Twilight's Flash Fiction / Relatos cortos crepusculares

Africa Africa. Infinite. Elusive. The beginning and the end of everything. Guilt, abandonment, whenever I am forced to leave. My home is already in other lands, on another continent; my soul remains here, tears in two every time, I have to say goodbye, defeated. Far, foreign cultures, car noise, daily effort to survive, intricate paths that move to build today and secure  tomorrow . Africa are my parents, my family, red sunsets, starry nights hanging. It is the perpetuation of life, the eternal return to origins. As a child, during an evening walk with my father, I asked if I could live my whole life there, where I was born.  Where I received so much love every day.  My father made a gesture of doubt said, “God will it so." My children were not born in Africa, have not lived Africa; they are a weak link between tradition and the new, the unknown, our new home. I was unable to give them this one vital necessity, the experiences I was fortunate enough to have as a c...

África, infinita, inasible, principio y fin de todo. Sentimiento de culpa, de abandono, cada vez que me veo obligado a partir. Mi hogar ya está en otras tierras, en otro continente; mi alma permanece aquí, y se desgarra cada vez que, derrotado, tengo que decir adiós. Lejos, culturas ajenas, ruido de coches,  afán diario por sobrevivir, intrincados caminos por los que transitar para construir el hoy y asegurar el mañana. África son, mis padres, mi familia, los atardeceres rojos, las noches colgadas de estrellas. Es la perpetuación de la vida,  el eterno retorno a los orígenes. Cuando era niño, durante un paseo nocturno con mi padre le pregunté si podría vivir toda mi vida allí, donde nací y donde recibía tanto amor cada día. Mi padre hizo un gesto de duda y me contestó ‘Dios quiera que así sea’. Mis hijos no han nacido en África, no han vivido África, son el frágil eslabón entre la tradición y lo nuevo, lo desconocido. Desvelos, preocupaciones, y una necesidad vital de ...

Living with Angie Some years ago, in the early 2190s, I bought a nearly human companion. I am a widower, and I thought the human qualities of this new generation of humanoids might fill my lonely days. I had always been interested in this kind of companion, so I tried to learn more about the origins of the industry and the processes behind their creation. They began as part of the robotics industry in the twenty-first century. Artificial intelligence and deep learning were incorporated during the second half of that century, followed by advances in nanomaterials, quantum computing, and increasingly sophisticated software. By 2180, artificial skin and the capacity to experience something resembling emotion had become the final breakthroughs needed to produce an almost human companion. When I went to buy Angie, an engineer showed me several models. I wanted a humanoid who resembled my late wife. To make that possible, I had to undergo a series of tests conducted by both a psychologist a...

The Train I am boarding a train. I am setting out on a journey to nowhere. This is a modern train, and it reaches breathtaking speeds, but you can hardly enjoy the scenery. While I try to put my suitcase in its place, memories come flooding back of when I was very small and my father took me to visit a big city. We travelled on an old, rickety steam train. Its hard wooden seats were terribly uncomfortable, and the locomotive left a trail of soot on the passengers' faces and clothes. But none of those discomforts mattered to a child like me. Almost everything was excitement and adventure. Sitting opposite me was a shy little girl, clutching her mother's hand and trying to hide behind her. It was fate. For more than sixty years, she made my life a paradise. Three months ago she died and left me in complete darkness. El tren Estoy subiendo a un tren. Pretendo hacer un viaje a ninguna parte. Este es un tren moderno de los que alcanzan velocidades de vértigo y no te permiten disf...

