. Then we can sell hi for ore.+ The pants needed pressin#. The wo an stretched the out o!er the sto!e with two irons heated o!er the coals. +%hat+s your hurry to #o out,+ she asked. +The ail.+ +& had for#otten that today is Friday"+ she co ented" returnin# to the bedroo . The colonel was dressed but pants))less. 0he obser!ed his shoes. +Those shoes are ready to throw out"+ she said. +@eep wearin# your patent)leather ones.+ The colonel felt desolate. +They look like the shoes of an orphan"+ he protested. +.!ery ti e & put the on & feel like a fu#iti!e fro an asylu .+ +%e are the orphans of our son"+ the wo an said.

This ti e" too" she persuaded hi . The colonel walked toward the harbor before the whistles of the launches blew. <atent)leather shoes" beltless white ducks" and the shirt without the detachable collar" closed at the neck with the copper stud. He obser!ed the dockin# of the launches fro the shop of Moses the 0yrian. The tra!elers #ot off" stiff fro ei#ht hours of i obility. The sa e ones as always9 tra!elin# sales en" and people fro the town who had left the precedin# week and was returnin# as usual. The last one was the ail launch. The colonel saw it dock with an an#uished uneasiness. 'n the roof" tied to the boat+s s okestacks and protected by an oilcloth" he spied the ailba#. Fifteen years of waitin# had sharpened his intuition. The rooster had sharpened his an$iety. Fro the o ent the post aster went on board the launch" untied the ba#" and hoisted it up on his shoulder" the colonel kept hi in si#ht. He followed hi throu#h the street parallel to the harbor" a labyrinth of stores and booths with colored erchandise on display. .!ery ti e he did it" the colonel e$perienced an an$iety !ery different fro " but ;ust as oppressi!e as" fri#ht. The doctor was waitin# for the newspapers in the post office. +My wife wants e to ask you if we threw boilin# water on you at our house"+ the colonel said. He was a youn# physician with his +skull co!ered by sleek black hair. There was so ethin# unbelie!able in the perfection of his dentition. He asked after the health of the asth atic. The colonel supplied a detailed report without takin# his eyes off the post aster" who was" distributin# the letters into cubbyholes. His indolent way of o!in# e$asperated the colonel. The doctor recei!ed his ail with the packet of newspapers. He put the pa phlets of edical ad!ertisin# to one side. Then he scanned his personal letters. Meanwhile the post aster was handin# out ail to those who were present. The colonel watched the co part ent which corresponded to) his letter in the alphabet. (n air) ail letter with blue borders increased his ner!ous tension= the doctor broke the seal on the newspapers. He read the lead ite s while the colonel" his eyes fi$ed on the little bo$ ) waited for the post aster to stop in front of it. *ut he didn+t. The doctor interrupted his readin# of the newspapers. He looked at the colonel. Then he looked at the post aster seated in front of the tele#raph key" and then a#ain at the colonel. +%e+re lea!in#"+ he said. The post aster didn+t raise his head. +6othin# for the colonel"+ he said. The colonel felt asha ed. +& wasn+t e$pectin# anythin#"+ he lied. He turned to the doctor with an entirely childish look. +6o one writes to e.+ They went back in silence. The doctor was concentratin# on the newspapers. The colonel with his habitual way of walkin# which rese bled that of a an retracin# his steps to look for a lost coin. &t was a bri#ht afternoon. The al ond trees in the plaza were sheddin# their last rotted lea!es. &t had be#un to #row dark when they arri!ed at the door of the doctor+s office. +%hat+s in the news,+ the colonel asked. The doctor #a!e hi a few newspapers. +6o one knows"+ he said. +&t+s hard to read between the lines which the censor lets the print.+

The colonel read the ain headlines. &nternational news. (t the top" across four colu ns" a report on the 0uez 1anal. The front pa#e was al ost co pletely co!ered by paid funeral announce ents. +There+s no hope of elections"+ the colonel said. +4on+t be nai!e" colonel"+ said the doctor. +%e+re too old now to)be waitin# for the Messiah.+ The colonel tried to #i!e the newspapers back" but the doctor refused the . +Take the ho e with you"+ he said. +8ou can read the toni#ht and return the to orrow.+ ( little after se!en the bells in the tower ran# out the censor+s o!ie classifications. Father (n#el used this eans to announce the oral classification of the fil in accordance with the ratin#s he recei!ed e!ery onth by ail. The colonel+s wife counted twel!e bells. +2nfit for e!eryone"+ she said. +lt+s been about a year now that the o!ies are bad for e!eryone.+ 0he lowered the osquito nettin# and ur ured" +The world is corrupt.+ *ut the colonel ade no co ent. *efore lyin# down" he tied the rooster to the le# of the bed. He locked the house and sprayed so e insecticide in the bedroo . Then he put the la p on the floor" hun# his ha ock up" and lay down to read the newspapers. He read the in chronolo#ical order" fro the first pa#e to the last" includin# the ad!ertise ents. (t ele!en the tru pet blew curfew. The colonel finished his readin# a half)hour later" opened the patio door on the i penetrable ni#ht" and urinated" besie#ed by osquitoes" a#ainst the wall studs. His wife was awake when he returned to the bedroo . +6othin# about the !eterans,+ she asked. +6othin#"+ said the colonel. He put out the la p before he #ot into the ha ock. +&n the be#innin# at least they published the list of the new pensioners. *ut it+s been about fi!e years since they+!e said anythin#.+ &t rained after idni#ht. The colonel ana#ed to #et to sleep but woke up a o ent later" alar ed by his intestines. He disco!ered a leak in so e part of the roof. %rapped in a wool blanket up to his ears" he tried to find the leak in the darkness. ( trickle of cold sweat slipped down his spine. He had a fe!er. He felt as if he were floatin# in concentric circles inside a tank of ;elly. 0o eone spoke. The colonel answered fro his re!olutionist+s cot. +%ho are you talkin# to,+ asked his wife. +The .n#lish an dis#uised as a ti#er who appeared at 1olonel (ureliano *uendia+s ca p"+ the colonel answered. He turned o!er in his ha ock" burnin# with his fe!er. +&t was the 4uke of Marlborou#h.+ The sky was clear at dawn. (t the second call for Mass" he ;u ped fro the ha ock and installed hi self in a confused reality which was a#itated by the crowin# of the rooster. His head was still spinnin# in concentric circles. He was nauseous. He went out into the patio and headed for the pri!y throu#h the barely audible whispers and the dark odors of winter. The inside of the little zinc)roofed wooden co part ent was rarefied by the a onia s ell fro the pri!y. %hen the colonel raised the lid" a trian#ular cloud of flies rushed out of the pit.

&t was a false alar . 0quattin# on the platfor of unsanded boards" he felt the uneasiness of an ur#e frustrated. The oppressi!eness was substituted by a dull ache in his di#esti!e tract. +There+s no doubt"+ he ur ured. +&t+s the sa e e!ery 'ctober.+ (nd a#ain he assu ed his posture of confident and innocent e$pectation until the fun#us in his innards was pacified. Then he returned to the bedroo for the rooster. +7ast ni#ht you were delirious fro fe!er"+ his wife said. 0he had be#un to strai#hten up the roo " ha!in# reco!ered fro a week)lon# attack. The colonel ade an effort to re e ber. +&t wasn+t fe!er"+ he lied. +&t was the drea about the spider webs a#ain.+ (s always happened" the wo an e er#ed fro her attack full of ner!ous ener#y. &n the course of the ornin# she turned the house upside down. 0he chan#ed the position of e!erythin#" e$cept the clock and the picture of the youn# #irl. 0he was so thin and sinewy that when she walked about in her cloth slippers and her black dress all buttoned up she see ed as if she had the power of walkin# throu#h the walls. *ut before twel!e she had re#ained her bulk" her hu an wei#ht. &n bed she was an e pty space. 6ow" o!in# a on# the flower pots of ferns and be#onias" her presence o!erflowed the house. +&f (#ustin+s year were up" & would start sin#in#"+ she said while she stirred the pot where all the thin#s to eat that the tropical land is capable of producin#" cut into pieces" were boilin#. +&f you feel like sin#in#" sin#"+ said the colonel. +&t+s #ood for your spleen.+ The doctor ca e after lunch. The colonel and his wife were drinkin# coffee in the kitchens when he pushed open the street door and shouted9 +.!erybody dead,+ The colonel #ot up to welco e hi . +0o it see s" doctor"+ he said" #oin# into the li!in# roo . +&+!e always said that your clock keeps ti e with the buzzards.+ The wo an went into the bedroo to #et ready for the e$a ination. The doctor stayed in the li!in# roo with the colonel. &n spite of the heat" his i aculate linen suit #a!e off a s ell of freshness. %hen the wo an announced that she was ready" the doctor #a!e the colonel three sheets of paper in an en!elope. He entered the bedroo " sayin#" +That+s what the newspapers didn+t print yesterday.+ The colonel had assu ed as uch. &t was a su ary of the e!ents in the country" i eo#raphed for clandestine circulation. 3e!elations about the state of ar ed resistance in the interior of the country. He felt defeated. Ten years of clandestine reports had not tau#ht hi that no news was ore surprisin# than ne$t onth+s news. He had finished readin# when the doctor ca e back into the li!in# roo . +This patient is healthier than & a "+ he said. +%ith asth a like that" & could li!e to be a hundred.+ The colonel #lowered at hi . He #a!e hi back the en!elope without sayin# a word" but the doctor refused to take it. +<ass it on"+ he said in a whisper. The colonel put the en!elope in his pants pocket. The wo an ca e out of the bedroo " sayin#" +'ne of these days &+ll up and die" and carry you with e" off to hell" doctor.+ The doctor responded silently with the stereotyped ena el of his teeth. He pulled a chair up to the little table and took se!eral ;ars of free sa ples out of his ba#. The wo an went on into the kitchen. +%ait and &+ll war up the coffee.+

