The car was on the highway, the time was horrible, well ... in Caracas, almost all hours of the day are horrible to drive. He was going on a mission, a task that he initially assumed was important, but that at this point he simply regarded it as stupid.
He was going to attend a parish meeting on the apostolate work carried out by the lay Catholic movement to which he was attached, «The Servants of Christ», civil Catholic Christians, that is, not priests or religious, at the end that was "zero", because the rest of the people on the planet did not give a fuck about that.
He had already been working tirelessly for eight years, praying, taking the word of God from one place to another, fulfilling a function together with his companion Elsa, of distributing the magazine of the movement to all its members, a truly arduous work, since they had that loading and organizing all the magazines, and then traveling all over Caracas looking for the cells of the organization and giving them their respective magazine, was a job for which he was beginning to develop a certain negative feeling.
The car was going on Francisco Fajardo [1]highway, the cars crowded around the vehicle. It was about six o'clock in the afternoon, the great stellar fireball was hiding on the horizon, being swallowed by the clouds and giving way tonight, the lights of Caracas began to appear imposing a forced show of colors.
Everything was moving slowly, one step at a time, the motorists moving their vehicles through the cars in endless chaos, but the real action was inside the vehicle. Elsa was at the wheel because it was her car, he was next to her in the passenger seat and an uncomfortable situation was developing right there.
--- Well, now we are going to the parish meeting of the Bello Campo team, are you ready? ...
Elsa was a perfectionist, but she was so extreme that sometimes she became a complete maniac:
--- Yes, I have everything ready ... --- he replied. For some reason he was tired of dealing with her, of talking, the only thing left was to say yes, to nod, to agree.
--- You have to be, look at that team is a disaster, the people who congregate there all they do is talk and talk, nothing more, it is a complete disaster...
--- Okay.
--- By delivering all the magazines, we will be up to date, see that the people from the secretariat have their sights on us, many of them want to see me fall...
That aroused his curiosity, he tilted his face slightly looking at her, there she was, a woman of almost fifty years old, spinster.
--- Does the secretariat want to see you fall? ... --- he said with doubt, that was curious.
--- Uhmm ... my love, you have no idea, many of those people are jealous of me as you have no idea ... --- she replied with a certain sly air.
--- But why would they be jealous of you? ... --- He regretted asking that question.
--- It's that they can't stand that I have the highest IQ of the whole group, they're jealous of that...
He was sorry to ask the question, however, he gave it more sane.
--- it's simple, it's a matter of seeing everything I've done. Of all the singles in the movement, I am the one who has stood out the most, besides, all the women are jealous of me, especially those in the secretariat... I don't know, sometimes I get the impression that I attract all men, that's why they are jealous of me ...
Whooooaaaaa?... He thought, but he was not going to open his mouth, he did not want him to spread in his spiel, although at this point he was simply unstoppable.
Elsa spoke without stopping, the same old trash, that she sacrificed herself for movement, that no one understood her, that they were all her enemies, that they were all crazy, that she was perfect, that she never made a mistake and if she did commit Even if it was just one, it was because someone had manipulated the situation so that she would commit it. All this had already made him sick. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, studying her.
He had known her for about eight years, considered her his friend, his companion, his mentor within the movement, the person who had helped him to become a «Servant of Christ», an active member of the movement and although he had a difficult attitude, he still he considered her a good person. But time had passed, he had tried to be understanding, but it simply became too much for him and that pure and positive feeling, degraded into something dark, sometimes reaching certain sinister nuances...
--- ...for example, Maritza, the one who is in charge of the piety part, that woman has always been taking my body out, she just can't stand her husband talking to me, it's not my fault, he always approaches me to speak...
He knew this Maritza, she worked in the piety section, in charge of organizing the prayers and meditations of all the members of the movement, she seemed to him a nice woman married to a rather nice guy, whose name she did not remember. It did not seem to him that Elsa had been "seduced" or something similar by that man, it gave him the impression that the matter was more talkative than anything else.
--- ...so every time I get close to Maritza, she makes an annoyed face, it seems that no one notices, but it's like that...
Five years ago he had seen Elsa as a somewhat sophisticated woman, flirtatious, with a slightly difficult character, but nothing more, but now, in the present, what he saw was a female orangutan with rage, with a wig and a carnival costume, the thing reached the level of turning it into a caricature, nothing more and nothing less ...
--- ...for example this girl Edna, she always got like that when I talked to her boyfriend Eric, it's simple, everyone wants to finish me...
He had known her for about eight years, considered her his friend, his companion, his mentor within the movement, the person who had helped him to become a «Servant of Christ», an active member of the movement and although he had a difficult attitude, he still he considered her a good person. But time had passed, he had tried to be understanding, but it simply became too much for him and that pure and positive feeling, degraded into something dark, sometimes reaching certain sinister nuances...
