The Feather Pillow

Their honeymoon had been one long shiver. Blonde, angelic, and shy, the hard
character of her husband had frozen her childish dreams of what it meant to be a
bride. She loved him dearly, nonetheless. At times, with a slight shutter, when
returning from a night together on the street, she gave a furtive glance at the tall
stature of Jordan, silent yet for an hour. He, for his part, loved her profoundly
without letting it be seen.
For three monthsthey had been married in Aprilthey lived a special kind of joy.
Without a doubt she would have wished less severity in their rigid sky of love, more
expansive and with cautious tenderness, but the indifferent countenance of her
husband always restrained her desires.
The house in which they lived had little effect on her shivers. The whiteness of the
silent patiofriezes, columns, and marble statues produced an autumnal
impression of an enchanted palace. Inside, the shining glacier of stucco, the tall
walls without the slightest feature affirmed the sensation of bleak coldness.
Walking back and forth between the rooms, footsteps echoed throughout the whole
house, as if its long neglect heightened the resonating sound.
In this strange love nest Alicia spent the whole autumn. However, she had thrown
a veil over her old dreams, and still lived in the hostile house as if asleep, without
wanting to think about anything until her husband came home.
It was not strange then that she grew thin. She came down with a slight attack of
influenza that dragged on insidiously for days and days; Alicia never seemed to
recover. Finally one day she managed to make it to the garden supported against
the arm of her husband. She looked indifferently from one side to the other.
Suddenly and with profound tenderness, Jordan slowly passed his hand over her
head, and Alicia instantly broke down into tears, throwing her arms around his
neck. She cried incessantly, releasing her silent fears, heightening her sobs from
Jordans slightest attempts at affection. Then her cries ceased, and she stood
awhile with her head hidden against his neck, unmoving, wordless.
That was the last day that Alicia was able to raise herself up. The following morning
she awoke faint and without spirit. Jordans doctor examined her with total
attention and ordered her to stay and bed and get her rest.

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3

I dont know, he told Jordan outside in the street in quieted voice. She has a
debilitating weakness that I cannot explain. And without vomitingI have no idea
If she wakes up tomorrow in the same condition as today, call me immediately.
The following day Alicia continued to get worse. The doctor returned. Anemia was
diagnosed, completely unexplainable. Alicia stopped fainting but she continued to
move visibly towards death. All day long the lights were kept on in the profoundly
silent room. Hours would pass without the slightest sound. Alicia slept. Jordan
lived in the living room, its lights also lit. He walked back and forth between the far
away walls for hours without stopping, insatiable in his perseverance. The carpet
drowned out his steps. From time to time he would enter the room and continue his
silent pacing along the side of the bed, pausing a moment at each end to look at
his wife.
Before long Alicia began to have, at first, confusing and floating visions that later
seemed to bring her back down to the ground. The young girl, with her eyes
excessively open, did nothing but look back and forth at the carpet to both sides of
her bedhead. One night she suddenly transfixed her gaze. After a moment she
opened her mouth to scream, and her nostrils and lips pearled in sweat.
Jordan! Jordan! she yelled, rigid with fear, her eyes still fixed on the carpet.
Jordan ran into the room. Upon seeing him, Alicia let out a shriek of horror.
Its me, Alicia, its me.
Alicia looked at him with empty and fleeting eyes. She looked at the carpet,
returned her gaze to him and after a long pause of frightened confrontation, she
grew calm. She smiled and took the hand of her husband between her own and
caressed it for half an hour, trembling.
Among her most enduring hallucinations was an anthropoid ape on the rug, resting
upon its knuckles with its eyes fixed onto hers.
The doctors returned in vain. There in front of them was a finished life, bleeding
out day by day, hour by hour, without even knowing why. In her last doctor visit
Alicia laid in a stupor while they took her pulse, passing her limp wrist between
themselves. They observed her silently for a while and returned to the dining
room.
Pst One of the doctors shrugged in discouragement, It is a very serious
caseThere is little we can do.

