La historia universal es el progreso de la conciencia de la libertad.
De nuevo, los ruidos retumbaban en la habitación de Emily. Ella estaba acostada en la cama, observando como el estruendo estremecía las paredes y la puerta. Por un instante pensó que se abriría, las sombras se asomaban de un lado a otro por el orificio del pie de la entrada. Creyó que alguien vendría y, otra vez, le invitaría a pasear con ella.
No se equivocó sobre que alguien estaba detrás de la puerta; era su hermana, Jessica, su cabello estaba enredado, era evidente que se acababa de levantar de la cama. Tenía una expresión de disgustos habitando su rostro ovalado. Se acercó a Emily y cambiando su actitud le dijo:
—¿Puedo dormir aquí? —Emily la miró con el rostro serio.
—Claro, como quieras—. Le contestó— De nuevo mamá y papá, ¿verdad?
—Sí, ahora pelean más en las madrugadas. Durante el día son como dos bloques fríos que apenas expresan emoción.
Emily calló, miraba hacia arriba generando un enorme punto blanco sobre el techo con su imaginación. Lo idealizó como un portal; una entrada a otro mundo que la llevaría lejos de esa discordia.
—Algún día dejaremos esta porquería de casa; te llevaré conmigo y conocerás lugares maravillosos—. Aseveró Emily a su hermana menor.
—¿Has conocido muchos sitios hermosos? —Preguntó Jessica recostada sobre el pecho de su hermana.
—No más de lo que me ha ofrecido la ciudad, pero algún día saldremos de aquí, te lo aseguro.
Jessica sonreía, al contrario de Emily, quien ostentaba un rostro más serio que la frialdad de sus padres. Sabía que no podría sobrevivir a su esquizofrenia, paulatinamente perdía la capacidad de discernir entre lo real y lo imaginario. Los medicamentos no estaban siendo lo suficientemente efectivos. Los tratamientos médicos se agotaban y, aparte de todo esto, la situación con sus padres la estaba sacando de quicio.
Su pequeña hermana se quedó dormida esa noche, pero ella no pudo. Sus ojos estaban pegados a las sombras que danzaban como ramas de árboles empujadas por el viento. Voces tenues escapaban de las paredes y se introducían en su cabeza; eran inefables, misteriosas y susurrantes. Emily parecía estar acostumbrada a ellas, y para evadirlas, se colocó los audífonos y colocó música instrumental relajante.
A la mañana siguiente, la casa se sentía desolada. Un silencio sepulcral dominaba el entorno; como el ambiente de un campo de batalla después de una estruendosa lucha. Emily notó que su madre no estaba, había dejado el desayuno preparado y se fue a trabajar temprano.
Recogió su cabello hacia atrás clavando sus uñas en la piel. Se lavó las manos y sirvió comida para ella y para su hermana. Su padre aún seguía dormido; últimamente parecía ser una costumbre para él levantarse tan tarde. Al quedarse sin trabajo, los problemas maritales empeoraron y eso causó un despliegue de emociones en Emily.
Su esquizofrenia la protegía creando mantos intangibles que la cubrían, y la distraían del bullicio de los gritos, sin embargo, hubo una consecuencia que se destacó y se alzó sobre la mente de Emily. Ya no eran simples temblores que solo estremecían los muros, ahora eran movimientos vertiginosos, que agitaban el entorno y lo convertían en un cuarto inflable.
Las voces eran nuevas, una se interponía encima de la otra cada vez que se manifestaban. Los lazos de Emily con lo real se perdían, excedía la dosis diaria de medicamentos; eso la calmaba, pero en su tranquilidad, buscaba salir de su casa a un lugar con más calma.
Cerca de su casa, había un parque de patinaje urbano abandonado. El sol iluminaba todos los rincones del sitio como si se tratara del escenario de un anfiteatro viejo. Emily solo se quedó allí y vislumbró el paraje. La serenidad y el silencio le devolvieron aquella sustancia que había acabado en su personalidad.