--- ...for example, Maritza, the one who is in charge of the piety part, that woman has always been taking my body out, she just can't stand her husband talking to me, it's not my fault, he always approaches me to speak...
He knew this Maritza, she worked in the piety section, in charge of organizing the prayers and meditations of all the members of the movement, she seemed to him a nice woman married to a rather nice guy, whose name she did not remember. It did not seem to him that Elsa had been "seduced" or something similar by that man, it gave him the impression that the matter was more talkative than anything else.
--- ...so every time I get close to Maritza, she makes an annoyed face, it seems that no one notices, but it's like that...
Five years ago he had seen Elsa as a somewhat sophisticated woman, flirtatious, with a slightly difficult character, but nothing more, but now, in the present, what he saw was a female orangutan with rage, with a wig and a carnival costume, the thing reached the level of turning it into a caricature, nothing more and nothing less ...
--- ...for example this girl Edna, she always got like that when I talked to her boyfriend Eric, it's simple, everyone wants to finish me...
Does she never shut up? How long is she going to keep talking? Will she realize I'm not paying the slightest attention to her? She is talking to herself ... He thought while studying the environment around him, he was in the passenger seat of a car whose brand he did not know, and that did not interest him, he looked at the sun that disappeared on the horizon, the colors of the landscape would soon darken and the lights of the city would rise, Little by little the queue kept advancing, the motorized vehicles kept passing between the cars, I was in a sarcophagus in the middle of a walking cemetery, I wanted to get out of there...
--- ...I don't know what I did to deserve this, I'm such a decent person, really, every day I try hard...
He leaned his face against the glass of the window, for a moment he fantasized about taking his backpack, opening the door, and running down the highway, running at full speed, escaping from there, he did not know where, but not that. It cared.
--- ...I mean it, when I die I'm going to go to heaven because I've had to endure so many things from all over the world because everyone attacks me so much...
His face was still glued to the window when a motorcycle stopped right next to him, it was a Keeway Superlight 200 motorcycle, one of those large Keeway[2] models that had a certain Harley Davidson air, he liked those motorcycles, he was curious, but what most impressed him was that the one who was driving that car was a girl...
The girl must have been the same age, she was sitting in the car, showing a rude, haughty attitude, but at the same time sexy. She was blonde, with shoulder-length brown hair, she had on a jacket and well-fitting dark blue jeans, which ended in rustic boots. He had on his head a black army officer's hat, which, matching his shiny black leather jacket, looked like a female version of a Motorcyclist or Biker that appeared in movies, something like Rebel without Cause with James Dean or the tv series Sons of Anarchy with Charlie Hunnam...
The girl stopped her motorcycle, at first looking ahead distractedly when she suddenly turned to him and smiled at him. He noticed it, was it with him? The girl looked directly at him, winked at him, then carefully placed her hand on the closure of his black jacket and slowly began to lower it, while slightly rocking her body sitting on it. the vehicle. It was quite a surprise, the girl was wearing a black leather bikini, with small metal spikes, something like a stripper or dominatrix
The girl had seemed attractive to him, but when she opened the jacket she was a true goddess, with a beautiful face, strong features, but that did not detract from her beauty at all, thanks to her tight jeans, she could see that she had molded legs Her breasts were proportionate and round, they could be operated on, but she did not care in the least, she could see that her abdomen had squares, the traditional chocolates, wow ... this girl kept in shape.
The girl opened her jacket and stared at him directly, resting her hands on her breasts, it was as if she liked to feel the metal spikes of her leather top, she was smiling maliciously.
--- Hey!... --- said a voice beside him.
He woke up, he was daydreaming:
--- But... well good ... --- Elsa said with signs of anger. --- lately, you're a distracted little boy, what's wrong with you?...
He hated that, as he always scolded him as if he were his mother as if he were a child. She was a spinster who never married and was simply looking for a kind of psychological and emotional replacement for everything and he was a kind of passive maniac with autistic tendencies, it was as if each one complimented the other, this was a damn disaster.
--- Excuse me, I was thinking about the meeting we were going to have, I mean ... remembering what we are going to do... sorry, it won't happen again. --- answered directly.
Elsa snorted and kept driving in silence...
Jesus... finally she stopped... he thought and leaned his head back against the window.
For some time now, when he was with Elsa, these episodes would happen to him, he simply escaped to an imaginary world, where he did not have to endure Elsa's stupidity, a world in which, even for a few seconds, he was free.
The trip continued along the highway and at one point the queue miraculously gave way and allowed the car to move forward without further problems to finally take Del Ávila avenue, entering the Altamira area, and then detour along with José Félix Sosa avenue until it reached the area of Bello Campo[3].
