El Cuento

The kitchen was flooded
With the smell of homemade bread
Three plates on the table
Inviting to have lunch
And two diligent hands
Whitened with flour
Worked diligently
In the heart of the home

The man arrived from the field
With half a day's work on his back
He greeted his partner
Enchanted by her gesture
And when he sought the beautiful forehead
Of the son he loved so much
The kiss he offered
Remained unfulfilled

Because the ten-year-old boy
Who was a song of joy
Like a goodnight flower
With his white apron
With a veil of sadness
Clouding his eyes
Turned and avoided his head
When he tried to kiss him

The man was surprised
By the unexpected event
And seeking an answer
With a paternal gesture
Forgetting his tiredness
He sat him on his lap
And gently asked
The cause of his sorrow

Then the good boy
Who was always his hope
His concern, his fatigue
The Sun of his awakening
Answered with a broken voice
Almost on the verge of tears
They told me at school
That you are not my dad

A round of silence
Turned around the table
A father looks for words
Difficult to find
And a mother in the kitchen
Stokes the green firewood
As if blaming the smoke
That is making her cry

After a deep silence
Facing the sorrowful child
The emotional man said
But with a firm tone
I'm going to tell you a tale
That I never told you in your cradle
Because this tale, my son
Is a true tale

More than ten years ago
When spring arrived
Love made you a seed
In your mother's womb
Who loved a poor boy
The best of my friends
But honest in his poverty
And as good as anyone

Awaiting your arrival
They became a couple immediately
In the shelter of a small ranch
Like a dove's nest
Although work was scarce
Through odd jobs and kisses
They faced life
With the faith that is capable

Time continued its course
And spent the moons
You were already, you know, new
To life on the threshold
When the humble abode
That sheltered their dreams
Was surrounded by misery
With its sad reality

Your poor mother had
Not even a piece of hard bread
To feed her nipples
When you wanted to suckle
A rickety object
Would serve as your cradle
And a tattered poncho
Would be your dreamy trousseau

Then the good lad
As a last hope
Went out to demand from the world
Justice and equality
A job that would honor him
As a father and as a man
To be able to raise the child
With pride and dignity

He knocked on doors without response
In the richest estates
He asked for work from the gentlemen
Who mint a fortune
And at the government's doors
He knocked with polished cedar
Without finding anyone to listen
In his tired struggle

Then, desperate
One unfortunate afternoon
To the paymaster of an estate
Who ambushed in a thicket
He snatched the wages
And when the traveler resisted
The misfortune's dagger
Turned him into a criminal

With his silenced crime
He arrived that night at home
With suitcases loaded
With unused little clothes
And in the hollow of his hands
Like a sacred treasure
For your mother's hunger
The providence of bread

For the deed, justice
Took action in the case
And just at dawn
When the world saw you arrive
Like a cornered tiger
Defending his lair
The police killed him
For not wanting to surrender

I held him in my arms
Almost when he was dying
And in his last breath
He asked me in his babbling
To save your honor
To marry your mother
And to raise you as a son
Without telling you the truth

With your unfortunate mother
We fulfilled the oath
And since then this ranch
Is the home of the three
Where you are growing strong
Under the protection of my arms
And my name and my surname
Is my greatest asset

The child raised his head
After hearing the tale
And embracing him tightly
With his ten years of age
He shouted with joy
Don't cry anymore, mommy
At school they didn't know
That I had two dads