+6o" thank you !ery uch"+ said the doctor. He wrote the proper dosa#e on a prescription pad. +& absolutely refuse to #i!e you the chance to poison e.+ 0he lau#hed in the kitchen. %hen he finished writin#" the doctor read the prescription aloud" because he knew that no one could decipher his handwritin#. The colonel tried to concentrate. 3eturnin# fro the kitchen" the wo an disco!ered in his face the toll of the pre!ious ni#ht. +This ornin# he had a fe!er"+ she said" pointin# at her husband. +He spent about two hours talkin# non)sense about the ci!il war.+ The colonel started. +&t wasn+t a fe!er"+ he insisted" re#ainin# his co posure. +Further ore"+ he said" +the day & feel sick &+ll throw yself into the #arba#e can on y own.+ He went into the bedroo to find the newspapers. +Thank you for the co pli ent"+ the doctor said. They walked to#ether toward the plaza. The air was dry. The tar on the streets had be#un to elt fro the heat. %hen the doctor said #oodbye" the colonel asked hi in a low !oice" his teeth clenched9 +How uch do we owe you" doctor,+ +6othin#" for now"+ the doctor said" and he #a!e hi a pat on the shoulder. +&+ll send you a fat bill when the cock wins.+ The colonel went to the tailor shop to take the clandestine letter to (#ustin+s co panions. &t was his only refu#e e!er since his co)partisans had been killed or e$iled fro town and he had been con!erted into a an if with no other occupation than waitin# for the ail e!ery Friday. The afternoon heat sti ulated the wo an+s ener#y. 0eated a on# the be#onias in the !eranda ne$t to a bo$ of worn)out clothin#" she was a#ain workin# the eternal iracle of creatin# new apparel out of nothin#. 0he ade collars fro slee!es" and cuffs fro the backs and square patches" perfect ones" althou#h with scraps of different colors. ( cicada lod#ed its whistle in the patio. The sun faded. *ut she didn+t see it #o down o!er the be#onias. 0he raised her head only at dusk when the colonel returned ho e. Then she clasped her neck with both hands" cracked her knuckles" and said9 +My head is as stiff as a board.+ +&t+s always been that way"+ the colonel said" but then he saw his wife+s body co!ered all o!er with scraps of color. +8ou look like a a#pie.+ +'ne has to be half a a#pie to dress you"+ she said. 0he held out a shirt ade of three different colors of aterial e$cept for the collar and cuffs" which were of the sa e color. +(t the carni!al all you ha!e to do is take off your ;acket.+ The si$)o+clock bells interrupted her. +The (n#el of the 7ord announced unto Mary"+ she prayed aloud" headin# into the bedroo . The colonel talked to the children who had co e to look at the rooster after school. Then he re e bered that there was no corn for the ne$t day" and entered the bedroo to ask his wife for oney. +& think there+s only fifty cents"+ she said. 0he kept the oney under the attress" knotted into the corner of a handkerchief. &t was the proceeds of (#ustin+s sewin# achine. For nine onths" they had spent that oney penny by penny" parcelin# it out between their needs and the rooster+s. 6ow there were only two twenty)cent pieces and a ten cent piece left.

+*uy a pound of corn"+ the wo an said. +%ith the chan#e" buy to orrow+s coffee and four ounces of cheese.+ +(nd a #olden elephant to han# in the doorway"+ the 1olonel went on. +The corn alone costs forty)two.+ They thou#ht for a o ent. +The rooster is an ani al" and therefore he can wait"+ said the wo an at first. *ut her husband+s e$pression caused her to reflect. The colonel sat on the bed" his elbows on his knees" ;in#lin# the coins in his hands. +lt+s not for y sake"+ he said after a o ent. +&f it depended on e &+d ake a rooster stew this !ery e!enin#. ( fifty peso indi#estion would be !ery #ood.+ He paused to squash a osquito on his neck. Then his eyes followed his wife around the roo . +%hat bothers e is that those poor boys are sa!in# upA+ Then she be#an to think. 0he turned co pletely around with the insecticide bo b. The colonel found so ethin# unreal in her attitude" as if she were in!okin# the spirits of the house for a consultation. (t last she put the bo b on the little antel with the prints on it" and fi$ed her syrup)colored eyes on the syrup)colored eyes of the colonel. +*uy the corn"+ she said. +God knows how we+ll ana#e.+ +This is the iracle of the ultiplyin# loa!es"+ the colonel repeated e!ery ti e they sat down to the table durin# the followin# week. %ith her astonishin# capacity for darnin#" sewin#" and endin#" she see ed to ha!e disco!ered the key to sustainin# the household econo y with no oney. 'ctober prolon#ed its truce. The hu idity was replaced by sleepiness. 1o forted by the copper sun" the wo an de!oted three afternoons to her co plicated hairdo. +Hi#h Mass has be#un"+ the colonel said one afternoon when she was #ettin# the knots" out of her lon# blue tresses with a co b which had so e teeth issin#. The second afternoon" seated in the patio with a white sheet in her lap" she used a finer co b to take out the lice which had proliferated durin# her attack. 7astly" she washed her hair with la!ender water" waited for it to dry" and rolled it up on the nape of her neck in two turns held with a barrette. The colonel waited. (t ni#ht" sleepless in his ha ock" he worried for any hours o!er the rooster+s fate. *ut on %ednesday they wei#hed hi " and he was in #ood shape. That sa e afternoon" when (#ustin+s co panions left the house countin# the i a#inary proceeds fro the rooster+s !ictory" the colonel also felt in #ood shape. His wife cut his hair. +8ou+!e taken twenty years off e"+ he said" e$a inin# his head with his hands. His wife thou#ht her husband was ri#ht. +%hen &+ well" can brin# back the dead"+ she said. *ut her con!iction lasted for a !ery few hours. There was no lon#er anythin# in the house to sell" e$cept the clock and the picture. Thursday ni#ht" at the li it of their resources" the wo an showed her an$iety o!er the situation. +4on+t worry"+ the colonel consoled her. +The ail co es to orrow.+ The followin# day he waited for the launches in front of the doctor+s office. +The airplane is a ar!elous thin#"+ the colonel said" his eyes restin# on the ailba#. +They say you can #et to .urope in one ni#ht.+ +That+s ri#ht"+ the doctor said" fannin# hi self with an illustrated a#azine. The colonel spied the post) aster a on# a #roup waitin# for the dockin# to end so they could ;u p onto the launch. The post aster ;u ped first. He recei!ed fro the captain an en!elope" sealed with wa$. Then he cli bed up onto the roof. The ailba# was tied between two oil dru s.

+*ut still it has its dan#ers"+ said the colonel. He lost the post aster fro si#ht" but saw hi a#ain a on# the colored bottles on the refresh ent cart. +Hu anity doesn+t pro#ress without payin# a price.+ +.!en at this sta#e it+s safer than a launch"+ the doctor said. +(t twenty thousand feet you fly abo!e the weather.+ +Twenty thousand feet"+ the colonel repeated" perple$ed" without bein# able to i a#ine what the fi#ure eant. The doctor beca e interested. He spread out the a#azine with both hands until it was absolutely still. +There+s perfect stability"+ he said. *ut the colonel was han#in# on the actions of the post aster. He saw hi consu e a frothy pink drink" holdin# the #lass in his left hand. &n his ri#ht he held the ailba#. +(lso" on the ocean there are ships at anchor in continual contact with ni#ht fli#hts"+ the doctor went on. +%ith so any precautions it+s safer than a launch"+ The colonel looked at hi . +6aturally"+ he said. +&t ust be like a carpet.+ The post aster ca e strai#ht toward the . The colonel stepped back" i pelled by an irresistible an$iety" tryin# to read the na e written on the sealed en!elope. The post aster opened the ba#. He #a!e the doctor his packet of newspapers. Then he tore open the en!elope with the personal correspondence" checked the correctness of the receipt" and read the addressee+s na es off the letters. The doctor opened the newspapers. +0till the proble with 0uez"+ he said" readin# the ain headlines. +The %est is losin# #round.+ The colonel didn+t read the headlines. He ade an effort to control his sto ach. +.!er since there+s been censorship" the newspapers talk only about .urope"+ he said. +The best thin# would be for the .uropeans to co e o!er here and for us to #o to .urope. That way e!erybody would know what+s happenin# in his own country.+ +To the .uropeans" 0outh ( erica is a an with a ustache" a #uitar" and a #un"+ the doctor said" lau#hin# o!er his newspaper. +They don+t understand the proble A+ The post aster deli!ered his ail. He put the rest in the ba# and closed it a#ain. The doctor #ot ready to read two personal letters" but before tearin# open the en!elopes he looked at the colonel. Then he looked at the post aster. +6othin# for the colonel,+ The colonel was terrified. The post aster tossed the ba# onto his shoulder" #ot off the platfor " and replied without turnin# his head9 +6o one writes to the colonel.+ 1ontrary to his habit" he didn+t #o directly ho e. He had a cup of coffee at the tailor+s while (#ustin+s co panions leafed throu#h the newspapers. He felt cheated. He would ha!e preferred to stay there until the ne$t Friday to keep fro ha!in# to face his wife that ni#ht with e pty hands. *ut when the tailor shop closed" he had to face up to reality. His wife was waitin# for hi . +6othin#,+ she asked. +6othin#"+ the colonel answered. The followin# Friday he went down to the launches a#ain. (nd" as on e!ery Friday" he returned ho e without the lon#ed)for letter. +%e+!e waited lon# enou#h"+ his

wife told hi that ni#ht. +'ne ust ha!e the patience of an o$" as you do" to wait for a letter for fifteen years.+ The colonel #ot into his ha ock to read the newspapers. +%e ha!e to wait our turn"+ he said. +'ur nu ber is 1B-C.+ +0ince we+!e been waitin#" that nu ber has co e up twice in the lottery"+ his wife replied. The colonel read" as usual" fro the first pa#e to the last" includin# the ad!ertise ents. *ut this ti e he didn+t concentrate. 4urin# his readin#" he thou#ht about his !eteran+s pension. 6ineteen years before" when 1on#ress passed the law" it took hi ei#ht years to pro!e his clai . Then it took hi si$ ore years to #et hi self included on the rolls. That was the last letter the colonel had recei!ed. He finished after curfew sounded. %hen he went to turn off the la p" he realized that his wife was awake. +4o you still ha!e that clippin#,+ The wo an thou#ht. +8es. &t ust be with the other papers.+ D 0he #ot out of her osquito nettin# and took a wooden chest out of the closet" with a packet of letters arran#ed by date and held to#ether by a rubber band. 0he located the ad!ertise ent of a law fir which pro ised quick action on war pensions. +%e could ha!e spent the oney in the ti e &+!e wasted tryin# to con!ince you to chan#e lawyers"+ the wo an said" handin# her husband the newspaper clippin#. +%e+re not #ettin# anythin# out of their puttin# us away on a shelf as they do with the &ndians.+ The colonel read the clippin# dated two years before. He put it in the pocket of his ;acket which was han#in# behind the door. +The proble is that to chan#e lawyers you need oney.+ +6ot at all"+ the wo an said decisi!ely. +8ou write the tellin# the to discount whate!er they want fro the pension itself when they collect it. &t+s the only way they+ll take the case.+ 0o 0aturday afternoon the colonel went to" see his lawyer. He found hi stretched out lazily in a ha ock. He was a onu ental 6e#ro" with nothin# but two canines in his upper ;aw. The lawyer put his feet into a pair of wooden))soled slippers and opened the office window on a dusty <ianola with papers stuffed into the co part ents where the rolls used to #o9 clippin#s fro the 'fficial Gazette" pasted into old accountin# led#ers" and a ;u bled collection of accountin# bulletins. The keyless pianola did double duty as a desk. The lawyer sat down in a swi!el chair. The colonel e$pressed his uneasiness before re!ealin# the purpose of his !isit. +& warned you that it would take ore than a few days"+ said the lawyer when the colonel paused. He was swelterin# in the heat. He ad;usted the chair backward and fanned hi self with an ad!ertisin# brochure. +My a#ents write to e frequently" sayin# not to #et i patient.+ +&t+s been that way for fifteen years"+ the colonel answered. +This is be#innin# to sound like the story" about the capon.+ The lawyer #a!e a !ery #raphic description of the ad inistrati!e ins and 'uts. The chair was too narrow for his sa##in# buttocks. +Fifteen years a#o it was easier"+ he said. +Then there was the city+s !eterans+ or#anization" with e bers of both parties.+ His