They finally arrived and parked. They walked through the parking lot in the direction of the church, which was huge and in good repair, climbed some stairs, and entered the place. As it was a special parish celebration, the church was quite full, they quickly mobilized and took their seats, for a moment he thought about sitting away from Elsa, but he knew that it would not be possible, so resigned he sat next to her, and the mass began.
The priest went up to the altar and began the mass, everyone greeted each other, crossed themselves and the adoration began, he prepared to concentrate, to put his soul in tune, the priest performed the respective adoration, they passed all the primordial rites from the beginning of the mass.
Finally, it was time for the homily, the priest prepared to read the passage from the bible, he listened to it carefully, the priest read it slowly narrating each of the words of the verse, he as a "good parishioner" concentrated to listen to that sacred message of the Christian gospel. He considered that the best learning that a Christian had was versed in studying the gospels, because more than the acts of the apostles, it was the teaching of Christ done directly. He concentrated on the word, on understanding the message, on understanding what Christ was saying to him, he succeeded for a few seconds, and then he just blocked himself, in a matter of seconds everything became a babble. He stood firm, looking straight ahead, making silence without showing any emotion, the homily continued, the father finished the reading and began his comment with a joke on the subject, which managed to make some, including him, laugh…
Hey, good move... He thought as he smiled slightly, but it was just that, the father kept talking and talking, but for him, it was just... blablabablablablablahhhh...
He tried to concentrate, to pay attention, he understood what he was talking about, what he was saying, but he just felt that it was all silly, a waste of time, he was tired of hearing the same thing all the time, before they seemed like wise words from a person I knew, but now what they were hearing was stupid and nonsense that was repeated over and over and over again...
blablabablablablablahhhh...
The father was still talking about the word when suddenly a drum peal was heard that flooded the whole place, and in the place where the choristers were supposed to be, there was a huge silver-colored Yamaha drum set with a double bass drum, with six tones, two grenadiers, a drummer, five cymbals. It was played by a subject, with long and curly hair, he was shirtless and he threw several chimes with his instrument, he moved the drumsticks making several strikes showing great skill, after the discharge that was launched he stopped and raised the drumstick pointing to the sky, He closed his eyes, it seemed that he was invoking something.
An electric guitar note was heard, which spread all over the place, and just where the tabernacle of the Church was, another subject appeared who looked just like the drummer, long hair, with a black leather jacket, with a Gibson guitar Flying V, silver in color. After the chord, he began to do a guitar solo, rhythmic and melodic. Next to the drums came another musician with the same appearance, with a great six-string Ibanez bass, performing his instrument, using his fingers, he came to slapping in the best funk tradition, showing great dexterity, and began to play. accompany the guitar.
The drums made a simple peal and joined the other instruments, it was not a specific rhythm, the thing seemed like a fusion of several genres, Metal, Hard Rock, Rock n Roll, Pop Rock, Progressive, and Symphonic, there was distortion, but kept the melody. After ringing for a few minutes, a small crash was heard and a hatch was opened in the roof of the temple, and from there someone with a special James Bond-type entrance descended. It was a girl holding on to a rope, the father and the pulpit had disappeared, he looked at her and realized...
But if it's her... He thought.
It was the motorcyclist girl from the highway, only this time she was wearing black leather leggings that ended in high-heeled boots, the girl raised her hand in the air in triumph, looking at everyone present, and then put the hand on his leather jacket and pull out a microphone. He began to sing with a great soprano voice and good falsettos. In a matter of seconds, he had a full-fledged rock band in front of him, a band that was inspired by the classics of the '80s and early 90s.
He looked around, at first there were pure old ladies and gentlemen, accompanied by children, but that had changed, the benches had disappeared and instead of seeing the usual fauna that used to be seen in churches during weekdays, there was a group of people various pints. He could see rock-and-roll looks and leather jackets, muscled subjects with shaved and tanned skin, they looked like bodybuilders, he saw sexy girls in swimsuits enjoying music, they looked like porn stars, he spotted even more bizarre-looking people, they had been subject with clothes from other times, he saw a pair of cowboys with their hats, a Yanomami[4] Indian semi-naked and shaking his bow and arrows in the air, another disguised as Simón Bolívar[5], although when he looked closely... makes me very familiar...
At that moment he remembered that the face was identical to the photo of Simón Bolívar's facial reconstruction[6], which the government had made to use as a promotional image...
Eeeehh... is Chávez's Bolívar?... That surprised him.
