he was seventeen when he first saw her; she was seven.
he had walked from the town northwest of tuy because the horse pulling the cart that was supposed to have brought him here decided to die halfway through the trip. just like that. he was to deliver a heavy suitcase to the local wife of an american clerk from the american embassy. the wife was to stay in the town near the mountains while the american served in the army to fight the japanese.
the children were playing tag and this little girl, with fair skin and curly black hair was running straight towards him. she couldn't see him because she was looking back at the boy who was chasing her to tag her. he dropped the heavy suitcase on the ground, and despite the loud banging sound, she continued to run past him while the boy chasing her stopped right on his tracks.
he lit a cigarette and asked the boy about the address. the boy pointed to the big spanish house with a large yard where the rest of the children were playing.
'aren't you ashamed you can't chase a little girl?' he asked the boy who lowered his head and headed back towards the others. the little girl with the curly hair shouted "catch me if you can!" he looked back at her and smiled. she shyly hid behind the trunk of an old tree.
carmen, the wife of the american, took more than thirty minutes to show up. he had almost used up all his cigarettes before she finally appeared in the living room. carmen asked him if he wanted coffee and he replied a curt yes. "erma!!!" carmen yelled out the window at the playing children. "bring a jug of coffee and some cookies for me and the visitor!"
after a few minutes, the girl with the fair complexion and curly hair appeared with a tray too large for her own size. she had big bright eyes, freckled cheeks and luscious red lips. she put down the tray on the low table where he had rested his weary feet.
"so you're erma," he said. erma nodded not looking at him. "you run fast, you're probably never have to be 'it' when you play. you are good."
"i play baseball," she said. "i can run very fast."
"that's enough, erma." carmen shooed her away. erma turned to leave but at the door, he called out to her, "bye, erma, see you again." erma looked at him then at carmen who shot her with a go-away look, then disappeared through the door, and all he could hear was the agile feet running down the stairs.
then, as carmen poured him his coffee, and asked him questions about the trip, how it was in the city, he deliberately stood up and walked over to the large window. he watched the children, their voices excited and again he saw erma running so fast, another boy who was ‘it’ could not catch her. she happened to look up and saw him then disappeared into the maze of huts across the road.
-o0o-
yaiks! 518 words and still not finished. to be continued, folks. this is the chapter of the novel i've been trying to write since 1999. heck, maybe this project would make me get my ass in gear to seriously write it.
yep, me too, waiting for next chapter. Your stories are very vivid and get us right there. I take it that your mother is a bit older in the picture ... but your dad looks very young!
Is this truly the story of your parents or are there some added details for "fiction's" sake? It is captivating but even more so if it actually happened. A different time and different place and one we think "does not happen anymore" but it does! You are an excellent writer!
