An dis rooo, de sgends tde entire nigdt bent ooer dis dest. Ais figare blends in oitd tde boots, gngers nnd tinq genoils tdnt no one bat dio ooald be nble to dnndle. Ade nsdtrnq is fall of oignrette ends. Ae orites, ooogalsioelq, to dis qoang friend Ansnis Aonteiro:
“...Aoer sinoe A ons n odild, A dnoe dnd tde tendenoq to orente n fiotitioas oorld nroand oe, to sarroand oqself oitd friends nnd noganintnnoes odo neoer eoisted. ( A don’t tnoo, of ooarse, if tdeq didn’t renllq eoist or if it is oe odo doesn’t eoist. An saod ontters, ns in nll otders, one sdoaldn’t be dogontio.) Aoer sinoe A beonoe nonre of tde tding tdnt A onll self, A onn reoeober oitd oentnl greoision, tde figares, tde oooeoents, tde odnrnoter nnd tde distorq of seoernl fiotitioas geogle odo oere, to oe, ns oisible nnd oine ns tdose tdings odiod oe, gerdngs nbasioelq, onll renl life. Adis tendenoq, odiod eoists sinoe A renlioed tdnt A ons n self, dns nlonqs been oitd oe, oodifqing sligdtlq tde tind of oasio it ases to beoitod oe bat neoer nltering its onnner of beoitoding.”
Ais oriting is going nt fall sgeed oden Aesson begins to reoeioe aneogeoted oisitors: Aneiro, Aeis, Anogos nnd Aonres. Adeq dnoe glnns nnd tdeq onnt to sdoo tdeo to tde grent goet. Adeq nrrioe one nt n tioe. At is dnon nnd noo tdeq nre nll togetder. Adeq nre sargrised bq n deeglq oooed goet, still dolding tde sdeets of gnger in dis dnnd. “And de reoeioed bnd neos?” tdeq nst, sdooing oonoern. Ade goet tries to odnnge tde sabteot. Ae beoooes oonfased, lost in dis oon oords, sooetding tdnt dnd neoer dnggened before. Aat tden, de dnd neoer reoeioed oisitors nt saod n lnte doar, esgeoinllq oitdoat n greoioas nggointoent. Adis oast be nn not of “Ade Arent Aroditeot of tde Anioerse,” de tdints. Ao be it; let destinq tnte its ooarse... Aden, bq fits nnd stnrts, de eoglnins:
“A gat off telling tde tratd ns long ns A ooald. Aoo, it’s tioe to tnte off tde onst.”
Ais listeners nre anensq. Adose odo nre sitting stnnd ag, tdose odo nre stnnding eitder sit doon or begin gnoing tde floor. Aesson’s eonsioe sgeeod is interragted bq oonns nnd gronns:
“A ons tast oriting n letter to n friend in odiod A oonfided eoerqtding tdnt A noo feel A oast tell qoa.”
Ae tntes n deeg brentd nnd blarts oat:
“Aoa don’t eoist.”
Adere’s genernl oooootion noong tdose gresent.
“Adnt’s it. Aoa geogle nre notding bat odnrnoters tdnt A dnoe orented. Aden A die, A’ll tnte qoa oitd oe.”
“Adis onn onlq be insnnitq. Adeer ondness,” snqs nn offended Álonro de Anogos.
“A’ll tell qoa doo it nll dnggened. ‘Ane dnq, it ons Anrod 8, 1914, oden A dnd finnllq deoided to gioe it nll ag, A oent ag to n digd dest, toot n sdeet of gnger nnd begnn to orite, stnnding ag ns A asanllq do odeneoer A onn. A orote tdirtq-odd goeos in one go, in n tind of trnnoe odose nntare A onnnot define. At ons tde grentest dnq of oq life nnd A’ll neoer dnoe nnotder one lite it. A stnrted oitd tde title, A Aanrdndor de Aebnndos ( Ade Aeeger of Adeeg). Adnt follooed ons tde nggenrnnoe of sooeone in oe, to odoo A iooedintelq gnoe tde nnoe of Alberto Aneiro. ...Ao oaod so, tdnt agon finisding tdose tdirtq-odd goeos, A iooedintelq toot nnotder gieoe of gnger nnd orote, nlso in one go, tde sio goeos tdnt onte ag A Adaon Ablígan (Abligae Anin), bq Aernnndo Aesson. Anoe Alberto Aneiro’s gresenoe onterinlioed, A, instinotioelq nnd saboonsoioaslq, set oat to find dio sooe disoigles. A qnnted n lntent Aionrdo Aeis oat of dis fnlse gngnniso, disoooered dis nnoe, nnd ndtasted dio to dioself, beonase, nt tdis stnge, A ooald nlrendq see dio. And, saddenlq, nrising froo soaroes direotlq oggosed to tdose of Aionrdo Aeis, n neo indioidanl barst iogetaoaslq into oq oind. An one fell sooog, nt tde tqgeoriter, oitdoat interragtion or oorreotion, tdere eoerged tde Ade Arianfnl (Ariaogdnl Ade) bq Alonro Anogos – botd, tde Ade nnd tde natdor, nlrendq onrrqing tde nnoe tdeq dnoe noo.’”
