Ficción: El Loco del Muelle/Fiction: The Madman on the Pier-[EN/ES]

El olor a tierra mojada siempre me devolvía a aquel día, no al río, sino a lo que allí sucedió y que prometí nunca contar; Puedo recordar como ese día encendí un cigarrillo y me sente a esperarla. Yo sabía que vendría; pero no sabía si aceptaría mi propuesta, quizás se iría a ese viaje conmigo o quizás no, pensaba yo; Aproximadamente en una hora apareció Ana, con una linda sonrisa que dejaba ver sus dientes, tan blancos como la luna, de inmediato se lanzó a mis brazos, mis dedos se ensortijaron en sus rizos y bese suavemente su mejilla, _Tengo algo que decirte, dijo preocupada; Yo quería hablarle de mis planes de llevarla conmigo, pero al ver su rostro palidecido, decidí dejarla hablar a ella primero, _¡Mi Padre no quiere que siga viéndote!, dijo, con la voz entrecortada. -¿Tu padre?, pregunte asombrado; Hasta donde yo sabía, Ana vivía sola en una pequeña choza, a las afueras del pueblo.

_Si, mi padre, dijo sin mirarme a la cara; Le dije que yo hablaría con su padre, yo la amaba, no quería separarme nunca de ella; Las lagrimas corrían por nuestros rotos, Ana decía que también me amaba, perro que lo nuestro era un amor imposible, sutilmente me soltó la mano e intento marcharse, en mi desespero la agarre fuerte y le repetía "Nunca te dejaré ir". De pronto un enorme barco emergió del mar, un pirata con pata de palo descendió por la rampa y con voz fuerte dijo: _ Ana, te dije que arreglaras esto o yo intervendría; yo no podía articular palabras era algo tan irreal, que limpie mis ojos varias veces; Ella tomo mi mano nuevamente y me dijo que ella ya no pertenecía a este mundo, habia fallecido hace 200 años, pero a veces cruzaba el portal y venia al mundo de los vivos.

No pude decir nada más, el padre de Ana la tomo del brazo, la condujo por la rampa, pero antes de partir me hicieron prometer, que nunca contara lo que allí paso; Desde aquel día dejaron de llamarme el Capitan Bernan, ahora para los publerinos soy el loco del muelle, pero no, yo no estoy loco, solo deambulo por el muelle, esperando el regreso de mi amada Ana.

The smell of wet earth always took me back to that day, not to the river, but to what happened there and what I promised never to tell. I can remember how that day I lit a cigarette and sat down to wait for her. I knew she would come, but I didn't know if she would accept my proposal. Maybe she would go on that trip with me, or maybe not, I thought. About an hour later, Ana appeared with a beautiful smile that revealed her teeth, as white as the moon. She immediately threw herself into my arms, my fingers tangled in her curls, and I kissed her cheek softly. _I have something to tell you, she said worriedly. I wanted to talk to her about my plans to take her with me, but when I saw her pale face, I decided to let her speak first. _My father doesn't want me to see you anymore!” she said, her voice breaking. _Your father?, I asked in astonishment. As far as I knew, Ana lived alone in a small hut on the outskirts of town.

_Yes, my father, she said without looking me in the face. I told her I would talk to her father. I loved her and never wanted to be apart from her. Tears streamed down our broken faces. Ana said she loved me too, but that ours was an impossible love. She subtly let go of my hand and tried to leave. In my desperation, I grabbed her tightly and repeated, _I will never let you go. Suddenly, a huge ship emerged from the sea, a pirate with a wooden leg descended the ramp and said in a loud voice: _Ana, I told you to fix this or I would intervene. I couldn't utter a word. It was so unreal that I wiped my eyes several times. She took my hand again and told me that she no longer belonged to this world, that she had died 200 years ago, but sometimes she crossed the portal and came to the world of the living.

I couldn't say anything else. Ana's father took her by the arm and led her down the ramp, but before leaving, they made me promise never to tell anyone what had happened there. From that day on, they stopped calling me Captain Bernan. Now, to the townspeople, I'm the madman on the pier, but no, I'm not mad. I just wander around the pier, waiting for my beloved Ana to return.