Estoy subiendo a un tren. Pretendo hacer un viaje a ninguna parte. Este es un tren moderno de los que alcanzan velocidades de vértigo y no te permiten disfrutar del paisaje. Mientras trato de poner la maleta en su lugar, vienen a mi mente recuerdos de cuando, siendo muy pequeño, mi padre me llevó a conocer una gran ciudad. El viaje lo hicimos en un destartalado y agonizante viejo tren, Los asientos de madera eran muy incómodos, y el humo de la locomotora dejaba un rastro de carbonilla en los rostros y en las ropas de los viajeros. Pero las incomodidades, aún siendo muchas sobre todo para las personas mayores, no importaban, pues casi todo era diversión y entusiasmo para un niño de mi edad. Enfrente de mí se sentaba una niña tímida, que agarraba la mano de su madre y trataba de ocultar su rostro detrás de ella. Fue el destino. Durante más de sesenta años, aquella niña ha hecho de mi vida el paraíso. Hoy hace cien días que murió y me ha dejado en la más absoluta oscuridad.

That morning, like every morning for years, I was begging at the parking entrance of the Plaza Mayor. It is Christmas Eve. Came to my mind memories of my childhood, when on Christmas my father took my sister and me by the hand, and we walked the stalls scattered around the square showing all kinds of toys. Upon returning home my mother received us with open arms, it filled us with kisses and made us feel great. How different my life now! Someone broke into my thoughts and dropped a coin in the blanket with which I protected against cold. I thanked him for the gesture at him and he said something I did not understand. Since the previous day he had been unable to eat anything, and suddenly I started to feel sick. A feeling of dizziness forced me to lie down on the blanket. I do not know how long I was unconscious. Then I heard distant siren of the ambulance and someone grabbed my arm. I do not remember anything else. When I regained consciousness in a hospital bed I found a deep b...

Order is water the plants when needed, making beds every day, greet the neighbors, clean the house, take the kids to school. Order is have a healthy breakfast, get to work with already scheduled tasks, solve problems. Order is to anticipate the future, be sure to stay living ..... But there is an order that comes from chaos, the result of crossing two random circumstances, two ideas, two lines of thought. And this is known as creation.

Orden es regar las plantas cuando lo necesitan, hacer las camas todos los días, saludar a los vecinos, limpiar la casa, llevar a los niños al cole. Orden es desayunar sano, llegar al trabajo con las tareas ya programadas, solucionar problemas. Orden es prever el futuro, tener la seguridad de poder seguir vivo..... Pero hay un orden que nace del caos, del resultado de cruzar aleatoriamente dos circunstacias, dos ideas, dos líneas de pensamiento. Y eso es la creación.

Lonliness I just discovered I've always been alone. So frightened of loneliness, and it turns out that I have lived the fiction of being accompanied all my time. Friends, family, acquaintances, coworkers ... So frightened to die alone, to be alone to facing life, to  be alone to fight diseases, when loneliness is the closest reality, the only reality. That pitiless discovery has been presented alone, without mercy or any form of consolation. But it did not cause any feeling of rejection or frustration, but a rebirthing of things. Reborn to old things that no longer are not the old things. To find the new into the old in an endless round. Soledad Acabo de descubrir que siempre he estado solo. Tanto miedo a la soledad, y resulta que he vivido toda mi vida la ficción de estar acompañado. Amigos, familia, conocidos, compañeros de trabajo... Tanto miedo a morir solo, a enfrentarme solo a la vida, a luchar solo contra las enfermedades, cuando la soledad es la realidad más cercana, l...

Solitude I've just discovered that I've always been alone. So much fear of solitude, and it turns out that all this time, I've been living the fiction of being accompanied. Friends, family, acquaintances, coworkers... So much fear of dying alone, of facing life alone, of facing illness alone, of recognizing myself as alone—when solitude is the closest reality, the only reality. This merciless discovery came uninvited, without any compassion or form of comfort. But it hasn't brought about any feeling of rejection or frustration—rather, it has sparked a rebirth of things. A rebirth of the familiar that has ceased to be familiar. Finding the new in the old in an endless cycle. Soledad   Acabo de descubrir que siempre he estado solo. Tanto miedo a la soledad, y resulta que durante todo mi tiempo, he vivido la ficción de estar acompañado. Amigos, familia, conocidos, compañeros de trabajo... Tanto miedo a morir solo, a enfrentarme a la vida solo, a las enfermedades solo, ...