This is the first installment of my story "Our Lady of the Donor", published in the series "Sin Censura" Pilot Public Library.
Our Lady of Donore
2010, Juan Diego Gómez Vélez
was a red heart and gold, but it was a heart of lies: it had all the veins and arteries and other details, such as one sees the butcher's. Only it was tiny and made of gold and colored glass.
was too much temptation for a child of my age.
stood out among the other votive offerings, some of gold and other silver, filling the walls of the chapel. Were legs, arms, livers, hands, tongues, fingers, stomachs, eyes, lungs, nose, kidneys, had copies of any part of the body I could name and many did not know. Shone here and there behind the smoke of incense, with colored lights that filtered through the narrow windows.
I was eight years old and had learned what they were votive offerings. Our life, all born in the valley that always turns around them. He had also learned that I could get in trouble if grab that heart. Children could not catch the votive offerings, more beautiful and bright to us appear. We were just there to accompany mothers.
In the center of the chapel was the image of the Virgin, surrounded by hundreds of candles. The rest of the cathedral remained in darkness. The image of Our Lady was dressed in white and had a black robe with gold embroidery. His face was pale and had tears on her cheeks glass. Many years ago, when installed in the chapel, had charged the child Jesus, but now it and just left a pile of rubble at the foot of the virgin. She had no hands, arms were broken in the middle of the forearm.
The long line of mothers walked slowly narrow space between the virgin and the votive offerings. I was tired and bored, we took in that row from three in the morning, wait hours before they opened the cathedral and all because my mom wanted to be the first to enter. Just had to be quiet. Everyone was quiet and just listen over and over prerecorded singing Ave Maria.
Mom stopped to watch a group of votive offerings of silver kidney shaped. I took advantage of his carelessness and threw my hand over his heart. Nobody would have learned had it not been for behind heart collapsed two dozen votive offerings.
"I told him not to touch anything!" My mother never hit us, but sometimes put that voice that left us pale. "Let's see, what was it that took?"
I looked at the most innocent eyes and I could get his head firmly refused.
"Answer me, then. You have not got the tongue. "
I showed him both hands with open palms. Empty.
"Open your mouth." It was not easy to deceive. For two long seconds I seriously considered the option of swallowing the heart, but I realized that one end of the chain accuser peeked between my lips, so I gave up.
I took my mother tongue and took the heart all full of drool. "You know what can happen if they find out with this at the exit of the cathedral?" He asked, as she wiped her skirt and put back in place.
"Understand me, son. I want what's best for you and your brothers. "It did not seem so annoying. Gathered together the other votive offerings from the ground.
Then she chose two of the kidneys of silver, and also took gold four fingers (one was a thumb) and nose. All I got into a black cloth bag and put it in a pocket. "With this we have to meet the quota," he said, "for it so early, more but later there are no livers and lungs. "
" And hearts. "I said.
- ∞ -
Sundays were the days when more tourists came to the valley. Tourists and pilgrims.
Every year more people came and there rows of buses to enter the concourses that were enabled as parking. They all came to visit Our Lady of Donora.
My family ran a store of religious items in the street in front of the cathedral. We sold stamps and scapulars and plaster images of the Virgin in different sizes, new, with the child still intact, but those not sold well. What were the best selling votive offerings: the central counter was filled with cardboard boxes, each with the sample stuck to the lid with tape, this one ear, the other a pancreas, one foot beyond. The boxes were arranged according to an anatomical order dominated my older brothers to perfection. Those who bought
votive offerings were mostly pilgrims, and then hang on the walls of the shrine of the Virgin. Visiting hours for them were in the evenings, well past noon. Never agreed with us in the cathedral. Sometimes tourists
bought a votive offering, as souvenirs, so we had to commission new to the workshops from time to time. The rest returned to the stores, once they had served its purpose.
- ∞ -
I do not like to help my older brothers in the store. I would rather hang out with my friends and hand out flyers to visitors. We did it for the tips they gave us tourists. We dressed in the clothes and ensuciábamos worst way, and then the ladies looked at us with eyes flooded, and gave us more money. Almost always taking pictures with us.
In all, the most success I had was my friend Lucia. She was then ten years, two more than me, blue eyes deep, so bright specks that looked like gold.
Lucia was so beautiful that ever used a photo for publicity. She was taken to the coast, only to take his picture: Her face appeared in the foreground and the sea behind, the same blue eyes. She just wanted to swim in the sea, but the lords of safety or even let your feet wet.
This month everyone wanted their picture taken with the girl in the wheel. Not only tourists, pilgrims also.
assemble a show: While Lucy posing with people, others to noise with whistles, rattles and drums improvised, and took turns voice reading the sentences serious flyers.
"Why wait until your kidneys fail? Replace it today and take advantage of our convenient payment plan! "
Those who were not in line for the photo, we made a circle.
"Did you grow a new organ in the lab will cost between seven and eight times the natural alternative? Moreover, who wants to wait ten years to release the pancreas? Free yourself and the diabetes! "
We read with perfect intonation and without stumbling on words. By that time I had learned all that school could teach us: to read and write fluently and loose cursive also add and subtract, and even multiply.
"Go for the natural alternative. Do not take chances with organs built in factories, artificial processes and hundreds of chemicals. And remember, it costs no more! "
Then came my turn, should be in the sentence with the word largota.
"One hundred percent guaranteed. Full compatibility with your system i-nu .. i-nu ... I-nu-mo-logical! "Obviously the whistles rang out, mercilessly mocking.
"immune system." Corrected me one of the tourists. He had all the white hair and a round granny glasses. "You know what the immune system?"
I looked at my stupid face. It is assumed that tourists do not ask things like that.
"It's one thing we have in the blood to keep us sick." He came to my aid Lucia.
"Well, young lady." Replied the tourist round granny glasses. "But this thing also makes us sick when we receive a transplant is not a universal donor, so they are so important." He smiled and handed him a pair of tickets.
Lucia smiled back and then took several pictures with him and his wife.
- ∞ -
Later, when Lucy and I were counting the money collected in the day, I asked: "Lucia, what is a universal donor?".
Lucia Morrito finished telling a hundred coins. "I think it's another way of telling us the donor. Is how we call people who write in books and magazines. "
" Yeah ... and why not just say donor? "
" I do not know! "Replied absently.
- ∞ -
( continue )
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