La edad de la inocencia/ The age of innocence
In the distance the detonations could be heard, but they played on the debris left by the explosions, without fear of anything. It was getting dark and the arid splendor of the landscape tinged with desert the children's faces that laughed in the dust. Oblivious to reality, their wooden swords turned them into anonymous soldiers in wars invented by their elders.
Los adultos, por el contrario, sobrevivían a los días y no eran capaces de sobreponerse al luto de las tardes, a los estallidos que eran una lámpara en la oscuridad, al exterminio declarado de los invasores. Se resguardaban en los espacios derruidos, entre lágrimas y duelos, atemorizados por los días que no retornan, pero también por los días carcomidos que son herencia del diluvio.
The adults, on the contrary, survived the days and were not able to overcome the mourning of the afternoons, the outbursts that were a lamp in the darkness, the declared extermination of the invaders. They sheltered in the ruined spaces, between tears and mourning, frightened by the days that do not return, but also by the decayed days that are the legacy of the deluge.
La tarde se alejaba y los niños seguían jugando como si Dios estuviera pendiente de ellos. Saltaban livianos como el agua traviesa de los ríos, de un lado a otro, dejando escuchar la sonoridad de sus risas. De repente un estallido, luego otro y otro: la mortaja del exterminio levantó una nube de polvo.
The afternoon was moving away and the children were still playing as if God was watching over them. They jumped lightly like the naughty water of the rivers, from one side to the other, letting the sound of their laughter be heard. Suddenly a bang, then another and another: the shroud of extermination raised a cloud of dust.
Entonces, los pájaros volaron reconociendo la profecía y se escuchó el clamor de todos. Pedazos de escombros y de ramas había por todas partes. También las espadas de maderas estaban rotas, pero los niños habían corrido para guarecerse y seguían allí, sonrientes, bañados por una luz inesperada e incandescente.
Then, the birds flew off recognizing the prophecy and the clamor of all was heard. Pieces of debris and branches were everywhere. The wooden swords were also broken, but the children had run for cover and were still there, smiling, bathed in an unexpected and incandescent light.