Everyone in the neighborhood ran after Augusto, and I, who had always been a coward, watched from the safety of my house the disorder caused by that crazy old man we had as a neighbor.
Augusto was as tall as a tree and as stubborn as my grandfather, he was solitary and lived his days in total silence. For some reason all of us kids were afraid of him, although I must confess that several times I dared to sneak a peek from the yard at everything my neighbor was doing, I always thought he knew what I was doing but I could never prove it.
Augusto had always been there for as long as I could remember, my mother had told me that he had gone crazy after his fiancée drowned in the vicinity of the Meg River, that had made me reflect a little, anyone would go crazy after such a tragic event.
Todos en el barrio corrían detrás de Augusto, yo que desde siempre había sido bastante cobarde veía desde la seguridad de mi casa el desorden que provocaba aquel viejo loco que teníamos como vecino.
Augusto era tan alto como un árbol y tan obstinado como mi abuelo, era solitario y vivía sus días en un silencio total. Por alguna razón todos los niños le temíamos, aunque debo confesar que varias veces me atreví a husmear a hurtadillas desde el patio todo lo que hacía mi vecino, siempre pensé que él sabía lo que yo hacía pero nunca pude comprobarlo.
Augusto siempre estuvo ahí desde que tuve uso de razón, mi madre me había contado que se había vuelto loco después de que su prometida se ahogara en las inmediaciones del río Meg, aquello me había hecho reflexionar un poco, cualquiera se volvería loco después de un suceso tan trágico.
So for months I was inquiring about his past, I even visited the library of Mr. Basil, a chubby old man who defined himself as the social chronicler par excellence of Lafayette County, I would say that he was the most gossipy man I knew.
Always sitting in the A5 row, which was reserved for the naughty children who attended, I managed to devour everything I could get my hands on about Augustus' story. There I discovered that Alice, the tragic fiancée of Augustus, died in a disaster that would mourn several families in the county; the event was described as "The Sinking of the Martyr". The Martyr was an old ship that transported passengers to other counties, along with the young woman almost 100 people died and only a few managed to survive after a bad maneuver by the captain.
Almost all the families of the town were involved in the event, except my family. That had earned us the nickname of "lucky" but the reality is that we had little of that, the truth is that Augusto, who by then was a very handsome young man by the way and worth the redundancy, could not bear the pain of the loss and locked himself forever in his house.
Así que por meses estuve indagando sobre su pasado, hasta visite en infinitas ocasiones la biblioteca del Sr. Basilio un viejo regordete que se definía a sí mismo como el cronista social por excelencia del condado de Lafayette, yo diría que era el hombre más chismoso que conocí.
Sentada siempre en la fila A5 que era la reservada para los traviesos niños que allí concurrían, logré devorar todo lo que conseguía de la historia de Augusto. Allí descubrí que Alice la trágica prometida de Augusto, murió en un desastre que enlutaría a varias familias del condado; el suceso era descrito como "El Hundimiento del Mártir". El Mártir era un viejo barco que transportaba pasajeros hacia otros condados, junto con la joven murieron casi 100 personas y solo unos pocos lograron sobrevivir después de una mala maniobra del capitán.
Casi todas las familias del pueblo se vieron involucradas en el hecho, menos mi familia. Aquello nos había ganado el apodo de "afortunados" pero la realidad es que de aquello teníamos poco, lo cierto es que Augusto que para entonces era un joven muy apuesto por cierto y valga la redundancia, no pudo soportar el dolor de la perdida y se encerró para siempre en su casa.
He rarely went out and when he did it was to disturb the poor housewives who stayed at home with shouts that could be heard all over town. My grandfather always said that he "acted crazy" and that he should be locked up in an asylum, but even he was not completely sane. I felt sorry for Augusto, so much so that countless times I would leave some of my food on my tormented neighbor's doorstep, despite the fear we all had of him.
Today as an adult I understand it as much or more than before, that anyone would go crazy in a world that does not share your misfortunes, you only manage to turn the page when you have a reason and you know you have to learn to live with the pain of loss. Augusto was not crazy, he was just sad and perhaps he felt very lonely, I for one would have given everything to accompany him in those afternoons of my childhood.
Pocas veces salía y cuando lo hacía era para alborotar con gritos que se escuchaban en todo el pueblo a las pobres amas de casa que se quedaban en sus hogares. Mi abuelo siempre decía que "se hacía el loco" y que había que encerrarlo en un manicomio pero ni siquiera él era del todo cuerdo. Yo sentía lastima por Augusto, tanto que fueron incontables las veces que dejaba parte de mi comida en la puerta de mi atormentado vecino, a pesar del miedo que todos le teníamos.
Hoy como adulta lo comprendo tanto o más que antes, que cualquiera se volvería loco en un mundo que no comparte tus desgracias, solo logras pasar la página cuando tienes una razón y sabes que tienes que aprender a vivir con el dolor de la perdida. Augusto no estaba loco, solo estaba triste y quizás se sentía muy solo, yo por mi parte hubiera dado todo por acompañarlo en aquellas tardes de mi infancia.
| Aliciente |  |
|---|---|
| Genocidia |  |
| Rosario |  |
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