He looked at her sideways and she noticed a great load of fallacy in that look, which she

interpreted as contempt. He went back to his room grumbling like a demon, nothing of
what he was saying was understood. In that unfriendly way, he locked himself in again
after a huge slam. His face would not be seen for a long time. It was always the same,
and the routine in her seemed to stick to her like her own diaphanous and parchment
skin. She even stopped eating all day, claiming that she felt that she was in the way, that
nobody wanted her; that if one thing, that if the other. He would open the door suddenly
when he felt that they were all in the dining room and with a string of excessively raised
insolence, he would shout that he was going to get out as soon as possible. This amused
his brother, since he had been saying the same thing for years and the furthest he had
gotten was to the patio. There he left that old suitcase. Any kind soul would do him the
kindness of returning it to his room days later. She was truly a curmudgeonly old lady.
Meanwhile, except for the mysterious behavior of Miss Marie Antoinette and the
bad temper of Don Hernán, life passed peacefully in that place. It was already a constant
what happened day by day. Routine gnawed at Ana Rosa's life, while her husband gave
her another point of view to her situation. He felt wonderful in his possession, thinking
himself powerful thanks to his bulging bank accounts. He felt like the owner of
creation, due to the fact that no one objected to his decisions. He didn't realize that if
they didn't, it was more out of fear than respect. Far were they all from admiring him,
on the contrary, they seemed to hate him. He felt supreme, believing that his submissive
wife was extraordinarily happy, that she lacked nothing, according to him.
That courageous lady, very young at the time and very well cared for, was not
altogether unhappy, for she had adjusted to her customary life; only that he found
himself in an eternal confinement, serving a man who never seemed satisfied with
anything, taking care of children who seemed to never stop demanding and to make
matters worse; enduring the constant onslaught of madness from his sister-in-law and
the enormous drunkenness of his brother Lázaro, who had caused many setbacks.
Thanks to divine providence, his brother spent all day away from home, so those shows
were sporadic. With his sister-in-law another rooster sang and it was no wonder. Marie
Antoinette exerted an excessive influence on her brother. He had exercised it since they
were children. Oddly enough, she manipulated him at will; he used a great artillery of
deceit and bad intentions for it.
Marie Antoinette adored Cristina, she simply called her "My girl". The same was not
the case with Hernancito, she was cold and rarely showed him a small gesture of
affection, quite the opposite; she was very dry and the times he tried to get close to her,
he only received a lash of deep contempt. The boy got used to it and lately he ignored
her. He lived in his world. The few times he was home, he would go into his room
listening to loud music, reading pornographic magazines, wasting time in other
irrational ways, and demanding a life of wealth. While that was happening, her sister
was pampered in an excessive way by that mysterious lady. In the recent past, that
excessive preference of the aunt for the niece, had caused serious confrontation between
the two brothers, a fact that kept the peace in that house in unrest, since the boy felt,
with plenty of reasons; despised in the extreme, as if it were a cockroach. But at that
moment, on the contrary, he felt relieved that he was not daily listening to the nonsense
that his sister had to endure daily, at any time.
Cristina loved that mournful old woman in the same way. More than an aunt, she
was like the granny she never knew. His grandparents, both paternal and maternal, had
already passed away. Ana Rosa's parents had left to meet the creator a long time ago,
when she was a teenager. First his mother died of pneumonia with a doctorate,
according to what his uncles had told him. His father followed him, died of sadness,
according to the same relatives they also told him. On the other hand, the landowner
never met his family, since they had tragically lost their lives shortly after his birth. He
was raised by an uncle first and then took care of him, his only sister, who was a bunch
of years apart from him. It was perhaps because of this enormous detail, that it exerted a
notable influence on that man accustomed to giving orders and being obeyed.
Miss Marie Antoinette went out of her way to please any whim of the girl. It seemed
more like an obsession than love, what the old woman felt for her niece. So much so,
that she was powerfully jealous of anyone who dared to look at her. It was the precursor
of the animosity that Don Hernán felt for Rodrigo, his godson. Thanks to the stupid
obsession of whoever it was, that unparalleled discussion between both families had
taken place, which finally led to a mean estrangement. It was unhinged behavior of that
rebellious old woman. That same rebellion threatened her to be jealous of every worker
who approached her, of every boy who came to the house for some group academic
demands, in short, she was jealous of everyone.