The music broke at a much faster pace, people exploded in complete madness, in the blink of an eye, two motorcyclists, began to push each other, soon others joined them and the mosh pit was assembled Whatever it's called, all the fans jostling to the beat of the music. The beautiful vocalist continued to sing and the temple turned into a pitched battle. Without wasting time he threw himself into the pogo, he let himself be carried away by the music, while they shoved at his side. The mosh pit reached the level of madness, many were jumping over people, there was a Roman Centurion in his armor, using his shield to stop the shoves of others, a warrior from an African tribe took advantage of free space within the pogo to perform a ritual dance, sadomasochists in their extravagant leather clothes brandished their torture devices and sex toys, filled with psychotic joy. He advanced pushing the people who were around him, the music became louder, the whole place was a frenzy, when he saw what seemed to him an Amazon from Greek mythology go through the pogo, mounted on a white horse, brandishing a truncheon, that was total madness.
Suddenly there was a terrible roar...
TRRRRUUUUUUUUMMMMPPPPP!!!!!....
The wall in front of the church began to crack, but instead of falling to the ground, the pieces were pushed violently, as if some kind of force was sucking up the pieces, the paintings of the saints, the details of the church. In a matter of seconds, the entire upper part of the apse was sucked back, leaving a large gap several meters in diameter. The sudden demolition did not affect, much less interrupt the presentation, it was as if everything had been done calculatedly.
After a few seconds, a roar was heard covered by the music of the concert that was continuing. The mighty roar was coming from that hole...
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!...
They all stopped their insane dance and looked towards the hole, and something truly amazing appeared, a green-colored dragon, a gigantic reptile with scaly skin and yellow eyes that poked its head out of the hole, roaring, as it opened its mouth showing a whole row of teeth.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!...
Everyone present looked at the creature, but instead of showing fear, they did so with admiration. The dragon shook its head as if it was studying the environment and opened its mouth again, but instead of a roar, it released a powerful puff of fire...
BRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUU!!!!!.... The fiery breath came out of its mouth with great force, and penetrating its long neck further, it rested its front legs on the edges of the hole, showing two large bat wings of the same color, indeed it was a huge animal.
People looked at him in surprise, the animal released another puff of fire, a great ball of fire, which covered everything, absolutely everything...
--- Now let's move on to the parish announcements... --- said the father solemnly.
A rather old lady with a severe expression approached the pulpit and began to pass the advertisements, the only thing she had on her mind was fantastic characters, a great green dragon, and Heavy Metal...
Yesiiiiiiiii.... Rock N Roll.... He thought as he outlined a smile and shook his head slightly to the rhythm of imaginary music.
The farewell prayer was said, everyone crossed themselves and the congregation began to leave the church, greeting each other and talking to each other. It was already night. He met with the apostleship group, the Servants of Christ, and they went to a meeting room on the church premises.
After the greetings and the respective presentations, chairs were organized in a circle to look at each other's faces while they did the meeting. He sat and watched those present, mostly older ladies, single or at best widows, and a few young single men, nice guys, but in the minority. When I had started with the group, these meetings were sources of learning and growth, but frankly, it was a long time ago that it was the same thing that I heard at mass... blablablablablablahhhhh...
The meeting had a structure, an opening sentence, a development with a specific work topic, on the Christian faith, marriage, dating, spiritual growth or salvation, etc., pure rubbish, in his opinion. After that, they went to the notices section where the activities of the movement were reported in general terms, and then they made a final closing prayer. Usually, the meeting hardly lasted more than an hour.
They all stood up and in a solemn position began the prayer, bowed their heads, closing their eyes. It was a respectful moment. They held hands and began to recite the prayer rhythmically and harmoniously. One of the ladies addressed those present:
--- Very well ... let's start with the meeting.
Everyone settled in their chairs, showing smiles of comfort and sufficiency, he did not feel comfortable in that place.
The theme was Santeria.
For those who do not know, Santeria is the new fashionable religion, a syncretism of the Catholic religion with the Yoruba[7] religion of Northwest Africa, and which has had a deep expansion and roots at the national level, causing a rejection of the Christian sectors, Catholics and Protestants. From the beginning with the apostolate group, he had heard how terrible and malicious the santeros were, that their practices were horrible, that their beliefs were wrong, that they often invoked the name of the devil.
He had taken it all as true and as a cause of struggle against him. But now, after almost a decade, it just didn't make any sense. The conversation began to increase in intensity and to lose control:
--- ... you know that the santeros believe that one can communicate with the dead, I mean that you can invoke the soul of a person, through certain rituals, I say... talk with the dead, can you believe that? --- said a single young woman with an astonished expression.
--- Yes, and I heard that from a girl who was in her first communion, it seems that the family is involved in that, at a certain moment the girl began with seizures and cold sweat, it was something horrible...
The others listened carefully. He was not drawn to the story, he had already heard too much.
--- But then what happened? --- said one.