lun#s filled with stiflin# air and he pronounced the sentence as if he had ;ust in!ented it9 +There+s stren#th in nu bers.+ +There wasn+t in this case"+ the colonel said" realizin# his aloneness for the first ti e. +(ll y co rades died waitin# for the ail.+ The lawyer didn+t chan#e his e$pression. +The law was passed too late"+ he said. +6ot e!erybody was as lucky as you to be a colonel at the a#e of twenty. Further ore" no special allocation was included" so the #o!ern ent has had to ake ad;ust ents in the bud#et.+ (lways the sa e story. .ach ti e the colonel listened to hi " he felt a ute resent entE +This is not charity"+ he said. +&t+s not a question of doin# us a fa!or. %e all broke our backs to sa!e the 3epublic.+ The lawyer threw up his hands. +That+s the way it is"+ he said. +Hu an in#ratitude knows no li its.+ The colonel also knew that story. He had be#un hearin# it the day after the Treaty of 6eerlandia" when the #o!ern ent pro ised tra!el assistance and inde nities to two hundred re!olutionary officers. 1a ped at the base of the #i#antic silk)cotton tree at 6eerlandia" a re!olutionary battalion" ade up in #reat easure of youths who had left school" waited for three onths. Then they went back to their ho es by their own eans" and they kept on waitin# there. (l ost si$ty years later" the colonel was still waitin#. .$cited by these e ories" he adopted a transcendental attitude. He rested his ri#ht hand on his thi#h" ere bone sewed to#ether with ner!e tissue and ur ured9 +%ell" &+!e decided to take action.+ The lawyer waited. +0uch as,+ +To chan#e lawyers.+ ( other duck" followed by se!eral little ducklin#s" entered the office. The lawyer sat up to chase the out. +(s you wish" colonel"+ he said" chasin# the ani als. +&t will be ;ust as you wish. &f & could work iracles" & wouldn+t be li!in# in this barnyard.+ He put a wooden #rille across the patio door and returned to his chair. +My son worked all his life"+ said the colonel. +My House is ort#a#ed. That retire ent law has been a lifeti e pension for lawyers.+ +6ot for e"+ the lawyer protested. +.!ery last cent has #one for y e$penses.+ The colonel suffered at the thou#ht that he had been un;ust. +That+s what & eant"+ he corrected hi self. He dried his forehead with the slee!e of his shirt. +This heat is enou#h to rust the screws in your head.+ ( o ent later the lawyer was turnin# the office upside down lookin# for the power of attorney. The sun ad!anced toward the center of the tiny roo " which was built of unsanded boards. (fter lookin# futilely e!erywhere" the lawyer #ot down on all fours" huffin# and puffin#" and picked up a roll of papers fro under the <ianola. +Here it is.+ He #a!e the colonel a sheet of paper with a seal on it. +& ha!e to write y a#ents so they can cancel the copies"+ he concluded. The colonel shook the dust off the paper and put it in his shirt pocket. +Tear it up yourself"+ the lawyer said.

+6o"+ the colonel answered. +These are twenty years of e ories.+ (nd he waited for the lawyer to keep on lookin#. *ut the lawyer didn+t. He went to the ha ock to wipe off his sweat. Fro there he looked at the colonel throu#h the shi erin# air. +& need the docu ents also"+ the colonel said. +%hich ones,+ +The proof of clai .+ The lawyer threw up his hands. +6ow" that would be i possible" colonel.+ The colonel beca e alar ed. (s Treasurer of the re!olution in the district of Macondo" he had undertaken difficult si$)day ;ourney with the funds for the ci!il war in two trunks roped to the back of a ule. He arri!ed at the ca p of 6eerlandia dra##in# the ule" which was dead fro hun#er" half an hour before the treaty was si#ned. 1olonel (ureliano *uendia ) quarter aster #eneral of the re!olutionary forces on the (tlantic coast held out the receipt for the funds" and included the two trunks in his in!entory of the surrender. +Those docu ents ha!e an incalculable !alue"+ the colonel said. +There+s a receipt fro 1olonel (ureliano *uendia" written in his own hand.+ +& a#ree"+ said the lawyer. +*ut those docu ents ha!e passed throu#h thousands and thousands of hands" in thousands and thousands of offices= before they reached God knows which depart ent in the %ar Ministry.+ +6o official could fail to notice docu ents like those"+ the colonel said. +*ut the officials ha!e chan#ed any ti es in. the last fifteen years"+ the lawyer pointed out. +?ust think about it= there ha!e been se!en presidents" and each president chan#ed his cabinet at least ten ti es" and each inister chan#ed his staff at least a hundred ti es.+ +*ut nobody could take the docu ents ho e"+ said the colonel. +.ach new official ust ha!e found the in the proper file.+ The lawyer lost his patience. +(nd oreo!er if those papers are re o!ed fro the Ministry now" they will ha!e to wait for a new place on the rolls.+ +&t doesn+t atter"+ the colonel said. +&t+ll take centuries.+ +&t doesn+t atter. &f you wait for the bi# thin#s" you can wait for the little ones.+ He took a pad of lined paper" the pen" the inkwell" and a blotter to the little table in the li!in# roo " and left the bedroo door open in case he had to ask his wife anythin#. 0he was sayin# her beads. +%hat+s today+s date,+ +'ctober -/th.+ He wrote with a studious neatness" the hand that held the pen restin# on the blotter" his spine strai#ht to ease his breathin#" as he+d been tau#ht in school. The heat beca e unbearable in the closed li!in# roo . ( drop of perspiration fell on the letter. The colonel picked it up on the blotter. Then he tried to erase the letters which had s eared but he s ud#ed the . He didn+t lose his patience. He wrote an asterisk and noted in the ar#in" +acquired ri#hts.+ Then he read the whole para#raph. +%hen was & put on the rolls,+ The wo an didn+t interrupt her prayer to think.

+(u#ust &-" 19F9.+ ( o ent later it be#an to rain. The colonel filled a pa#e with lar#e doodlin#+s which were a little childish" the sa e ones he learned in public school at Manaure. Then he wrote on a second sheet down to the iddle" and he si#ned it. He read the letter to his wife. 0he appro!ed each sentence with a nod. %hen he finished readin#" the colonel sealed the en!elope and turned off the la p. +8ou could ask so eone to type it for you.+ +6o"+ the colonel answered. +&+ tired of #oin# around askin# fa!ors.+ For half an hour he heard the rain a#ainst the pal roof. The town sank into the delu#e. (fter curfew sounded" a leak be#an so ewhere in the house. +This should ha!e been done a lon# ti e a#o"+ the wo an said. +&t+s always better to handle thin#s oneself.+ +&t+s ne!er too late"+ the colonel said" payin# attention to the leak. +Maybe all this will be settled when the ort#a#e on the house falls due.+ +&n two years"+ the wo an said. He lit the la p to locate the leak in the li!in# roo . He put the roosters can underneath it and returned to the bedroo " pursued by the etallic noise of the water in the e pty can. +&t+s possible that to sa!e the interest on the oney they+ll settle it before ?anuary"+ he said" and he con!inced hi self. +*y then" (#ustin+s year will be up and we can #o to the o!ies.+ 0he lau#hed under her breath. +& don+t e!en re e ber the cartoons any ore"+ she said. +They were showin# +The 4ead Man+s %ill.+ +%as there a fi#ht,+ +%e ne!er found out. The stor broke ;ust when the #host tried to rob the #irl+s necklace.+ The sound of the rain put the to sleep. The colonel felt a sli#ht queasiness in his intestines. *ut he wasn+t afraid. He was about to sur!i!e another 'ctober. He wrapped hi self in a wool blanket" and for a o ent heard the #ra!elly breathin# of his wife ) far away ) driftin# on another drea . Then he spoke" co pletely conscious.. The wo an woke up. +%ho are you speakin# to,+ +6o one"+ the colonel said. +& was thinkin# that at the Macondo eetin# we were ri#ht when we told 1olonel (ureliano *uendia not to surrender. That+s what started to ruin e!erythin#.+ &t rained the whole week. The second of 6o!e ber ) a#ainst the colonel+s wishes))the wo an took flowers to (#ustin+s #ra!e. 0he returned fro the ce etery and had another attack. &t was a hard week. Harder than the four weeks of 'ctober which the colonel hadn+t thou#ht he+d sur!i!e. The doctor ca e to see the sick wo an" and ca e out of the roo shoutin#. G%ith asth a like that" &+d be able to bury the whole town:+ *ut he spoke to the colonel alone and prescribed a special diet. The colonel also suffered a relapse. He strained for any hours in the pri!y" in an icy sweat" feelin# as if he were rottin# and that the flora in his !itals was fallin# to pieces. +&t+s winter"+ he repeated to hi self patiently. +.!erythin# will be different when it stops rainin#.+ (nd he really belie!ed it" certain that he would be ali!e at the o ent the letter arri!ed.