One of those afternoons that you never want to arrive, the old lady threw a tantrum at
the girl over some nonsense. The girl in the house was chatting animatedly with a fellow
student. They were dealing with something concerning a science investigation. The old
woman claimed him violently, regardless of the presence of the young visitor. She
yelled like a real madman. The great amount of insults directed against the poor boy,
were like never to be repeated. Cristina's friend felt very ashamed and with good reason.
He gently apologized to his friend, knowing that she should feel worse than him. He left
immediately, vowing never to return.
Cristina faced her for the first time. She claimed him very annoying, that attitude far
from decency that she had had against the poor boy who was only doing his duty. It was
excessively unusual behavior in the girl who had always treated her beloved aunt with
great patience and plenty of love. Marie Antoinette did not expect that reaction. It
turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back, that unparalleled, extremely rude
refrain that the old woman had directed for no reason against whom she did nothing
wrong. It was that the girl already felt overwhelmed by that abnormal way of claiming
whatever it was. The old lady fainted abruptly. Cristina didn't give it importance, since
every time it was the same. She tried to attract attention in any way, especially by
pretending to be sick. However, on that occasion it seemed that the thing was serious.
She spent a long time lying on the floor, more than usual. They took her to the doctor
and the diagnosis was emphatic. She had suffered a colossal syncope that took her out
of reality. It was something like a cerebrovascular disease, as the scholars say in modern
times.
It was left as dead in life. He didn't even complain, he just opened his eyes, he did it
for moments and very occasionally. Cristina wanted to die because of that guilt complex
that had overwhelmed her ever since. He spent long hours attending to his aunt. He did
everything for her, fed her, cleaned her and when he had the chance; I even read him
some stories or made them up. In the afternoons, when the sun was about to set, he
played the violin for her; she did it delightfully, though she only played a very sad tune.
The girl even neglected her studies and distanced herself from Rodrigo, José's son, with
whom she was completely in love, because she was dedicated almost exclusively to
caring for the sick woman. The old woman never again reacted to any external stimulus.
She was there, prostrate as if she were dead. They only denounced his life: his
breathing, his slight involuntary moans and the fact that he opened his eyes from time to
time.
Despite the fact that José's family had left at the boss's insistence, the boy never left
the woman whom he loved excessively. Sometimes Rodrigo, knowing that his beloved
was focused on his aunt's attention, would risk reaching the room, entering through the
window as if he were a skillful thief. It was the only way he had to do it, to be able to
communicate with her personally, to kiss her and express everything he felt to her. She
didn't dislike the idea. Total, her aunt didn't notice anything and it was as if they were
alone in the room. On those occasions, which were more and more frequent, Miss Marie
Antoinette would open her eyes in a surprising way; it seemed that they were going to
fall out of their orbits. His occasional whimpering occurred unusually during the boys'
nocturnal encounters. The sound of the violin was a loving call. Rodrigo burned with
passion every time he heard that melody, because being close to home, he only expected
that little flash of love. Those laments uttered by the old lady resembled the laments of
some large wounded animal. He did not calm down until the boy left through the
window, just as he had arrived, hidden from everyone, especially Don Hernán; that he
had once threatened to kill him if he saw him near his daughter.
Cristina felt surprised by the reaction that her aunt presented, while she remained
with her lover. He never behaved that way, except when they met and surrendered to
divine caresses. During the long hours he spent with her, while he changed her position,
he gave her body massages and even tickled her to see if she would react even slightly;
he never felt the slightest response, he seemed like a real vegetable. I didn't understand
that fuss that he personified then, when they were together. He knew that he was angry
with Rodrigo, that he never loved him and was never going to love him; but from there
to the fact that his mere presence produced that type of reaction in him, he was very
suspicious. Still, he downplayed that detail. But that was only the beginning of a chain
of strangeness that became frequent in the house.
Many mysterious things began to happen, after the boy began to appear in the old
woman's room every time night fell and her niece accompanied her until late. After the
girl retired to her bedroom, strange sounds were heard throughout the house. Doors
opened and closed, lights turned on and off, toilets flushed; a strong indeterminate odor
was felt, in short, many things that disturbed the tranquility of all the inhabitants of the
big house. Fortunately, and even if it sounded crazy, the only one who was not upset by
it was Marie Antoinette, who was unfazed, since she was "dead in life." The nights were
already a martyrdom for everyone. On one occasion, when Rodrigo had left later than
usual, there was a disturbance coming from that part of the house, from the room where
the sick woman lay.