--- Well, everyone got together and began to pray, until it passed... --- he said
Yes, praying always helps... he thought sarcastically as he remained silent.
--- But that's nothing... --- someone else intervened, younger, he had an Andean air and queer manners. --- In my work there is one who even says that he has come to do witchcraft, to achieve success at work...
--- Ay ... but, how so? --- said a lady in the background, with an expression of concern and displeasure, but also willing to continue listening.
--- Yes, this person tells me that, they performed rituals at night with lit candles, they contacted spiritual entities, from whom they requested favors...
--- Spiritual... Kid, you mean... demonic. --- said another lady with a haughty expression.
He was crazy about that, those ladies with that damn superior attitude, Elsa was the same, he just couldn't stand it.
--- So, every night he does this ritual and asks the demon to help him with work, to get promotions. --- the story concluded.
--- But wait... that's soft, I've heard of people who even use this to kill people, who invoke a diabolical power to kill or harm someone, an enemy...
--- Oh no!... But how horrible!... It scares me! --- exclaimed one of the ladies, already quite old.
The lady put on an expression of panic for an invisible threat that only she could see, she crossed herself...
But what is she afraid of?... he thought, as he watched her.
--- Well, but not only that but also... they have to do with those who are dedicated to "reading the hand" and predicting the future, many people ask them to read their future. --- said the same character, Andean and queer.
--- No... no, they even have a special name, it's something like... like "reading the saint", "consulting the saint", something like that. The square with you a meeting and through some "rituals". --- that was said by making the figure of the quotation marks with his fingers, with an ironic expression
--- ...many say that this has helped them because they feel that the sorcerer answered all their questions.
--- Of course, they will answer all your questions, because they are assisted by the devil and by all the fallen angels who work with him.
--- Oh no... no... but how horrible. --- the same lady made a panicky face and crossed herself.
They did not change the subject, all they did was say the same thing over and over again, Santeria was this, Santeria was that, well... Santeria was to blame for all the problems that happened in Venezuela.
--- Oh no... oh no, please stop talking about that which scares me... --- the lady leaned against the sofa, clasping her hands. The discussion became more and more heated and some began to raise their voices:
--- But they have to wake up, we all have to wake up... I mean, it's time to do God's work in Venezuela! The time is now!... --- the queer Andean raised his hands showing authority Or at least trying, looking more queer.
--- In fact, every day more and more young people get into it, the main victims of this are young people... --- said another who was in the background and had hardly spoken.
--- We have to do something... --- said the queer Andean, as he bowed thoughtfully...
We have to do something... he repeated that sentence in his mind... But, what are you going to do?... at that moment an image entered him in which the group got up, took out baseball bats and torches, and I would go out into the street screaming wildly, ready to start a witch hunt...
How ridiculous...
They kept talking loudly and in an exacerbated manner. He looked at Elsa and to his surprise, she was sitting in silence, which seemed curious. The words began to sound hollow to him, the same thing happened as, in the mass, it was just a babble, only this time it was as if they were increasing them with bugles and they were stuck in his ears...
BLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLAAAAAAHHHHHHH....
He was looking at the anxious faces of those present, who were talking hastily...
That damn noise entered his ears and destroyed his eardrums, exploded his neurons, destroyed his memories, it just made him go crazy, spinning in a dizzying way, faster and faster until it took the form of a great vortex, a huge tornado that threatened to kill his neurons...
BLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLAAAAAAHHHHHHH....
The frightened lady was going to cry, the queer Andean seemed to scream at an invisible being that was barking at him, others continued in the same way, he was on the edge, his head was spinning.
BLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLAAAAAAHHHHHHH....
I have to get out of here... he concluded.
He got up from his chair, saying:
--- Ahh... sorry if I interrupt, but... do you know where the bathroom is?
They stopped the discussion, the queer Andean smiled and said:
--- There at the bottom... --- he pointed out.
--- Yes, excuse me ... it is the call of nature. --- He smiled slightly.
The others smiled at him as he walked to the bathroom. Barely a couple of meters away, the screaming broke out again...
For all the saints... he thought, as he closed the bathroom door.
He had managed to escape. He sat on the toilet and took a deep breath. Outside I could continue to hear people arguing, the meetings and encounters had become total boredom.
He got up, went to the sink, turned on the water jet and washed his hands, poured water on his face, desperately needed to refresh himself, looked at himself in the mirror and silently recalled the things that had happened in all these years, from who converted to the faith, since he started this path...
Is this all?... he asked himself while looking in the mirror... The search for a meaning in life, the search for truth, the search for the meaning of existence, the path to spiritual elevation, to meet God, everything, in the end, boils down to this...
to being one night locked in a room with a pack of screaming schizophrenic idiots... he took a deep breath, washed his face again, took a piece of paper, and wiped himself. He wanted to urinate, after all, if there was a real excuse to go to the bathroom, he washed his hands again. He kept hearing people arguing heatedly...
