41

Mecanoscrit del segon origen’

L’Alba, una noia de catorze anys, verge I bruna, tornava de l’hort de casa seva amb un cistellet de figues negres, de coll de dama, quan s’aturà a avergonyir dos nois, que n’apallissaven un altre i el feien caure al toll de la resclosa, i els va dir:

– Què us ha fet?

I ells li van contestar:

– No el volem amb nosaltres, perquè és negre.

– I si s’ofega?

I ells es van arronsar d’espatlles, car eren dos nois formats en un ambient cruel, de prejudicis.

I aleshores, quan l’Alba ja deixava el cistellet per tal de llançar-se a l’aigua sense ni treure’s la roba, puix que només duia uns shorts i una brusa sobre la pell, el cel i la terra van començar a vibrar amb una mena de trepidació sorda que s’anava accentuant, i un dels nois, que havia alçat el cap, digué:

– Mireu!

Tots tres van poder veure una gran formació d’aparells que s’atansava remorosament de la llunyania, i n’hi havia tants que cobrien l’horitzó. L’altre noi va dir:

– Són platets voladors, tu!

I l’Alba va mirar encara un moment cap als estranys objectes ovalats i plans que avançaven de pressa cap a la vila mentre la tremolor de la terra i de l’aire augmentava i el soroll creixia, però va pensar de nou en el fill de la seva veïna Margarida, en Dídac, que havia desaparegut en les profunditats de la resclosa, i es va capbussar en l’aigua, darrera els nois, que s’havien oblidat del tot de llur acció i ara deien:

– Guaita com brillen! Semblen de foc!

41

‘Mecanoscrit del segon origen’:

Alba, a fourteen year old girl, virgin and brunette, was coming back from her house’s orchard with a basket full of ‘coll de dama‘ black figs when she stopped to scold two boys for beating another boy, pushing him towards the weir. She said:

“What did he do?”

And they answered, “We don’t want him with us because he’s black.”

“And what happens if he drowns?”

And they shrugged their shoulders, because they were two boys, grown in a ruthless environment, full of prejudices.

And then, when Alba had already left the basket to plunge into the water without removing her clothes, since she was only wearing shorts and a blouse on her skin, the sky and the earth began to vibrate with a kind of deaf trepidation that was accentuating, and one of the boys who had raised his head said:

“Look!”

All three saw an apparatus forming and approaching from the distance, and there were so many that covered the horizon. The other boy said:

“They’re flying saucers, man!”

And Alba looked still for a moment at the strange flat oval objects that advanced hastily towards the town, while the earth and the air trembled and the noise grew, but she thought back to her neighbour Margarita’s boy, Dídac, who had disappeared into the depths of the weir, and she dived into the water, behind the boys, who had completely forgotten about what they were doing, and who now said:

“Look at  them shine! They look like fire!”