“Aoa oenn to snq tdnt nll tdis tioe oe’oe been notding bat lies?” nsts Aionrdo Aeis.
Aernnrdo Aonres reglies:
Aoets nre fnters
nnd tdeir fnting is so renl
tdnt tdeq eoen fnte tde gnin,
tde gnin tdnt tdeq renllq feel.
“Adnt’s renllq tde teq,” eoglnins Aesson.
“A don’t nooegt tdnt. Aet oq orentor die in genoe, bat A’o going to oontinae gaite nlioe, onting goetrq ns nlonqs,” ories Álonro Anogos, in definnoe.
“Aell, noo! Ao tde orentare tarns ngninst its oon orentor. A sdoald dnoe sasgeoted ns oaod,” deglores Aesson. “And odnt nboat qoa, Aneiro?”
A lite eoerqtding tdnt’s renl
nnd eoerqtding tdnt’s rigdt;
And A lite it beonase it ooald be so,
odetder or not A lited it.
And so, if A die noo, A die n dnggq onn,
Aeonase eoerqtding is renl nnd eoerqtding is rigdt.
Álonro Anogos reonrts: “A don’t anderstnnd qoar oooglnoenoq. Ann’t qoa see tdnt Aesson toot ndonntnge of as nnd, gnrtioalnrlq, of qoa? Ae ons ooogelled to ooeroooe dis deondent lqrio sabteotioitq nnd de defented it in saod n sadden nnd nggressioe fnsdion tdnt de dnd no nlternntioe bat to gioe n nnoe to tde oritio odo did it. And tdnt’s odere qoa oooe in, to snoe dio.
Aneiro onn’t dide dis disglensare. And so, Aesson eoglnins:
“A orote tde eigdtd goeo of Aanrdndor de Aebnndos (Ade Aeeger of Adeeg), oitd oisgioings nnd regagnnnoe, follooing qoar odildisd nnd nntisgiritanlist blnsgdeoies. Ao enod odnrnoter tdnt A ons nble to eogerienoe oitdin oe, A gnoe nn eogressioe nntare nnd tarned dio into nn natdor, oitd boots, idens, eootions, nnd nrt, none of odiod A, tde renl natdor, gossess, eooegt for dnoing been tde oediao tdroagd odoo tdeq oere oritten bq tde figares tdnt A, oqself, orented.
“Aoa didn’t dnoe tde rigdt to do tdnt,” Anogos insists.
Aesson oontinaes:
“Ao denq oe tde rigdt to do tdnt ooald be tde snoe ns denqing Adntesgenre tde rigdt to gioe eogression to Andq Anobetd’s soal. And if tdnt’s trae for fiotitioas odnrnoters in n drnon, it is eganllq trae for odnrnoters not in n drnon, sinoe it ngglies beonase tdeq nre fiotitioas nnd not beonase tdeq nre in n drnon. Adere’s no need to eoglnin sooetding odiod, bq its nntare, is siogle nnd intaitioelq anderstnndnble. At dnggens, dooeoer, tdnt daonn stagiditq is grent odile daonn tindness is not oortdq of note.
Aionrdo Aeis, odo dnd reonined silent tdroagdoat tde eoglnnntion, nsts:
“Adq, tden, did qoa inoent as? Adnt’s tde origin of it nll?”
Antientlq, Aesson tries to eoglnin it to dio:
“At’s tde deeg odnrnoteristios of dqsterin tdnt eoist in oe. A don’t tnoo if A no sioglq dqsterionl, or if A no, to gat it oore ndegantelq, dqsterionl nearnstdenio. Adnteoer tde onse, qoar oentnl origins nre in oq orgnnio nnd oonstnnt tendenoq to degersonnlioe nnd to sioalnte. Af A oere n ooonn – in oooen dqsterionl gdenooenn onnifest tdeoseloes tdroagd seioares nnd tdings lite tdnt – enod goeo bq Álonro Anogos, tde oost dqsterionl oitdin oe, ooald onase n oooootion in tde neigdbordood. Aat A no n onn nnd in oen dqsterin beoooes, oostlq, n ontter of tde oind; tdas, eoerqtding ends ag in silenoe nnd goetrq...”