God is these assholes are never going to shut up... he sat on the toilet.
The minutes passed slowly, in his mind he remembered images about the life of Jesus Christ, his birth, the moment he was found in the temple, the beatitudes, Palm Sunday, and finally the crucifixion, all the life of Jesus exposed in an exemplary way He looked up at the ceiling and imagined Jesus looking at him from heaven...
A lifetime of struggle and sacrifices, to give way to two thousand years of history, everything for what ends in this... He looked at the door, he kept hearing people arguing... What will Jesus think of all this? What will God think of all this? Would you have sent your Son to save us if you knew it was all going to end like this? Or maybe it's all part of a "divine plan" of which man does not know...
Her head continued to spin, she took another deep breath...
God, forget it all, just relax, just relax... relax... he leaned back and closed his eyes... relax...
At that moment there was a soft knock on the door...
Top... top...
He got up and went to the door, when he opened it he was met with a surprise. Before he was two girls, young and beautiful...
Woooowwww... the one on the right was a redhead with radiant light blue-green eyes, a couple of freckles on her face, and a sexy, athletic, shapely body. The other girl was slightly taller than her redheaded companion, with a penetrating and aggressive gaze, dark brown hair, and also a slender and beautiful body. The girls were standing in front of the door, they looked at him showing an air of compassion:
--- Hello. --- said the redhead. --- We came to keep you company.
--- Surely you must be exhausted of all "that". --- said the brunette, shaking her head to point contemptuously to the group that was chatting in the room.
He just nodded wearily.
--- Poor... let's comfort you. --- said the redhead as she advanced pushing him gently inside, her partner continued to close the door.
--- We know that at this moment you feel alone. --- said the brunette. --- Let's make you feel good.
She leaned down and kissed his lips, it was a soft, light, calm, comforting kiss, and then she looked him directly in the eyes and brought her face closer to rub her cheek with his. It was a gesture of a comforting nature, something tender, loving, like a good friend who comes to comfort you in a difficult moment.
He extended his arms and encircled the waist of the two girls, drawing them, laid his head on the brunette's shoulder, who stroked his hair, he raised his left hand and delicately caressed the redhead's face:
--- They are both very beautiful... --- he commented in a low voice.
--- Yes, and we are here for you. --- said the red-haired girl.
--- I am so lucky. --- he concluded while smiling, the girls smiling too.
TOP... TOP... TOP...
He opened his eyes with a start, he was sitting on the toilet.
--- Eeeehhh... Yes?... --- he said as he got up nervously.
A voice answered from the other side of the door, it was the queer Andean:
--- Hey, sorry for rushing you ... but I need to go to the bathroom...
--- Oooh ... sure, wait ... --- time had run out, he operated the toilet lever, washed his hands again, and opened the door. The Andean looked a bit impatient:
--- Sorry for the delay ... he said sarcastically.
The queer Andean was in a hurry because he did not respond to what he said and went to the bathroom.
--- Hey, we thought you had gone to the toilet... hehehehe... --- said one of those present.
--- Well... hehehehe... --- he answered sarcastically.
They continued with the same topic of discussion...
My God, what a crab... all this stuff... He thought, the noise invaded his system again, at least the recess allowed him to rest and relax a bit, he felt re-empowered to resist the crap until the end.
They continued with the discussion of Santeria, the old woman with her panic attacks, he leaned back in the chair and said...
To hell... let's fly again... unleashing your imagination.
Little by little he began to listen to light music, which grew in the environment, it was a quite catchy and moving melody, based on the rhythm of the 70s album. The music overshadowed all the babbling, the lyrics were sung with a soft voice, quite high pitched, unmistakable, it was the song Stayin 'Alive by the Bee Gees group. He looked at the queer Andean and noticed that his mouth moved to the rhythm of the song, it was he who sang...
Great... he thought as he outlined a big smile.
He looked to the other side, and in the position that Elsa occupied, there was a rather curious character, a black subject, out of the streets of the Bronx in New York. He wore bell bottoms and a shirt open to the middle, showing his chest, the subject was stocky, he looked like he was a weightlifter, he also had a large afro that highlighted his head and he wore huge Ray-Ban glasses.
The black man began to move his body to the rhythm of the music, on the other side he saw the girls, who were with him in the bathroom, he smiled...
Let the party begin... yeah... the music was heard in the whole environment, the people who were talking, now they were dancing, everyone was moving to the rhythm of the music.