This ti e it was he who had to repair their household econo y. He had to #rit his teeth any ti es to ask for credit in the nei#hborhood stores. +&t+s ;ust until ne$t week"+ he would say" without bein# sure hi self that it was true. +&t+s a little oney which should ha!e arri!ed last Friday.+ %hen her attack was o!er" the wo an e$a ined hi in horror. +8ou+re nothin# but skin and bones"+ she said. +&+ takin# care of yself so & can sell yself"+ the colonel said. +l+!e already been hired by a clarinet factory. *ut in reality his hopin# for the letter barely sustained hi . .$hausted" his bones achin# fro sleeplessness" he couldn+t attend to his needs and the rooster+s at the sa e ti e. &n the second half of 6o!e ber" he thou#ht that the ani al would die after two days without corn. Then he re e bered a handful of beans which he had hun# in the chi ney in ?uly. He opened the pods and put down a can of dry seeds for the rooster. +1o e here"+ she said. +?ust a inute"+ the colonel answered" watchin# the rooster+s reaction. +*e##ars can+t be choosers.+ He found his wife tryin# to sit up in bed. Her ra!a#ed body #a!e off the aro a of edicinal herbs. 0he spoke her words" one by one" with calculated precision9 +Get rid of that rooster ri#ht now.+ The colonel had foreseen that o ent. He had been waitin# for it e!er since the afternoon when his son was shot down" and he had decided to keep the rooster. He had had ti e to think. +&t+s not worth it now"+ he said. +The fi#ht will be in two onths and then we+ll be able to sell hi at a better price.+ +&t+s not a question of the oney"+ the wo an said. +%hen the boys co e" you+ll tell the to take it away and do whate!er they feel like with it.+ +&t+s for (#ustin"+ the colonel said" ad!ancin# his prepared ar#u ent. +3e e ber his face when he ca e to tell us the rooster won.+ The wo an" in fact" did think of her son. +Those accursed roosters were his downfall, 0he shouted. +&f he+d stayed ho e on ?anuary Crd" his e!il hour wouldn+t ha!e co e.+ 0he held out a skinny forefin#er toward the door and e$clai ed9 +&t see s as if & can see hi when he left with the rooster under his ar . & warned hi not to #o lookin# for trouble at the cockfi#hts" and he s iled and told e9 G0hut up= this afternoon we+ll be rollin# in oney.G 0he fell back e$hausted. The colonel pushed her #ently toward the pillow. His eyes fell upon other eyes e$actly like his own. +Try not to o!e"+ he said" feelin# her whistlin# within his own lun#s. The wo an fell into a o entary torpor. 0he closed her eyes. %hen she opened the a#ain" her breathin# see ed ore e!en. +lt+s because of the situation we+re in"+ she said. +&t+s a sin to take the food out of our ouths to #i!e it to a rooster.+ The colonel wiped her forehead with the sheet. +6obody dies in three onths.+ +(nd what do we eat in the eanti e,+ the wo an asked. +l don+t know"+ the colonel said. +*ut if we were #oin# to die of hun#er" we would ha!e died already.+

The rooster was !ery uch ali!e ne$t to the e pty can. %hen he saw the colonel" he e itted an al ost hu an" #uttural onolo#ue and tossed his head back. He #a!e hi a s ile of co plicity9 +7ife is tou#h" pal.+ The colonel went into the street. He wandered about the town durin# the siesta" without thinkin# about anythin#" without e!en tryin# to con!ince hi self that his proble had no solution. He walked throu#h for#otten streets until he found he was e$hausted. Then he returned to the house. The wo an heard hi co e in and called hi into the bedroo . +%hat,+ 0he replied without lookin# at hi . +%e can sell the clock.+ The colonel had thou#ht of that. +&+ sure (l!ar will #i!e you forty pesos ri#ht on the spot"+ said the wo an. +Think how quickly he bou#ht the sewin# achine.+ 0he was referrin# to the tailor who (#ustin had worked for. +& could speak to hi in the ornin#"+ ad itted the colonel. +6one of that Gspeak to hi in the ornin#"G+ she insisted. +Take the clock to hi this inute. 8ou put it on the counter and you tell hi " G(l!aro" &+!e brou#ht this clock for you to buy fro e.G He+ll understand i ediately.+ The colonel felt asha ed. +&t+s like walkin# around with the Holy 0epulcher"+ he protested. +&f they see e in the street with a showpiece like that" 3afael .scalona will put e into one of his son#s.+ *ut this ti e" too" his wife con!inced hi . 0he herself took down the clock" wrapped it in newspaper" and put it into his ar s. +4on+t co e back here without the forty pesos"+ she said. The colonel went off to the tailor+s with the packa#e under his ar . He found (#ustin+s co panions sittin# in the doorway. 'ne of the offered hi a seat. +Thanks"+ he said. +& can+t stay.+ (l!aro ca e out of the shop. ( piece of wet duck hun# on a wire stretched between two hooks in the hall. He was a boy with a hard" an#ular body and wild eyes. He also in!ited hi to sit down. The colonel felt co forted. He leaned the stool a#ainst the door);a b and sat down to wait until (l!aro was alone to propose his deal. 0uddenly he realized that he was surrounded by e$pressionless faces. +&+ not interruptin#, he said. They said he wasn+t. 'ne of the leaned toward hi . He said in a barely audible !oice9 +(#ustin wrote.+ The colonel obser!ed the deserted street. +%hat does he say,+ +The sa e as always.+ They #a!e hi the clandestine sheet of paper. The colonel put it in his pants pocket. Then he kept silent" dru in# on the packa#e" until he realized that so eone had noticed it. He stopped in suspense. +%hat ha!e you #ot there" colonel,+ The colonel a!oided Hernan+s penetratin# #reen eyes. +6othin#"+ he lied. +&+ takin# y clock to the Ger an to ha!e hi fi$ it for e.+ +4on+t be silly" colonel"+ said Hernan" tryin# to take the packa#e. +%ait and l+ll look at it.+

The colonel held back. He didn+t say anythin#" but his eyelids turned purple. The others insisted. +7et hi " colonel. He knows echanical thin#s.+ +& ;ust don+t want to bother hi .+ +*other" it+s no bother"+ Hernan ar#ued. He seized the clock. +The Ger an will #et ten pesos out of you and it+ll be the sa e as it is now.+ Hernan went into the tailor shop with the clock. (l!aro was sewin# on a achine. (t the back" beneath a #uitar han#in# on a nail" a #irl was sewin# buttons on. There was a si#n tacked up o!er the #uitar9 GT(7@&6G <'7&T&10 F'3*&44.6.G 'utside" the colonel felt as if his body were superfluous. He rested his feet on the rail of the stool. +Godda n it" colonel.+ He was startled. +6o need to swear"+ he said. (lfonso ad;usted his eye#lasses on his nose to e$a ine the colonel+s shoes. +&t+s because of your shoes"+ he said. +8ou+!e #ot on so e #odda n new shoes.+ +*ut you can say that without swearin#"+ the colonel said" and showed the soles of his patent)leather shoes. +These onstrosities are forty years old" and it+s the first ti e they+!e e!er heard anyone swear.+ +(ll done"+ shouted HernHn" inside" ;ust as the clock+s bell ran#. &n the nei#hborin# house" a wo an pounded on the partition= she shouted9 +7et that #uitar alone: (#ustin+s year isn+t up yet. 0o eone #uffawed. +&t+s a clock.+ HernHn ca e out with the packa#e. +&t wasn+t anythin#"+ he said. +&f you like &+ll #o ho e with you to le!el it.+ The colonel refused his offer. +How uch do & owe you,+ +4on+t worry about it" colonel"+ replied HernHn" takin# his place in the #roup. +&n ?anuary" the rooster will pay for it.+ The colonel now found the chance he was lookin# for. +&+ll ake you a deal"+ he said. +%hat,+ +&+ll #i!e you the rooster.+ He e$a ined the circle of faces. +&+ll #i!e the rooster to all of you.+ HernHn looked at hi in confusion. +&+ too old now for that"+ the colonel continued. He #a!e his !oice a con!incin# se!erity. +&t+s too uch responsibility for e. For days now &+!e had the i pression that the ani al is dyin#.+ +4on+t worry about it" colonel"+ (lfonso said. +The trouble is that the rooster is oltin# now. He+s. #ot a fe!er in his quills.+ +He+ll be better ne$t onth"+ Hernan said. +& don+t want hi anyway"+ the colonel said. HernHns pupils bore into his. +3ealize how thin#s are" colonel"+ he insisted. +The ain thin# is for you to be the one who puts (#ustin+s rooster into the rin#.+ The colonel thou#ht about it. +& realize"+ he said.

+That+s why &+!e kept hi until now.+ He clenched his teeth" and felt he could #o on9 +The trouble is there are still two onths.+ HernHn was the one who understood. +&f it+s only because of that" there+s no proble "+ he said. (nd he proposed his for ula. The other accepted. (t dusk" when he entered the house with the packa#e under his ar " his wife was cha#rined. +6othin#,+ she asked. +6othin#"+ the colonel answered. +*ut now it doesn+t atter. The boys will take o!er feedin# the rooster.+ +%ait and &+ll lend you an u brella" friend.+ 0abas opened a cupboard in the office wall. He unco!ered a ;u bled interior9 ridin# boots piled up" stirrups and reins" and an alu inu pail full of ridin# spurs. Han#in# fro the upper part" half a dozen u brellas and a lady+s parasol. The colonel was thinkin# of the debris fro so e catastrophe. +Thanks" friend"+ the colonel said" leanin# on the window. +& prefer to wait for it to clear.+ 0abas didn+t close the cupboard. He settled down at the desk within ran#e of the electric fan. Then he took a little hypoder ic syrin#e wrapped in cotton out of the drawer. The colonel obser!ed the #rayish al ond trees throu#h the rain. &t was an e pty afternoon. +The rain is different fro this window"+ he said. +&t+s as if it were rainin# in another town.+ +3ain is rain fro whate!er point"+ replied 0abas. He put the syrin#e on to boil on the #lass desk top. +This town stinks.+ The colonel shru##ed his shoulders. He walked toward the iddle of the office9 a #reen tiled roo with furniture upholstered in bri#htly colored fabrics. (t the back" piled up in disarray" were sacks of salt" honey)co bs" and ridin# saddles. 0abas followed hi with a co pletely !acant stare. +&f & were in your shoes & wouldn+t think that way"+ said the colonel. He sat down and crossed his le#s" his cal #aze fi$ed on the an leanin# o!er his desk. ( s all an" corpulent" but with flaccid flesh" he had the sadness of a toad in his eyes. +Ha!e the doctor look at you" friend"+ said 0abas. +8ou+!e been a little sad since the day of the funeral.+ The colonel raised his head. +&+ perfectly well"+ he said. 0abas waited for the syrin#e to boil. +& wish & could say the sa e"+ he co plained. +8ou+re lucky because you+!e #ot a cast)iron sto ach.+ He conte plated the hairy backs of his hands which were dotted with dark blotches. He wore a rin# with a black stone ne$t to his weddin# band. +That+s ri#ht"+ the colonel ad itted. 0abas called his wife throu#h the door between the office and the rest If the house. Then he be#an a painful e$planation of his diet. He took a little bottle out of his shirt pocket and put a white pill the size of a pea on the desk. +&t+s torture to #o around with this e!eryplace"+ he said. +&t+s like carryin# death in your pocket.+