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3

This is all that I needed Jordan exploded, drumming his fingers briskly over the
table.
Alicia was fading away in a sub delirious state from the anemia, worse in the
afternoon but that always let up in the early hours. During the day her sickness
never advanced, but each morning she woke up livid, in and out of consciousness.
Only at night did life seem to leave her in new waves of blood. Always upon
waking she had the sensation of a thousand kilos on top of her pinning her to the
bed. By the third day this sinking sensation never left her. She could barely move
her head. She didnt want anyone to touch the bed, not to even fluff her pillow.
Her twilight terrors came now in the form of monsters dragging themselves toward
the bed and climbing up her quilt arduously.
Later she lost consciousness. In her final two days she rambled incessantly in a
low voice. All the lights remained mournfully on in the room and in the living room.
In the agonizing silence of the house, one could not hear more than the delirious
monotone mumbling coming from the bed and the quiet thuds of Jordans eternal
footsteps.
At last, Alicia died. The servant, returning alone to the room after stripping the bed,
looked at the pillow for a moment in surprise.
Seor! She called out to Jordan in a low voice. There are stains on the pillow
that look like blood.
Jordan came over quickly and bent over the bed. Indeed, on the pillow cover, on
both sides of the dent where Alicias head rested, little dark stains could be seen.
They look like bites. Murmured the servant after a moment of immobile
observation.
Hold it up to the light Jordan told her.
The servant lifted it up but immediately let it fall and stood looking down at it, pale
and shaking. Without knowing why, Jordan felt his hair stand up.
What is it? he murmured with a rough voice.
Its heavy. She said slowly, still shaking.
Jordan lifted it up; it was extraordinarily heavy. They brought it with them and over
the dining room table Jordan gashed open the pillow cover. The top feathers flew
into the air, and the servant let out a scream of horror with her mouth wide open,

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3

her hands flying up to both sides of her face. Over the sheets, between the
feathers, slowly moved its hairy legs, it was a monstrous animal, a slimy and living
ball. It was so swollen that its mouth was barely pronounceable.
Night after night, since Alicia had fallen into bed, it would stealthily apply its mouth
its trunk, more like itto her temples, sucking her blood. The bite was barely
perceptible. The daily fluffing of the pillow without a doubt had slowed its progress
at first, but ever since the young woman stopped moving the sucking went at a
dizzying speed. In five days and five nights, Alicia was emptied.
The parasites that live on birds, usually very small, manage to grow to an
enormous size under certain conditions. Human blood seemed to be to them
particularly favorable, and its not unusual to find them on feather pillows.

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3

El almohadn de plumas
Su luna de miel fue un largo escalofro. Rubia, angelical y tmida, el carcter duro
de su marido hel sus soadas nieras de novia. Ella lo quera mucho, sin
embargo, a veces con un ligero estremecimiento cuando volviendo de noche
juntos por la calle, echaba una furtiva mirada a la alta estatura de su Jordn, mudo
desde haca una hora. l, por su parte, la amaba profundamente, sin darlo a
conocer.
Durante tres meses -se haban casado en abril- vivieron una dicha especial. Sin
duda hubiera ella deseado menos severidad en ese rgido cielo de amor, ms
expansiva e incauta ternura; pero el impasible semblante de su marido la contena
siempre.
La casa en que vivan influa un poco en sus estremecimientos. La blancura del
patio silencioso -frisos, columnas y estatuas de mrmol- produca una otoal
impresin de palacio encantado. Dentro, el brillo glacial del estuco, sin el ms leve
rasguo en las altas paredes, afirmaba aquella sensacin de desapacible fro. Al
cruzar de una pieza a otra, los pasos hallaban eco en toda la casa, como si un
largo
abandono
hubiera
sensibilizado
su
resonancia.
En ese extrao nido de amor, Alicia pas todo el otoo. No obstante, haba
concluido por echar un velo sobre sus antiguos sueos, y an viva dormida en la
casa hostil, sin querer pensar en nada hasta que llegaba su marido.
No es raro que adelgazara. Tuvo un ligero ataque de influenza que se arrastr
insidiosamente das y das; Alicia no se repona nunca. Al fin una tarde pudo salir
al jardn apoyada en el brazo de l. Miraba indiferente a uno y otro lado. De pronto
Jordn, con honda ternura, le pas la mano por la cabeza, y Alicia rompi en
seguida en sollozos, echndole los brazos al cuello. Llor largamente todo su
espanto callado, redoblando el llanto a la menor tentativa de caricia de Jordan.
Luego los sollozos fueron retardndose, y an qued largo rato escondida en su
cuello,
sin
moverse
ni
pronunciar
una
palabra.
Fue ese el ltimo da que Alicia estuvo levantada. Al da siguiente amaneci
desvanecida. El mdico de Jordn la examin con suma atencin, ordenndole
calma
y
descanso
absolutos.
-No s -le dijo a Jordn en la puerta de calle, con la voz todava baja-. Tiene una
gran debilidad que no me explico, y sin vmitos, nada... Si maana se despierta
como
hoy,
llmeme
enseguida.
Al otro da Alicia segua peor. Hubo consulta. Constatse una anemia de marcha
agudsima, completamente inexplicable. Alicia no tuvo ms desmayos, pero se iba
visiblemente a la muerte. Todo el da el dormitorio estaba con las luces prendidas
y en pleno silencio. Pasbanse horas sin or el menor ruido. Alicia dormitaba.
Jordn viva casi en la sala, tambin con toda la luz encendida. Pasebase sin
cesar de un extremo a otro, con incansable obstinacin. La alfombra ahogaba sus
pasos. A ratos entraba en el dormitorio y prosegua su mudo vaivn a lo largo de la
cama, mirando a su mujer cada vez que caminaba en su direccin.
Pronto Alicia comenz a tener alucinaciones, confusas y flotantes al principio, y
que descendieron luego a ras del suelo. La joven, con los ojos desmesuradamente
abiertos, no haca sino mirar la alfombra a uno y otro lado del respaldo de la cama.