El anochecer se aproximaba, Emily debía llegar temprano a su casa esta vez, se lo había prometido a Jessica. Escuchó gritos desde afuera y lo primero que pensó fue en un desastre. Sus padres estaban en la sala; de nuevo peleándose. Emily se metió en la habitación de su hermanita y la encontró acostada en su cama.
—¿Estabas llorando? —Preguntó Emily.
—No, creo que ya no me afecta. — Respondió Jessica con una mueca en sus labios.
—Eso es bueno, te llevaré a otro lugar, ya verás, será nuestro secreto.
Jessica sonrió y le dio un abrazo a su hermana. Ahora era la única persona en que podía confiar, pues a su mamá casi no la veía y, de hacerlo, la hallaba con cara seria o triste. Emily cerró los ojos y sintió como el ambiente cambiaba. Sintió un aire frío que la acariciaba. Las sombras en las paredes se movían como si se tratara de la superficie del agua. La puerta se abrió lentamente y alguien entró, Emily no pudo distinguirlo, pues su cuerpo estaba cubierto de tinieblas y una luz en el fondo iluminaba detrás de la figura.
No podía distinguir si era hombre o mujer; humano o bestia, solo percibió una presencia que parecía casi etérea frente a ella. De nuevo, las voces volvieron, pero en este caso, eran más dóciles para controlar. Emily dedujo que los murmullos venían de aquel visitante, así que lo observó cada vez con más intriga.
De repente cerró los ojos y se puso a soñar; se hallaba en lo más alejado de este mundo, en un lugar inhóspito y tranquilo, lejos de los problemas que la atormentaban. El ambiente era muy parecido al del parque de patinaje donde se hallaba, hasta que un grito, que provocó un estremecimiento fuerte en su cuerpo, la hizo despertar y lo primero que vio fue el rostro de su padre.
Sus ojos estaban desorbitados y la cara sudada. Emily tuvo miedo y abrazó a su hermana con fuerza. A un lado de él había un bolso enorme de mano lleno de ropa. Les aseveró a sus hijas que se marcharía y nunca más volvería. Cruzó la puerta y no miró hacia atrás; lo último que se escuchó fue el estruendo de la entrada cerrándose.
La madre de Emily se hallaba en la sala llorando. Se sentaron junto a ella e intentaron consolarla. El día terminó con los llantos de aquella mujer rebotando en las frías paredes.
Pasó el tiempo y las cosas no cambiaron mucho. Emily ya era una adulta, podía ir a donde sea ahora. Jessica era menor de edad todavía, le faltaba poco para terminar la escuela. La madre de ambas vislumbraba una fotografía donde eran más pequeñas, sonrientes y junto a sus padres. Emily se había calmado un poco de su enfermedad, aprendió a aceptarla y usarla para su creatividad. Aquella figura oscura, que se apareció frente a ella aquel día, jamás volvió desde que su padre se fue.
Universal history is the progress of the consciousness of freedom.
Again, the noises echoed in Emily's room. She was lying on the bed, watching as the noise shook the walls and the door. For an instant she thought it would open, shadows peering back and forth through the hole at the bottom of the doorway. She thought that someone would come and, once again, she would invite him to walk with her.
She wasn't wrong about someone being behind the door; It was her sister, Jessica, her hair was tangled, and it was evident that she had just gotten out of bed. She had a disgusted expression inhabiting her oval face. She approached Emily and changing her attitude, she said:
"Can I sleep here?" Emily looked at her with a serious face.
"Sure, whatever you want." She replied, "Mom and dad again, right?"
—Yes, now they fight more at dawn. During the day they are like two cold blocks that barely express emotion.
Emily fell silent, looking up generating a substantial white dot on the ceiling with her imagination. She idealized it as a portal; a gateway to another world that would take her away from that discord.
—Some day we will leave this crap house; I will take you with me and you will know wonderful places. She asserted Emily to her younger sister.