The colonel approached the desk. He e$a ined the pill in the pal of his hand until 0abas in!ited hi to taste it. +&t+s to sweeten coffee"+ he e$plained. +&t+s su#ar" but without su#ar.+ +'f course"+ the colonel said" his sali!a i pre#nated with a sad sweetness. +&t+s so ethin# like a rin#in# but without bells.+ G 0abas put his elbows on the desk with his face in his hands after his wife #a!e hi the in;ection. The colonel didn+t know what to do with his body. The wo an unplu##ed the electric fan" put it on top of the safe" and then went to the cupboard. J2 brellas ha!e so ethin# to do with death"+ she said. The colonel paid no attention to her. He had left his house at four to wait for the ail" but the rain ade hi take refu#e in 0abas+s office. &t was still rainin# when the launches whistled. +.!erybody says death is a wo an"+ the wo an continued. 0he was fat" taller than her husband" and had a hairy ole on her upper lip. Her way of speakin# re inded one of the hu of the electric fan. +*ut & don+t think it+s a wo an"+ she said. 0he closed the cupboard and looked into the colonel+s eyes a#ain. +& think it+s an ani al with claws.+ +That+s possible"+ the colonel ad itted. +(t ti es !ery stran#e thin#s happen.+ He thou#ht of the post aster ;u pin# onto the launch in an oilskin slicker. ( onth had passed since he had chan#ed lawyers. He was entitled to e$pect a reply. 0abas+s wife kept speakin# about death until she noticed the colonel+s absent) inded e$pression. +Friend"+ she said. +8ou ust be worried.+ The colonel sat up. + +That+s ri#ht friend"+ he lied. +&+ thinkin# that it+s fi!e already and the rooster hasn+t had his in;ection.+ 0he was confused. +(n in;ection for a rooster" as if he were a hu an bein#:+ she shouted. +That+s a sacrile#e.+ 0abas couldn+t stand any ore. He raised his flushed face. +1lose your outh for a inute"+ he ordered his wife. (nd in fact she did raise her hands to her outh. +8ou+!e been botherin# y friend for half an hour with your foolishness.+ +6ot at all"+ the colonel protested. The wo an sla ed the door. 0abas dried his neck with a handkerchief soaked in la!ender. The colonel approached the window. &t was rainin# steadily. ( lon#)le##ed chicken was crossin# the deserted plaza. +&s it true the rooster+s #ettin# in;ections, +True"+ said the colonel. +His trainin# be#ins ne$t week.+ +That+s adness"+ said 0abas. +Those thin#s are not for you.+ +& a#ree"+ said the colonel. +*ut that+s no reason to wrin# his neck.+ +That+s ;ust idiotic stubbornness"+ said 0abas" turnin# toward the window. The colonel heard hi si#h with the breath of a bellows. His friend+s eyes ade hi feel pity. +&t+s ne!er too late for anythin#"+ the colonel said. +4on+t be unreasonable"+ insisted 0abas. +&t+s a twoed#ed deal. 'n one side you #et rid of that headache and on the other you can put nine hundred pesos in your pocket.+

+6ine hundred pesos:+ the colonel e$clai ed. +6ine hundred pesos.+ The colonel !isualized the fi#ure. +8ou think they+d #i!e a fortune like that for the rooster,+ +& don+t think"+ 0abas answered. +&+ absolutely sure.+ &t was the lar#est su the colonel had had in his head since he had returned the re!olution+s funds. %hen he left 0abas+s office" he felt a stron# wrenchin# in his #ut" but he was aware that this ti e it wasn+t because of the weather. (t the post office he headed strai#ht for the post aster9 +&+ e$pectin# an ur#ent letter"+ he said. +&t+s air ail.+ The post aster looked in the cubbyholes. %hen he finished readin#" he put the letters back in the proper bo$ but he didn+t say anythin#. He dusted off his hand and turned a eanin#ful look on the colonel. +&t was supposed to co e today for sure"+ the colonel said. The post aster shru##ed. +The only thin# that co es for sure is death" colonel.+ His wife recei!ed hi with a dish of corn ush. He ate it in silence with lon# pauses for thou#ht between each spoonful. 0eated opposite hi " the wo an noticed that so ethin# had chan#ed in his face. +%hat+s the atter,+ she asked. +&+ thinkin# about the e ployee that pension depends on"+ the colonel lied. +&n fifty years" we+ll be peacefully si$ feet under" while that poor an will be killin# hi self e!ery Friday waitin# for his retire ent pension.+ +That+s a bad si#n"+ the wo an said. +&t eans that you+re be#innin# to resi#n yourself already.+ 0he went on eatin# her ush. *ut a o ent later she realized that her husband was still far away. +6ow" what you should do is en;oy the ush.+ +&t+s !ery #ood"+ the colonel said. +%here+d it co e fro ,+ +Fro the rooster"+ the wo an answered. +The boys brou#ht hi so uch corn that he decided to share it with us. That+s life.+ +That+s ri#ht.+ The colonel si#hed. +7ife is the best thin# that+s e!er been in!ented.+ He looked at the rooster tied to the le# of the sto!e and this ti e he see ed a different ani al. The wo an also looked at hi . +This afternoon & had to chase the children out with a stick"+ she said. +They brou#ht an old hen to breed her with the rooster.+ +&t+s not the first ti e"+ the colonel said. +That+s the sa e thin# they did in those towns with 1olonel (ureliano *uendiai. They brou#ht hi little #irls to breed with.+ 0he #ot a kick out of the ;oke. The rooster produced a #uttural noise which sounded in the hall like quiet hu an con!ersation. +0o eti es & think that ani al is #oin# to talk"+ the wo an said. The colonel looked at hi a#ain. +He+s worth his wei#ht in #old"+ he said. He ade so e calculations while he sipped a spoonful of ush. +He+ll feed us for three years.+ +8ou can+t eat hope"+ the wo an said. +8ou can+t eat it" but it sustains you"+ the colonel replied. +&t+s so ethin# like y friend 0abas+s iraculous pills.+

He slept poorly that ni#ht tryin# to erase the fi#ures fro his ind. The followin# day at lunch" the wo an ser!ed two plates of ush" and ate hers with her head lowered" without sayin# a word. The colonel felt hi self catchin# her dark ood. +%hat+s the atter,+ +6othin#"+ the wo an said." He had the i pression that this ti e it had been her turn to lie. He tried to co fort her. *ut the wo an persisted. +&t+s nothin# unusual"+ she said. +& was thinkin# that the an has been dead for two onths" and & still ha!en+t been to see the fa ily.+ 0o she went to see the that ni#ht. The colonel acco panied her to the dead an+s house" and then headed for the o!ie theater" drawn by the usic co in# o!er the loudspeakers. 0eated at the door of his office" Father (n#el was watchin# the entrance to find out who was attendin# the show despite his twel!e warnin#s. The flood of li#ht" the strident usic" and the shouts of the children erected a physical resistance in the area. 'ne of the children threatened the colonel with a wooden rifle. +%hat+s new with the rooster" colonel,+ he said in an authoritati!e !oice. The colonel put his hands up. +He+s still around.+ ( four)color poster co!ered the entire front of the theater9 Midni#ht >ir#in. 0he was a wo an in an e!enin# #own" with one le# bared up to the thi#h. The colonel continued wanderin# around the nei#hborhood until distant thunder and li#htnin# be#an. Then he went back for his wife. 0he wasn+t at the dead an+s house. 6or at ho e. The colonel reckoned that there was little ti e left before curfew" but the clock had stopped. He waited" feelin# the stor ad!ance on the town. He was #ettin# ready to #o out a#ain when his wife arri!ed. He took the rooster into the bedroo . 0he chan#ed her clothes and went to take a drink of water in the li!in# roo ;ust as the colonel finished windin# the clock" and was waitin# for curfew to blow in order to set it. +%here were you,+ the colonel asked. +3oundabout"+ the wo an answered. 0he put the #lass on the washstand without lookin# at her husband and returned to the bedroo . +6o one thou#ht it was #oin# to rain so soon.+ The colonel ade no co ent. %hen curfew blew" he set the clock at ele!en" closed the case" and put the chair back in its place. He found his wife sayin# her rosary. +8ou ha!en+t answered y question"+ the colonel said. +%hat,+ +%here were you,+ +& stayed around there talkin#"+ she said. +&t had been so lon# since &+d been out of the house.+ The colonel hun# up his ha ock. He locked the house and fu i#ated the roo . Then he put the la p on the floor and lay down. +& understand"+ he said sadly. +The worst of a bad situation is that it akes us tell lies.+ 0he let out a lon# si#h. +& was with Father (n#el"+ she said. +& went to ask hi for a loan on our weddin# rin#s.+ +(nd what did he tell you,+

+That it+s a sin to barter with sacred thin#s.+ 0he went on talkin# under her osquito nettin#. +Two days a#o & tried to sell the clock"+ she said. +6o one is interested because they+re sellin# odern clocks with lu inous nu bers on the install ent plan. 8ou can see the ti e in the dark.+ The colonel acknowled#ed that forty years of shared li!in#" of shared hun#er" of shared sufferin#" had not been enou#h for hi to co e to know his wife. He felt that so ethin# had also #rown old in their lo!e. +They don+t want the picture" either"+ she said. +(l ost e!erybody has the sa e one. & e!en went to the Turk+s.+ The colonel felt bitter. +0o now e!eryone knows we+re star!in#.+ +&+ tired"+ the wo an said. +Men don+t understand proble s of the household. 0e!eral ti es &+!e had to put stones on to boil so the nei#hbors wouldn+t know that we often #o for any days without puttin# on the pot.G The colonel felt offended. +That+s really a hu iliation"+ he said. The wo an #ot out fro under the osquito nettin# and went to the ha ock. +l+ ready to #i!e up affectation and pretense in this house"+ she said. Her !oice be#an to darken with ra#e. +&+ fed up with resi#nation and di#nity.+ The colonel didn+t o!e a uscle. +Twenty years of waitin# for the little colored birds which they pro ised you after e!ery election" and all we+!e #ot out of it is a dead son"+ she went on. +6othin# but a dead son.+ The colonel was used to that sort of recri ination. +%e did our duty.+ +(nd they did theirs by akin# a thousand pesos a onth in the 0enate for twenty years"+ the wo an answered. +There+s y friend 0abas with a two)story house that isn+t bi# enou#h to keep all his oney in" a an who ca e to this town sellin# edicines with a snake curled around his neck.+ +*ut he+s dyin# of diabetes"+ the colonel said. +(nd you+re dyin# of hun#er"+ the wo an said. +8ou should realize that you can+t eat di#nity.+ The li#htnin# interrupted her. The thunder e$ploded in the street" entered the bedroo " and went rollin# under the bed like a heap of stones. The wo an ;u ped toward the osquito nettin# for her rosary. The colonel s iled. +That+s what happens to you for not holdin# your ton#ue"+ he said. +&+!e always said that God is on y side.+ *ut in reality he felt e bittered. ( o ent later he put out the li#ht and sank into thou#ht in a darkness rent by the li#htnin#. He re e bered Macondo. The colonel had waited ten years for the pro ises of 6eerlandia to be fulfilled. &n the drowsiness of the siesta he saw yellow" dusty train pull in" with en and wo en and ani als suffocatin# fro the heat" piled up e!en on the roofs of the cars. &t was the banana fe!er. &n twenty) four hours they had transfor ed the town. +&+ lea!in#"+ the colonel said then. +The odor of the banana is eatin# at y insides. (nd he left Macondo on the return train" %ednesday" ?une -/" 19I6 at -.1B p. . &t took