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3

Una noche se qued de repente mirando fijamente. Al rato abri la boca para
gritar,
y
sus
narices
y
labios
se
perlaron
de
sudor.
-Jordn! Jordn! -clam, rgida de espanto, sin dejar de mirar la alfombra.
Jordn corri al dormitorio, y al verlo aparecer Alicia dio un alarido de horror.
-Soy
yo,
Alicia,
soy
yo!
Alicia lo mir con extravi, mir la alfombra, volvi a mirarlo, y despus de largo
rato de estupefacta confrontacin, volvi en s. Sonri y tom entre las suyas la
mano de su marido, acaricindola por media hora temblando.
Entre sus alucinaciones ms porfiadas, hubo un antropoide, apoyado en la
alfombra sobre los dedos, que tena fijos en ella los ojos.
Los mdicos volvieron intilmente. Haba all delante de ellos una vida que se
acababa, desangrndose da a da, hora a hora, sin saber absolutamente cmo.
En la ltima consulta Alicia yaca en estupor mientras ellos la pulsaban, pasndose
de uno a otro la mueca inerte. La observaron largo rato en silencio y siguieron al
comedor.
-Pst... -se encogi de hombros desalentado el mdico de cabecera-. Es un caso
serio...
poco
hay
que
hacer...
-Slo eso me faltaba! -resopl Jordn. Y tamborile bruscamente.
Alicia fue extinguindose en subdelirio de anemia, agravado de tarde, pero que
remita siempre en las primeras horas. Durante el da no avanzaba su
enfermedad, pero cada maana amaneca lvida, en sncope casi. Pareca que
nicamente de noche se le fuera la vida en nuevas oleadas de sangre. Tena
siempre al despertar la sensacin de estar desplomada en la cama con un milln
de kilos encima. Desde el tercer da este hundimiento no la abandon ms.
Apenas poda mover la cabeza. No quiso que le tocaran la cama, ni an que le
arreglaran el almohadn. Sus terrores crepusculares avanzaron en forma de
monstruos que se arrastraban hasta la cama y trepaban dificultosamente por la
colcha.
Perdi luego el conocimiento. Los dos das finales delir sin cesar a media voz.
Las luces continuaban fnebremente encendidas en el dormitorio y la sala. En el
silencio agnico de la casa, no se oa ms que el delirio montono que sala de la
cama, y el rumor ahogado de los eternos pasos de Jordn.
Alicia muri, por fin. La sirvienta, que entr despus a deshacer la cama, sola ya,
mir
un
rato
extraada
el
almohadn.
-Seor! -llam a Jordn en voz baja-. En el almohadn hay manchas que parecen
de
sangre.
Jordn se acerc rpidamente Y se dobl a su vez. Efectivamente, sobre la funda,
a ambos lados del hueco que haba dejado la cabeza de Alicia, se vean
manchitas
oscuras.
-Parecen picaduras -murmur la sirvienta despus de un rato de inmvil
observacin.
-Levntelo
a
la
luz
-le
dijo
Jordn.
La sirvienta lo levant, pero enseguida lo dej caer, y se qued mirando a aqul,
lvida y temblando. Sin saber por qu, Jordn sinti que los cabellos se le
erizaban.

