III

Hortensia fell on her face. She saw a kingdom become impoverished, she saw a goodbye in the middle of the carnival, a look that asks for explanations to infinity, a voice growing gray hairs, she saw herself naked in the center of the iceberg of time, she saw old hands of anguish knitting hopes, she saw her daughter surrounded by people who loved her. She saw death lazily walking away from the group of laughing boys.
She saw the laughter scare death away and felt more relieved.

When she got up she wrote her a message and went back to her room.

Now that Aurora's phone did not remind her of her escape, she could call for help. Faustino massaged his neck, where the rubbing of the rope had burned him. In the middle of the living room a split beam rested amid dust and pieces of the ceiling.
On the sofa all of Aurora's clothes rested turned into a big ball enveloping artifacts. Faustino wondered if he had weakened the structure. If someday the upstairs neighbor would fall on him through a hole, Aurora thought if she could stay there she could start a new life away from ancestral duties and uncontrollable destinies.

And Umbra waited.

“So, can I stay?”
Faustino realized that he had never sent anyone away, nor had he ever invited a friend.
“Yes, why not?”  He answered self-absorbed, remembering.
“Thank you, really. I promise I won't bother, I'll get a job and help with expenses”. Aurora smiled giving him a thumbs up.

Faustino silently wondered if Aurora would come to his funeral. He wanted to thank her for invading the building. His way of doing so was to tell her: “Then, make yourself at home. Use the couch. That's the bathroom over there. I'll go take a shower, make yourself at home”.

The rain fell disinterestedly through the city of Parnassós, Umbra waited while the rain fell on its severe, yet welcoming facade.
Regina was working when the phone rang.
Regina was always working, when she was called.
Regina was always working.

In this city there are many clocks, working simultaneously even if not everyone realizes it. Regina's clock struck 4 o'clock in the afternoon, while other clocks in Umbra struck the time to remember beloved smiles.
Invitation calls always interrupted the neurotic tick-tack-tock of Regina's typewriter. A few hours ago, her watch showed the time for rain.
The rain was late and interrupted.

“Fuck, who's bothering now?” she complained, stopping. She stopped, giving his hands a rest, a rest she thought they didn't deserve.

Hearing the phone announce Aurora's name, she let out an annoyed sigh.

“Besides, it makes me turn the volume down. I'll have to play the song from the beginning, because it didn't let me enjoy the end properly" She complained, stretching her arms and legs lazily. She let the phone ring for two repetitions of the same song.

Aurora insisted[1].
The phone kept vibrating.

Regina thought, taking a sip of a sugary drink whose promise to fill you with energy was already becoming an impossible commitment to fulfill: “Don't you have anything to do? Don't you have anything you want to fucking accomplish?”

Aurora would wait and insist until she got an answer.

Faustino felt happy without knowing it. He was a little uncomfortable, he had to get used to someone else living with him, however, he enjoyed the shower. There is something strangely satisfying about being naked and being sprayed with hot water.

It was already 16:40 and Antú Kütral was just waking up.

[Umbra was waiting for Regina to answer the phone.]

Her daughter was investigating what was hidden behind the diaphanous door of the hollow. Her granddaughter had disappeared, just as she knew would happen. An apprentice wandered around the house silently, as if asking for authorization. Her clients were on their way. The appointment was scheduled for half an hour from now.

Regina Hahn was still typing. Her ink carved a complaint that demanded coherence to an insipid and ridiculous reality. Like a moan, but more formal. It was 4:40 and the phone was still ringing. Regina got up to pour herself a coffee, knowing that the call would not go away. She picked up the phone and answered the call reluctantly, admitting defeat: “Come on, you'll have a good time” Aurora said immediately.
“I don't want to have a good time. Why would I want to have a good time?”
“You never want to have a good time, but you end up doing it, you damn ogre. Just come and get something to eat”.
“Okay, but I'll be home early”.

Happiness makes its way through the thick tar of Parnassós, the city always in festive melancholy.
The impossible homeland/Home to come.

[1] Lying on the couch, using the huge, overstuffed backpack as a pillow.