hi nearly half a century to realize that he hadn+t had a o ent+s peace since the surrender at 6eerlandia. He opened his eyes. GThen there+s no need to think about it any ore"+ he said. +%hat,+ +The proble of the rooster"+ the colonel said. +To orrow &+ll sell it to y friend 0abas for nine hundred pesos.+ The howls of the castrated ani als" fused with 0abas+s shoutin#" ca e throu#h the office window. &f he doesn+t co e in ten inutes &+ll lea!e" the colonel pro ised hi self after two hours of waitin#. *ut he waited twenty inutes ore. He was #ettin# set to lea!e when 0abas entered the office followed by a #roup of workers. He passed back and forth in front of the colonel without lookin# at hi . +(re you waitin# for e" friend,+ +8es" friend"+ the colonel said. +*ut if you+re !ery busy" & can co e back later.+ 0abas didn+t hear hi fro the other side of the door. +&+ll be ri#ht back"+ he said. 6oon was stiflin#. The office shone with the shi erin# of the street. 4ulled by the heat" the colonel in!oluntarily closed his eyes and at once be#an to drea of his wife. 0abas+s wife ca e in on tiptoe. +4on+t wake up" friend"+ she said. +&+ #oin# to draw the blinds because this office is an inferno.+ The colonel followed her with a blank look. 0he spoke in the shadow when she closed the window. +4o you drea often,+ +0o eti es"+ replied the colonel" asha ed of ha!in# fallen asleep. +(l ost always & drea that &+ #ettin# tan#led up in spider webs.+ +& ha!e ni#ht ares e!ery ni#ht"+ the wo an said. +6ow &+!e #ot it in y head to find out who those unknown people are who one eets in one+s drea s.+ 0he plu##ed in the fan. +7ast week a wo an appeared at the head of y bed"+ she said. +& ana#ed to ask her who she was and she replied" G& a the wo an who died in this roo twel!e years a#o.G +*ut the house was built barely two years a#o"+ the colonel said. +That+s ri#ht"+ the wo an said. +That eans that e!en the dead ake istakes.+ The hu of the fan solidified the shadow. The colonel felt i patient" tor ented by sleepiness and by the ra blin# wo an who went directly fro drea s to the ystery of the reincarnation. He was waitin# for a pause to say #oodbye when 0abas entered the office with his fore an. +&+!e war ed up your soup four ti es"+ the wo an said. +%ar it up ten ti es if you like"+ said 0abas. +*ut stop na##in# e now.+ He opened the safe and #a!e his fore an a roll of bills to#ether with a list of instructions. The fore an opened the blinds to count the oney. 0abas saw the colonel at the back of the office but didn+t show an reaction. He kept talkin# with the fore an. The colonel strai#htened up at the point when the two en were #ettin# ready to lea!e the office a#ain. 0abas stopped before openin# the door. +%hat can & do for you" friend,+

The colonel saw that the fore an was lookin# at hi . +6othin#" friend"+ he said. +& ;ust wanted to talk to you.+ +Make it fast" whate!er it is"+ said 0abas. +& don+t ha!e inute to spare.+ He hesitated with his hand restin# on the doorknob. The colonel felt the fi!e lon#est seconds of his life passin#. He clenched his teeth. +&t+s about the rooster"+ he ur ured. Then 0abas finished openin# the door. +The question of the rooster"+ he repeated" s ilin#" and pushed the fore an toward the hall. +The sky is fallin# in and y friend is worryin# about that rooster.+ (nd then" addressin# the colonel9 +>ery well" friend. &+ll be ri#ht back.+ The colonel stood otionless in the iddle of the office until he could no lon#er hear the footsteps of the two en at the end of the hall. Then he went out to walk around the town which was paralyzed in its 0unday siesta. There was no one at the tailor+s. The doctor+s office was closed. 6o one was watchin# the #oods set out at the 0yrians+ stalls. The ri!er was a sheet of steel. ( an at the waterfront was sleepin# across four oil dru s" his face protected fro the sun by a hat. The colonel went ho e" certain that he was the only thin# o!in# in town. His wife was waitin# for hi with a co plete lunch. +& bou#ht it on credit= pro ised to pay first thin# to orrow"+ she e$plained. 4urin# lunch" the colonel told her the e!ents of the last three hours. 0he listened to hi i patiently. D +The trouble is you lack character"+ she said finally. +8ou present yourself as if you were be##in# al s when you ou#ht to #o there with your head hi#h and take our friend aside and say" GFriend" &+!e decided to sell you the rooster.G+ +7ife is a breeze the way you tell it"+ the colonel said. 0he assu ed an ener#etic attitude. That ornin#" she had put the house in order and was dressed !ery stran#ely" in her husband+s old shoes" an oilcloth apron" and a ra# tied around her head with two knots at the ears. +8ou ha!en+t the sli#htest sense for business"+ she said. +%hen you #o to sell so ethin#" you ha!e to put on the sa e face as when you #o to buy.+ The colonel found so ethin# a usin# in her fi#ure. +0tay ;ust the way you are"+ he interrupted her" s ilin#. +8ou+re identical to the little Kuaker 'ats an.+ 0he took the ra# off her head. +&+ speakin# seriously"+ she said. +&+ #oin# to take the rooster to our friend ri#ht now" and &+ll bet whate!er you want that & co e back inside of half an hour with the nine hundred pesos.+ +8ou+!e #ot zeros on the brain"+ the colonel said. +8ou+re already bettin# with the oney fro the rooster.+ &t took a lot of trouble for hi to dissuade her. 0he had spent the ornin# entally or#anizin# the bud#et for the ne$t three years without their Friday a#ony. 0he had ade a list of the essentials they needed" without for#ettin# a pair of new shoes for the colonel. 0he set aside a place in the bedroo for the irror. The o entary frustration of her plans left her with a confused sensation of sha e and resent ent. 0he took a short siesta. %hen she #ot up" the colonel was sittin# in the patio.

+6ow what are you doin#,+ she asked. +&+ thinkin#"+ the colonel said. +Then the proble is sol!ed. %e will be able to count on that oney fifty years fro now.+ *ut in reality the colonel had decided to sell the rooster that !ery afternoon. He thou#ht of 0abas" alone in his office" preparin# hi self for his daily in;ection in front of the electric fan. He had his answer ready. +Take the rooster"+ his wife ad!ised hi as he went out. +0eein# hi in the flesh will work a iracle.+ The colonel ob;ected. 0he followed hi to the front door with desperate an$iety. +&t doesn+t atter if the whole ar y is in the office"+ she said. +8ou #rab hi by the ar and don+t let hi o!e until he #i!es you the nine hundred pesos.+ +They+ll think we+re plannin# a hold)up.+ 0he paid no attention. +3e e ber that you are the owner of the rooster"+ she insisted. +3e e ber that you are the one who+s #oin# to do hi the fa!or.+ +(ll ri#ht.+ 0abas was in the bedroo with the doctor. +6ow+s your chance" friend"+ his wife said to the colonel. +The doctor is #ettin# hi ready to tra!el to the ranch" and he+s not co in# back until Thursday. The colonel stru##led with two opposin# forces9 in spite of his deter ination to sell the rooster" he wished he had arri!ed an hour later and issed 0abas. +& can wait"+ he said. *ut the wo an insisted. 0he led hi to the bedroo where her husband was seated on the throne like bed" in his underwear" his colorless eyes fi$ed on the doctor. The colonel waited until the doctor had heated the #lass tube with the patient+s urine" sniffed the odor" and ade an appro!in# #esture to 0abas. +%e+ll ha!e to shoot hi "+ the doctor said" turnin# to the colonel. +4iabetes is too slow for finishin# off the wealthy.+ +8ou+!e already done your best with your da ned insulin in;ections"+ said 0abas" and he #a!e a ;u p on his flaccid buttocks. +*ut &+ a hard nut to crack.+ (nd then" to the colonel9 +1o e in" friend. %hen & went to look for you this afternoon" & couldn+t e!en see your hat.+ +& don+t wear one" so & won+t ha!e to take if off for anyone.+ 0abas be#an to #et dressed. The doctor put a #lass tube with a blood sa ple in his ;acket pocket. Then he strai#htened out the thin#s in his ba#. The colonel thou#ht he was #ettin# ready to lea!e. +&f & were in your shoes" &+d send y friend a bill for a hundred thousand pesos" doctor"+ the colonel said. +That way he wouldn+t be so worried.+ +&+!e already su##ested that to hi " but for a illion"+ the doctor said. +<o!erty is the best cure for diabetes.+ +Thanks for the prescription"+ said 0abas" tryin# to stuff his !olu inous belly into his ridin# breeches. +*ut won+t accept it" to sa!e you fro the catastrophe of beco in# rich.+ The doctor saw his own teeth reflected in the little chro ed lock of his ba#. He

looked at the clock without showin# i patience. 0abas" puttin# on his boots" suddenly turned to the colonel9 +%ell" friend" what+s happenin# with the rooster,+ The colonel realized that the doctor was also waitin# for his answer. He clenched his teeth. +6othin#" friend"+ he ur ured. +&+!e co e to sell hi to you.+ 0abas finished puttin# on his boots. +Fine" y friend"+ he said without e otion. +&t+s the ost sensible thin# that could ha!e occurred to you.+ +&+ too old now for these co plications"+ the colonel said to ;ustify hi self before the doctor+s i penetrable e$pression. +&f & were twenty years youn#er it would be different.+ +8ou+ll always be twenty years youn#er"+ the doctor replied. The colonel re#ained his breath. He waited for 0abas to say so ethin# ore" but he didn+t. 0abas put on a leather zippered ;acket and #ot ready to lea!e the bedroo . +&f you like" we+ll talk about it ne$t week" friend"+ the colonel said. +That+s what & was #oin# to say"+ said 0abas. +& ha!e a custo er who i#ht #i!e you four hundred pesos. *ut we ha!e to wait till Thursday.+ +How uch,+ the doctor asked. +Four hundred pesos.+ l +& had heard so eone say that he was worth a lot ore"+ the doctor said. +8ou were talkin# in ter s of nine hundred pesos"+ the colonel said" backed by the doctor+s perple$ity. +He+s the best rooster in the whole pro!ince.+ 0abas answered the doctor. +(t so e other ti e" anyone would ha!e paid a thousand"+ he e$plained. +*ut now no one dares pit a #ood rooster. There+s always the dan#er he+ll co e out the pit shot to death.+ He turned to the colonel" fei#nin# disappoint ent9 +That+s what & wanted to tell you" friend.+ The colonel nodded. +Fine"+ he said. + He followed hi down the hall. The doctor stayed in the li!in# roo " detained by 0abas+s wife" who asked hi for a re edy +for those thin#s which co e o!er one suddenly and which one doesn+t know what they are.+ The colonel waited for hi in the office. 0abas opened the safe" stuffed oney into all his pockets" and held out four bills to the colonel. +There+s si$ty pesos" friend"+ he said. +%hen the rooster is sold we+ll settle up.+ The colonel walked with the doctor past the stalls at the waterfront" which were be#innin# to re!i!e in the cool of the afternoon. ( bar#e loaded with su#ar cane" was o!in# down the thread of current. The colonel found the doctor stran#ely i per!ious. +(nd you how are you" doctor,+ The doctor shru##ed. +(s usual"+ he said. +& think & need a doctor.+ +&t+s the winter"+ the colonel said. +&t eats away y insides.+ The doctor e$a ined hi with a look absolutely de!oid of any professional interest. &n succession he #reeted the 0yrians seated at the doors of their shops. (t the door of the doctor+s office" the colonel e$pressed his opinion of the sale of the rooster.