—Have you seen many beautiful places? Jessica asked, lying on her sister's chest.
"No more than the city has offered me, but one day we'll get out of here, I assure you."
Jessica was smiling, unlike Emily, who had a more serious face than the coldness of her parents. She knew that she could not survive her schizophrenia, and she gradually lost the ability to discern between the real and the imaginary. The medicines were not effective enough. Medical treatments were running out and, apart from all this, her situation with her parents was driving her crazy.
Her little sister fell asleep that night, but she couldn't. Her eyes were glued to the shadows that danced like tree branches blown by the wind. Tiny voices escaped the walls and entered her head; they were ineffable, mysterious, and whispering. Emily seemed used to them, and to avoid them, she put on her headphones and played soothing instrumental music.
The next morning, the house felt desolate. A sepulchral silence dominated the environment; like the atmosphere of a battlefield after a thunderous fight. Emily noticed that her mother was not there, she had left breakfast ready and gone to work early.
She gathered her hair back, digging her nails into her skin. She washed her hands and served food for herself and her sister. Her father was still asleep; lately, it seemed to be a habit for him to get up so late. Losing her job, her marital problems worsened, causing Emily to unfurl her emotions.
Her schizophrenia protected her from her by creating intangible cloaks that covered her and distracted her from the hubbub of her screams, yet there was one consequence that stood out and loomed over Emily's mind. They were no longer simple tremors that only shook the walls, now they were dizzying movements that shook the environment and turned it into an inflatable room.
The voices were new, one interposed on top of the other each time they manifested themselves. Emily's ties to reality were lost, and she exceeded the daily dose of medication; That calmed her down, but in her tranquility, she sought to leave her house to a calmer place.
Near her house, there was an abandoned urban skate park. The sun illuminated every corner of the place as if it were the stage of an old theater. Emily just stood there and took a glimpse of the site. The serenity and silence returned to her that substance that had ended in her personality.
Dusk was approaching, and Emily had to get home early this time, as she had promised Jessica. She heard screams from outside and the first thing she thought of was a disaster. Her parents were in the room; her fighting again. Emily went into her little sister's room and found her lying on her bed.
-You were crying? Emily asked.
—No, I think it no longer affects me. Jessica answered with a grimace on her lips.
—That's good, I'll take you to another place, you'll see, it will be our secret.
Jessica smiled and hugged her sister. Now she was the only person she could trust, because she hardly saw her mother and, if she did, she would find her with a serious or sad face. Emily closed her eyes and felt the atmosphere change. She felt a cold air caressing her. The shadows on the walls moved as if they were on the surface of the water. The door opened slowly and someone entered, Emily could not make out, because her body was covered in darkness, and a light in the background illuminated the figure.
She couldn't tell if he was a man or a woman; human or beast, she only sensed a presence that seemed almost ethereal in front of her. Again, the voices returned, but in this case, they were tamer to control. Emily deduced that the whispers came from that visitor, so she watched him with increasing intrigue.
She suddenly closed her eyes and began to dream; she was in the farthest part of this world, in an inhospitable and quiet place, far from the problems that tormented her. The atmosphere was very similar to that of the skate park where she was until a scream, which caused a strong shudder in her body, made her wake up and the first thing she saw was her father's face.
His eyes were wild and his face sweaty. Emily was afraid and hugged her sister tight. To one side of him was a huge tote bag full of clothes. She assured her daughters that she would leave and she would never come back. She walked through the door and didn't look back; the last thing she heard was the crash of the gate closing.
Emily's mother was in the living room crying. They sat next to her and tried to comfort her. The day ended with the cries of that woman bouncing off the cold walls.
Time passed and things didn't change much. Emily was already an adult, she could go anywhere now. Jessica was still a minor, she was close to finishing school. The mother of both envisioned a photograph where they were smaller, smiling, and together with her parents. Emily had calmed down a bit from her illness, she learned to accept it and use it for her creativity. That dark figure, who appeared in front of her that day, has never returned since her father left her.
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