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3

-Qu
hay?
-murmur
con
la
voz
ronca.
-Pesa
mucho
-articul
la
sirvienta,
sin
dejar
de
temblar.
Jordn lo levant; pesaba extraordinariamente. Salieron con l, y sobre la mesa
del comedor Jordn cort funda y envoltura de un tajo. Las plumas superiores
volaron, y la sirvienta dio un grito de horror con toda la boca abierta, llevndose las
manos crispadas a los bandos. Sobre el fondo, entre las plumas, moviendo
lentamente las patas velludas, haba un animal monstruoso, una bola viviente y
viscosa. Estaba tan hinchado que apenas se le pronunciaba la boca.
Noche a noche, desde que Alicia haba cado en cama, haba aplicado
sigilosamente su boca -su trompa, mejor dicho- a las sienes de aqulla,
chupndole la sangre. La picadura era casi imperceptible. La remocin diaria del
almohadn haba impedido sin duda su desarrollo, pero desde que la joven no
pudo moverse, la succin fue vertiginosa. En cinco das, en cinco noches, haba
vaciado
a
Alicia.
Estos parsitos de las aves, diminutos en el medio habitual, llegan a adquirir en
ciertas condiciones proporciones enormes. La sangre humana parece serles
particularmente favorable, y no es raro hallarlos en los almohadones de pluma.

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3

Someread.
"The feather pillow" story written by Horacio Quiroga, tell the story of
Alice who had influenza disease, that led her to be days and days
bedridden. The days passed and Alice, never recovered, unlike every
time it was worse. she has several visits to the doctor, who could not
explain why the severity of Alicia. They began delusions, hallucinations
and Alicia showed no signs of improvement. In his last visit the doctor
tells Jordan, her husband, there is nothing to do, this explodes in anger,
because his wife was daying. Time passed and Alice became increasingly
close to death, his condition was so severe that he could not lift his
head, he forbade the servants to be touched and refused to change her
pillow. After Alicia died, the maid is responsible for collecting the room
where she died, lifting the pillow, hit a cry calling Jordan. Jordan seeks a
knife and opened a hole in the pillow and to his surprise, there nestled
monstrous animal, since the day that Alicia had fallen into bed, had been
in charge of extracting the blood to death.
El almohadn de plumas cuento escrito por Horacio Quiroga, narra la
historia de Alicia una mujer que la ataca la enfermedad de la influenza,
esto la llevo a estar das y das postrada en una cama. Los das pasaron
y Alicia, nunca se recuperaba, al contrario cada vez estaba peor. Tuvo
varias consultas con el mdico, quien no poda explicar el porqu de la
gravedad de Alicia. Comenzaron los delirios, las alucinaciones y Alicia no
mostraba seales de mejora. En su ltima consulta el mdico le dice a
Jordn, su esposo, que ya no hay nada que hacer, este estalla en coraje,
debido a la impotencia que senta en no poder aliviar a su esposa. El
tiempo transcurra y Alicia cada vez estaba ms cerca de la muerte, tan
grave era su estado, que ya no poda levantar su cabeza, le prohibi a
las sirvientas que la tocaran y se neg a que le cambiaran la almohada.
Despus Alicia fallece, la sirvienta se encarga de recoger el cuarto
donde esta falleci, al levantar la almohada, pega un grito llamando a
Jordn. Jordn busca un cuchillo y abre un agujero en la almohada y
para su sorpresa, all anidaba un monstruoso animal, que desde el da en
que Alicia haba cado en cama, se haba encargado de extraerle la
sangre hasta causarle la muerte.

Norma Carolina Javier Gonzlez

English 3