+& couldn+t do anythin# else"+ he e$plained. +That ani al feeds on hu an flesh.+ +The only ani al who feeds on hu an flesh is 0abas"+ the doctor said. +&+ sure he+d resell the rooster for the nine hundred pesos.+ +8ou think so,+ +&+ sure of it"+ the doctor said. +&t+s as sweet a deal as his fa ous patriotic pact with the ayor.+ The colonel refused to belie!e it. +My friend ade that pact to sa!e his skin"+ he said. +That+s how he could stay in town.+ +(nd that+s how he could buy the property of his fellow)partisans who the ayor kicked out at half their price"+ the doctor replied. He knocked on the door" since he didn+t find his keys in his pockets. Then he faced the colonel+s disbelief. +4on+tD be so nai!e"+ he said. +0abas is uch ore interested in oney than in his own skin.+ The colonel+s wife went shoppin# that ni#ht. He acco panied her to the 0yrians+ stalls" ponderin# the doctor+s re!elations. +Find the boys i ediately and tell the that the rooster is sold"+ she told hi . +%e ustn+t lea!e the with any hopes.+ +The rooster won+t be sold until y friend 0abas co es back"+ the colonel answered. He found (l!aro playin# roulette in the pool hall. The place was swelterin# on 0unday ni#ht. The heat see ed ore intense because of the !ibrations of the radio turned up full blast. The colonel a used hi self with the bri#htly colored nu bers painted on a lar#e black oilcloth co!er and lit by an oil lantern placed on a bo$ in the center of the table. (l!aro insisted on losin# on twenty)three. Followin# the #a e o!er his shoulder" the colonel obser!ed that the ele!en turned up four ti es in nine spins. +*et on ele!en"+ he whispered into (l!aro+s ear. +&t+s the one co in# up ost.+ (l!aro e$a ined the table. He didn+t bet on the ne$t spin. He took so e oney out of his pants pocket" and with it a sheet of paper. He #a!e the paper to the colonel under the table. +&t+s fro (#ustin"+ he said. The colonel put the clandestine note in his pocket. (l!aro bet hea!ily on the ele!en. +0tart with ;ust a little"+ the colonel said. +&t ay be a #ood hunch"+ (l!aro replied. ( #roup of nei#hborin# players took their bets off the other nu bers and bet on ele!en after the enor ous colored wheel had already be#un to turn. The colonel felt oppressed. For the first ti e he felt the fascination" a#itation" and bitterness of #a blin#. The fi!e won. +&+ sorry"+ the colonel said" asha ed" and" with an irresistible feelin# of #uilt" followed the little wooden rake which pulled in (l!aro+s oney. +That+s what & #et for buttin# into what doesn+t concern e.+ (l!aro s iled without lookin# at hi . +4on+t worry" colonel. Trust to lo!e.+ The tru pets playin# a a bo were suddenly interrupted. The #a blers scattered with their hands in the air. The colonel felt the dry snap" articulate and cold" of a rifle

bein# cocked behind his back. He realized that he had been cau#ht fatally in a police raid with the clandestine paper in his pocket. He turned halfway around without raisin# his hands. (nd then he saw" close up" for the first ti e in his life" the an who had shot his son. The an was directly in front of hi " with his rifle barrel ai ed at the colonel+s belly. He was s all" &ndian)lookin#" with weather)beaten skin" and his breath s elled like a child+s. The colonel #ritted his teeth and #ently pushed the rifle barrel away with the tips of his fin#ers. +.$cuse e"+ he said. He confronted two round little bat eyes. &n an instant" he felt hi self bein# swallowed up by those eyes" crushed" di#ested" and e$pelled i ediately. +8ou ay #o" colonel.+ He didn+t need to open the window to tell it was 4ece ber. He knew it in his bones when he was cuttin# up the fruit for the rooster+s breakfast in the kitchen. Then he opened the door and the si#ht of the patio confir ed his feelin#. &t was a ar!elous patio" with the #rass and the trees" and the cubicle with the pri!y floatin# in the clear air" one illi eter abo!e the #round. His wife stayed in bed until nine. %hen she appeared in the kitchen" the colonel had already strai#htened up the housed and was talkin# to the children in a circle around the rooster. 0he had to ake a detour to #et to the sto!e. +Get out of the way:+ she shouted. 0he #lowered in the ani al+s direction. +& don+t know when &+ll e!er #et rid of the e!il)o ened bird.+ The colonel re#arded his wife+s ood o!er the rooster. 6othin# about the rooster deser!ed resent ent. He was ready for trainin#. His neck and his feathered purple thi#hs" his saw)toothed crest9 the ani al had taken on a slender fi#ure" a defenseless air. +7ean out the window and for#et the rooster"+ the colonel said when the children left. +'n ornin#s like this" one feels like ha!in# a picture taken.+ 0he)leaned out the window but her face betrayed no e otion. +& would like to plant the roses"+ she said" returnin# to the sto!e. The colonel hun# the irror on the hook to sha!e. +&f you want to plant the roses" #o ahead"+ he said. He tried to ake his o!e ents atch those in the irror. +The pi#s eat the up"+ she said. +(ll the better"+ the colonel said. +<i#s fattened on roses ou#ht to taste !ery #ood.+ He looked for his wife in the irror and noticed that she still had the sa e e$pression. *y the li#ht of the fire her face see ed to be for ed of the sa e aterial as the sto!e. %ithout noticin#" his eyes fi$ed on her" the colonel continued sha!in# hi self by touch as he had for any years. The wo an thou#ht" in a lon# silence. +*ut & don+t want to plant the "+ she said. +Fine"+ said the colonel. +Then don+t plant the .+ He felt well. 4ece ber had shri!eled the flora in his #ut. He suffered a disappoint ent that ornin# tryin# to put on his new shoes. *ut after tryin# se!eral ti es he realized that it was a wasted effort" and put on his patent)leather ones. His wife noticed the chan#e. +&f you don+t put on the new ones you+ll ne!er break the in"+ she said. +They+re shoes for a cripple"+ the colonel protested.

+They ou#ht to sell shoes that ha!e already been worn for a onth.+ He went into the street sti ulated by the presenti ent that the letter would arri!e that afternoon. 0ince it still was not ti e for the launches" he waited for 0abas in his office. *ut they infor ed hi that he wouldn+t be back until Monday. He didn+t lose his patience despite ha!in# foreseen this setback. +0ooner or later he has to co e back"+ he told hi self" and he headed for the harbor= it was a ar!elous o ent" a o ent of still unble ished clarity. +The whole year ou#ht to be 4ece ber"+ he ur ured" seated in the store of Moses the 0yrian. +'ne feels as if he were ade of #lass.+ Moses the 0yrian had to ake an effort to translate the idea into his al ost for#otten (rabic. He was a placid 'riental" encased up to his ears in s ooth" stretched skin" and he had the clu sy o!e ents of a drowned an. &n fact" he see ed as if he had ;ust been rescued fro the water. +That+s the way it was before"+ he said. +&f it were the sa e now" & would be ei#ht hundred and ninety)se!en years old. (nd you,+ +0e!enty)Fi!e"+ said the colonel" his eyes pursuin# the post aster. 'nly then did he disco!er the circus. He reco#nized the patched tent on the roof of the ail boat a id a pile of colored ob;ects. For a second he lost the post aster while he looked for the wild ani als a on# the crates piled up on the other launches. He didn+t find the . +&t+s a circus"+ he said. +&t+s the first one that+s co e in ten years.+ Moses the 0yrian !erified his report. He spoke to his wife in a pid#in of (rabic and 0panish. 0he replied fro the back of the store. He ade a co ent to hi self" and then translated his worry for the colonel. +Hide your cat" colonel. The boys will steal it to sell it to the circus.+ The colonel was #ettin# ready to follow the post aster. +&t+s not a wild)ani al show"+ he said. +&t doesn+t atter"+ the 0yrian replied. +The ti#htrope" walkers eat cats so they won+t break their bones.+ He followed the post aster throu#h the stalls at the waterfront to the plaza. There the loud cla or fro the cockfi#ht took hi by surprise. ( passer)by said so ethin# to hi about his rooster. 'nly then did he re e ber that this was the day set for the trials. He passed the post office. ( o ent later he had sunk into the turbulent at osphere of the pit. He saw his rooster in the iddle of the pit" alone" defenseless" his spurs wrapped in ra#s" with so ethin# like fear !isible in the tre blin# of his feet. His ad!ersary was a sad ashen rooster. The colonel felt no e otion. There was a succession of identical attacks. ( o entary en#a#e ent of feathers and feet and necks in the iddle of an enthusiastic o!ation. @nocked a#ainst the planks of the barrier" the ad!ersary did a so ersault and returned to the attack. His rooster didn+t attack. He rebuffed e!ery attack" and landed a#ain in e$actly the sa e spot. *ut now his feet weren+t tre blin#. Hernan ;u ped the barrier" picked hi up with both hands" and showed hi to the crowd in the stands. There was a frenetic e$plosion of applause and shoutin#. The colonel noticed the disproportion between the enthusias of the applause and the intensity of the fi#ht. &t see ed to hi a farce to which ) !oluntarily and consciously) the roosters had also lent the sel!es.