In the ceiling, a hatch was opened and from there a mirror ball lowered, slowly rotating, refracting the light. At the ends of the ceiling, there were reflectors of colored lights, which, connected to pulleys, rotated producing light effects. The floor was made of multi-colored plastic screens that emitted light to match the ceiling lights. The light had been turned off allowing us to appreciate a whole multicolored light show.
He rose from the chair. His clothing had changed. He wore trousers and a dress shirt, open to the middle of the chest, had a gold chain that held a small crucifix, he wore a beige leather jacket, and his shoulder-length hair, perfectly smoothed and combed.
He strode haughtily through the people, moving in time with the music. He reached the center of the dance floor, at that moment the floor changed, and the song "Solid as a Rock" by Ashford & Simpson was heard, another hit from the 70s and 80s. The whole place began to move to the sound of the new track, the place had been filled with people of the most varied colors, beautiful women with sensual necklines and miniskirts, subjects who wore polyester clothing and hairstyles typical of the 70 '
Those present quickly approached and in the blink of an eye, a whole dance team was performing choreography on the dance floor to the rhythm of the Disco, with him at the helm, as if he were John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, in a tremendous show.
To his surprise he saw a girl, the perfect dominatrix, who danced to the music, shaking a shaft, she was a redhead with a youthful, almost adolescent air.
The eye contact was mutual, both approached and intertwined their bodies to the rhythm of the music, it was a sensual moment, other girls joined the dance surrounding him, placed their hands on his body, he just let himself be carried away by the passion of the moment.
At that moment Elsa interrupted the meeting subtly:
--- Uhh... excuse me for interrupting for a moment, but at this moment I would like to ask your permission to promote the magazine, I apologize if I suddenly interrupt the dynamics, but well it's late... and I would like to talk about the magazine. --- Elsa used a diplomatic and approachable tone, which rang like a bell and made him wake up from his slumber.
--- Aahh... yes, right... the magazine, well what do you have for us? --- said the queer Andean.
Elsa began promoting the magazine, showing the importance of having it for spiritual formation, which are the testimonies of all the members of the «Servants of Christ», that every great Christian leader must possess it, blah... blah... blah... and all that bullshit.
After finishing he made the pass to him so that he could explain the registration method. Elsa distributed the forms for everyone to fill out, there was no way she was going to let them stop signing up, she was doing the subscription to the magazine to the painters. He always found it curious, nobody wanted to join the magazine, but when they didn't have it they got upset and made a mess because they didn't have it. Consequently, the dictatorial policy of hunting them was assumed, who the hell understood this?
After the exhortation to subscribe ended, Elsa closed by saying:
--- Eee... now that we are finished, if you'll excuse us we are going to have to leave because the meeting took longer than we expected and tomorrow we have to get up early.
Yes, it's time to get out of here ... he thought as he showed a relieved smile.
--- Yes ... My God, look at what time it is ... --- said a lady while looking at the clock on her cell phone. --- It's late, it will be better to finish...
Finish, what?... there was never a meeting, it was just a bunch of shit scared and whining between them... He thought... By God... what a damn waste of time.
He was relieved to see a stupid, headless meeting ended to promote a product that in his opinion was no more valuable than toilet paper.
Everyone said goodbye, Elsa and he got in the car on the way home…
Thank God we're on our way... he thought.
Elsa led to silence, and suddenly commented:
--- Thank goodness it's over... that meeting was a disaster.
--- Yes, definitely. --- I agreed.
--- Yes, but of course when one denounces it, then they accuse you that you are attacking people... that you are rude, this and that. --- she added grumbling, and launched into a string of complaints, placing herself as the greatest heroine of The «Servants of Christ», that if it weren't for her the movement would not exist, the same nonsense again...
I'm disgusted... he thought.
He leaned against the door, gaze from time to time, and nodded slightly to give him the impression that he was listening. After a few seconds he limited himself to contemplating the road, the Francisco de Miranda avenue was almost empty.
Eight years... eight years, he had been in the movement with her, what had all that left her? She had a fairly simple answer... nothing, absolutely nothing...
Are you sure about that?... he wondered.
He remembered when he made the retreat about ten years ago, the great initiation retreat that allows entry to the movement, invited by a person who frequented the parish a lot, he had no idea what the «Servants of Christ» were. After talking about it, he agreed to do that retreat, they were three intensive days of indoctrination and conviction about the faith of Christ, the conversion was instantaneous, he gave his heart to faith, he gave himself to the road, he found a new meaning for his life. The time had passed. Having lived reality, he could appreciate how everything was, he had had many bitter drinks, perhaps too many, now the feeling he had about it was completely different, it was a need to escape, to get away from everything.
--- If I were in charge, everything would be different, these things would not happen. But I am aware that this is not going to happen, they will never allow me to reach that level because they feel threatened by my IQ...