& pelled by a sli#htly disdainful curiosity" he e$a ined the circular pit. (n e$cited crowd was hurtlin# down the stands toward the pit. The colonel obser!ed the confusion of hot" an$ious" terribly ali!e faces. They were new people. (ll the new people in town. He reli!ed ) with forebodin# ) an instant which had been erased on the ed#e of his e ory. Then he leaped the barrier" ade his way throu#h the packed crowd in the pit" and confronted Hernan+s cal eyes. They looked at each other without blinkin#. +Good afternoon" colonel.+ The colonel took the rooster away fro hi . +Good afternoon"+ he uttered. (nd he said nothin# ore because the war deep throbbin# of the ani al ade hi shudder. He thou#ht that he had ne!er had such an ali!e thin# in his hands before. +8ou weren+t at ho e"+ Hernan said" confused. ( new o!ation interrupted hi . The colonel felt inti idated. He ade his way a#ain" without lookin# at anybody" stunned by the applause and the shouts" and went into the street with his rooster under his ar . The whole town ) the lower)class people ) ca e out to watch hi #o by followed by the school children. ( #i#antic ne#ro standin# on a table with a snake wrapped around his neck was sellin# edicine without a license at a corner of the plaza. ( lar#e #roup returnin# fro the harbor had stopped to listen to his spiel. *ut when the colonel passed with the rooster" their attention shifted to hi . The way ho e had ne!er been so lon#. He had no re#rets. For a lon# ti e the town had a lain in a sort of stupor" ra!a#ed by ten years of history. That afternoon) another Friday without a letter 5 the people had awakened. The colonel re e bered another era. He saw hi self with his wife and his son watchin# under an u brella a show which was not interrupted despite the rain. He re e bered the party+s leaders" scrupulously #roo ed" fannin# the sel!es to the beat of the usic in the patio" of his house. He al ost reli!ed the painful resonance of the bass dru in his intestines. He walked alon# the street parallel to the harbor and if there" too" found the tu ultuous .lection 0unday crowd of lon# a#o. They were watchin# the circus unloadin#. Fro inside a tent" a wo an shouted so ethin# about the rooster. He continued ho e" self)absorbed" still hearin# scattered !oices" as if the re nants of the o!ation in the pit were pursuin# hi . (t the door he addressed the children9 +.!eryone #o ho e"+ he said. +(nyone who co es in will lea!e with a hidin#+ He barred the door and went strai#ht into the kitchen. His wife ca e out of the bedroo chokin#. +They took it by force"+ she said" sobbin#. +& told the that the rooster would not lea!e this house while & was ali!e.+ The colonel tied the rooster to the le# of the sto!e. He chan#ed the water in the can" pursued by his wife+s frantic !oice. +They said they would take it o!er our dead bodies"+ she said. +They said the rooster didn+t belon# to us but to the whole town.+ 'nly when he finished with the rooster did the colonel turn to the contorted face of his wife. He disco!ered" without surprise" that it produced neither re orse nor co passion in hi .

+They did the ri#ht thin#"+ he said quietly. (nd then lookin# throu#h his pockets" he added with a sort of botto less sweetness9 +The rooster+s not for sale.+ 0he followed hi to the bedroo . 0he felt hi to be co pletely hu an" but untouchable" as if she were seein# hi on a o!ie screen. The colonel took a roll of bills out of the closet" added what he had in his pockets to it" counted the total" and put it back in the closet. +There are twenty)nine pesos to return to y friend 0abas"+ he said. +He+ll #et the rest when the pension arri!es.+ +(nd if it doesn+t arri!e,+ the wo an asked. +&t will.+ +*ut if it doesn+t,+ +%ell" then" he won+t #et paid.+ He found his new shoes under the bed. He went back to the closet for the bo$" cleaned the soles with a ra#" and put the shoes in the bo$" ;ust as his wife had brou#ht the 0unday ni#ht. 0he didn+t o!e. +The shoes #o back"+ the colonel said. +That+s thirteen pesos ore for y friend.+ +They won+t take the back"+ she said. +They ha!e to take the back"+ the colonel replied. +&+!e only put the on twice.+ +The Turks don+t understand such thin#s"+ the wo an said. +They ha!e to understand.+ +(nd if they don+t,+ +%ell" then" they don+t.+ They went to bed without eatin#. The colonel waited for his wife to finish her rosary to turn out the la p. *ut he couldn+t sleep. He heard the bells for the o!ie classifications" and al ost at once )three hours later) the curfew. The #ra!elly breathin# of his wife beca e an#uished with the chilly ni#ht air. The colonel still had his eyes open when she spoke to hi in a cal " conciliatory !oice9 +8ou+re awake.+ +8es.+ +Try to listen to reason"+ the wo an said. +Talk to y friend 0abas to orrow.+ +He+s not co in# back until Monday.+ +*etter"+ said the wo an. +That way you+ll ha!e three days to think about what you+re #oin# to say.+ +There+s nothin# to think about"+ the colonel said. ( pleasant coolness had taken the place of the !iscous air of 'ctober. The colonel reco#nized 4ece ber a#ain in the ti etable of the plo!ers. %hen it struck two he still hadn+t been able to fall asleep. *ut he knew that his wife was also awake. He tried to chan#e his position in the ha ock. +8ou can+t sleep"+ the wo an said. +6o.+ 0he thou#ht for a o ent. +%e+re in no condition to do that"+ she said.+ ?ust think how uch four hundred pesos in one lu p su is.+ +&t won+t be lon# now till the pension co es"+ the colonel said. +8ou+!e been sayin# the sa e thin# for fifteen years.+ +That+s why"+ the colonel said. +&t can+t be uch lon#er now.+

0he was silent. *ut when she spoke a#ain" it didn+t see to the colonel as if any ti e had passed at all. +& ha!e the i pression the oney will ne!er arri!e"+ the wo an said. +&t will.+ +(nd if it doesn+t,+ He couldn+t find his !oice to answer. (t the first crow of the rooster he was struck by reality" but he sank back a#ain into a dense" safe" re orseless sleep. %hen he awoke" the sun was already hi#h in the sky. His wife was sleepin#. The colonel ethodically repeated his ornin# acti!ities" two hours behind schedule" and waited for his wife to eat breakfast. 0he was unco unicati!e when she awoke. They said #ood ornin#" and they sat down to eat in silence. The colonel sipped a cup of black coffee and had a piece of cheese and a sweet roll. He spent the whole ornin# in the tailor shop. (t one o+clock he returned ho e and found his wife endin# clothes a on# the be#onias. +&t+s lunchti e"+ he said. +There is no lunch.+ He shru##ed. He tried to block up the holes in the patio wall to pre!ent the children co in# into the kitchen. %hen he ca e back into the hall" lunch was on the table. 4urin# the course of lunch" the colonel realized that his wife was akin# an effort not to cry. This certainty alar ed hi . He knew his wife+s character" naturally hard" and hardened e!en ore by forty years of bitterness. The death of her son had not wrun# a sin#le tear out of her. He fi$ed a repro!in# look directly on her eyes. 0he bit her lips" dried her eyelids on her slee!e" and continued eatin# lunch. +8ou ha!e no consideration"+ she said. The colonel didn+t speak. +8ou+re willful" stubborn" and inconsiderate"+ she repeated. 0he crossed her knife and fork on the plate" but i ediately rectified their positions superstitiously. +(n entire lifeti e eatin# dirt ;ust so that now it turns out that & deser!e less consideration than a rooster.+ +That+s different"+ the colonel said. +&t+s the sa e thin#"+ the wo an replied. +8ou ou#ht to realize that &+ dyin#= this thin# & ha!e is not a sickness but a slow death.+ The colonel didn+t speak until he finished eatin# his lunch. G&f the doctor #uarantees e that by sellin# the rooster you+ll #et rid of your asth a" &+ll sell hi i ediately"+ he said. +*ut if not" not.+ That afternoon he took the rooster to the pit. 'n his return he found his wife on the !er#e of an attack. 0he walkin# up and down the hall" her hair down her back" her ar s spread wide apart" tryin# to catch her breath abo!e the whistlin# in her lun#s. 0he was there till early e!enin#. Then she went to bed without speakin# to her husband. 0he outhed prayers until a little after curfew. Then the colonel #ot ready to put out the la p. *ut she ob;ected. +& don+t want to die in the dark"+ she said. The colonel left the la p on the floor. He be#an to feel e$hausted. He wished he could for#et e!erythin#" sleep forty)four days in one stretch" and wake up on ?anuary

-Ith at three in the afternoon" in the pit" and at the e$act o ent to let the rooster loose. *ut he felt hi self threatened by the sleeplessness of his wife. +&t+s the sa e story as always"+ she be#an a o ent earlier. +%e put up with hun#er so others can eat. &t+s been the sa e story for forty years.+ The colonel kept silent until his wife paused to ask if he was awake. He answered that he was. The wo an continued in a s ooth" fluent" i placable tone. +.!erybody will win with the rooster e$cept us. %e+re the only ones who don+t ha!e a cent to bet.+ +The owner of the rooster is entitled to twenty per cent.+ +8ou were also entitled to #et a position when they ade you break your back for the in the elections"+ the wo an replied. +8ou were also entitled to the !eteran+s pension after riskin# your neck in the ci!il war. 6ow e!erybody has his future assured and you+re dyin# of hun#er" co pletely alone.+ +&+ not alone"+ the colonel said. He tried to e$plain" but sleep o!ertook hi . 0he kept talkin# dully until she realized that her husband was sleepin#. Then she #ot out of the osquito net and walked up and down the li!in# roo in the darkness. There she continued talkin#. The colonel called her at dawn. 0he appeared at the door" #hostlike" illu inated fro below by the la p which was al ost out. 0he put it out before #ettin# into the osquito nettin#. *ut she kept talkin#. +%e+re #oin# to do one thin#"+ the colonel interrupted her. +The only thin# we can do is sell the rooster"+ said the wo an. +%e can also sell the clock.+ +They won+t buy it.+ +To orrow &+ll try to see if (l!aro will #i!e e the forty pesos.+ +He won+t #i!e the to you.+ +Then we+ll sell the picture.+ D %hen the wo an spoke a#ain" she was outside the osquito net a#ain. The colonel s elled her breath i pre#nated with edicinal herbs. +They won+t buy it"+ she said. +%e+ll see"+ the colonel said #ently" without a trace of chan#e in his !oice. +6ow" #o to sleep. &f we can+t sell anythin# to orrow" we+ll think of so ethin# else.+ He tried to keep his eyes open but sleep broke his resol!e. He fell to the botto of a substance without ti e and without space" where the words of his wife had a different si#nificance. *ut a o ent later he felt hi self bein# shaken by the shoulder. +(nswer e.+ The colonel didn+t know if he had heard those words before or after he had slept. 4awn was breakin#. The window stood out in 0unday+s #reen clarity. He thou#ht he had a fe!er. His eyes burned and he had to ake a #reat effort to clear his head. +%hat will we do if we can+t sell anythin#,+ the wo an repeated. +*y then it will be ?anuary -Ith"+ the colonel said" co pletely awake. +They+ll pay the twenty per cent that afternoon.+ +&f the rooster wins"+ the wo an said. +*ut if he loses. &t hasn+t occurred to you that the rooster i#ht lose.+ +He+s one rooster that can+t lose.+ +*ut suppose he loses.+

+There are still forty)four days left to be#in to think about that"+ the colonel said. The wo an lost her patience. +(nd eanwhile what do we eat,+ she asked" and seized the colonel by the collar of his flannel ni#ht shirt. 0he shook hi hard. &t had taken the colonel se!enty)fi!e years ) the se!enty)fi!e years of his life" inute by inute ) to reach this o ent. He felt pure" e$plicit" in!incible at the o ent when he replied9 +0hit+.

The .nd