Damn... there were times when Elsa made him lose control, it got him out of his mind, it was just something overwhelming and uncontrollable. His face hardened, his eyes narrowed, he clenched his mouth. Elsa kept chattering:
--- ...I could do better, I mean it, you know I'm capable of that, you've seen it...
He turned and stared directly at him, his big plump brown head spitting out words, his thick arms holding the steering wheel, clenched his teeth.
--- ...I am convinced that one of the best things that happened to the movement was
me...
AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!....
He pounced on her, his face disfigured by fury:
--- DIE FUCKING BITCH!
His hands closed on her neck and he began to squeeze hard, he felt his windpipe, his neck, his veins, and the double chin in his hands, blocking the air, the blood, Elsa's circulation:
--- UUUUUUGGGGGHHH!!!! --- she released a muffled moan, the action was so fast that she didn't have time to scream, only to choke, he continued to squeeze, she moved her hands and tried to attack him by releasing the steering wheel. His hands clenched tighter and tighter, Elsa writhed with her mouth open and her eyes wide in an expression of horror. The car was moving violently through the lanes of the freeway, the other cars were moving aside while they played bugles in the form of a claim. She began to lose consciousness, he continued to squeeze, tears were coming out of his eyes, he felt it was a liberating act.
The car swerved to the left at full speed heading towards the concrete barrier that separated the highway tracks, it was not going straight ahead but sideways, he stopped looking at her to see ahead, they were going to collide, but instead of freaking out, he smiled coldly showing relief.
The car collided sideways against the wall, the impact lifted it, flipping it violently, to crash into the pavement, where it began to overturn repeatedly, and then explode loudly.
BRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM!!!!!....
Elsa kept chattering about how great he was, what he had done for others. He looked forward, that was what he had, it was what he had to live, he simply had no escape, he felt trapped, his face changed its expression, his lips arched down, his eyes turned off. Elsa kept talking.
Eight years, now he felt trapped, he felt that nothing made sense and he wondered...
And why do I keep doing this?... Why don't I just get out and about?... or a deeper and more personal question... Why am I putting up with Elsa? why not send her to hell?
He was almost thirty years old, he was an adult capable of making his own decisions, of taking control of his life, he was capable of facing Elsa and taking control, but... why didn't he? Many times he felt that he behaved like a child as if he could not control what was happening around him, as if he could not interact with people, as if he was afraid of everything. In the end, all he did was fantasize. Probably his imagination was the only place where he felt safe and secure, although that was not the way to live his life, he had to live reality and he knew it, he knew it very well...
I can't continue in this, I have to regain control of my life whatever...
She looked at Elsa with a neutral expression, who continued her incessant chatter, convinced that she was paying attention.
He cocked his head and leaned it against the glass, losing his gaze in the city lights. Then a Keeway motorcycle arrived and stood next to the car, onboard was the biker girl of the afternoon, the lead singer of the Heavy Metal band, with her rock outfit and her good pair of breasts. She smiled at him with a wink, he reciprocated.
Elsa kept talking incessantly, it was clear that no matter what he did, he had no escape.
[1] Francisco Fajardo highway - One of the main road arteries that cross the city of Caracas from east to west and vice versa.
[2] Keeway - Chinese motorcycle brand, which is part of the huge Chinese Qiangjiang group. It is the largest motorcycle producer in China and manufactures more than 1.3 million motorcycles and scooters annually. Keeway is the European registered trademark of the Qianjiang Group of China. Thanks to the strong and close relations of the Chavista government with China, important contracts were achieved that allowed the brand to be brought to Venezuela in large quantities. It is a very common motorcycle brand in Venezuela.
[3] Bello Campo - Small middle class area located in the east of the city of Caracas.
[4] Yanomami - They are an American Indian ethnic group. They mainly inhabit the Amazonas state of Venezuela and the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Roraima. They also stand out for being one of the smallest ethnic groups in the world.
[5] Simón Bolívar - One of the main leaders of the independence of Venezuela, (1783-1830). It could be seen as something similar to George Washington.
[6] Simón Bolívar's facial reconstruction - The late President Hugo Chávez Frías held in 2012 (shortly before his death), the celebration of the 229th anniversary of the birth of Simón Bolívar. As part of the celebration, he ordered an exhumation of the body of the national hero. This in order to make a reconstruction of his face, to have a real image. This was quite controversial at the time; so it was full of criticism and rumors. Once the reconstruction of the new image was achieved, it began to be used in all public institutions.
[7] Yoruba - are an ethnic group that inhabits western Africa, mainly the countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The Yoruba constitute around 30 million people Africawide. The vast majority of this population is from Nigeria, where the Yoruba make up 13.9% of the country's population, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.