La Casa del Hada
                   NACIANSENO

                                        
  By Luz E. Macias


                 The story began there,  that day in Easter,  when Nancianseno left to visit the saints.   That's what he said that morning,  when he said good bye to his Juana.   Until  now,  nobody knows for sure where he went.   She waited the whole night,  sitting in the rocking chair,  in front of the window that looked out over the main street. 

                Nancianseno didn't return, but Juana kept hoping that he would come walking in at any moment,  with his song.   �...January 20th is on the way,  with its party in Sincelejo...�   All the neighbors knew him,  and appreciated his happy noisiness and the long,  scandalous kisses he would throw to the girls on the block.   All the girls would leave their houses with that special walk,  applauding the hottest black man in the whole region.   They danced whenever he passed beside them,  to the rhythm of  tongolele,  which was just what the good looking black man liked.   All of them were fond of him.   �...Good evening, Miss Sofia...have a very good evening...�,  he'd say,  with the two step of a happy go lucky ladies man.   He was always insinuating something with his talk.   And they would answer in chorus,  mixed with the laughter of accomplices, worried about what would happen next.   �...Have a very good evening yourself!   Your wife is quite the lucky one!�   they'd  shout out,  amid prolonged sighs.   Then, still a bit under the influence,  they'd bump into each other,  after taking a few steps behind him.   This snapped them out of  the spell. 

                Juana always heard all this,  and would smile.   She swelled up with pride,  the luckiest negra around.   The most desired man of all was hers!    How satisfied she felt!   She carried her head high,  as if wanting to touch the ceiling...

                But that night,  Nacianseno didn't arrive.   It was strange of him to disappear on Easter Week,  when God orders men to abstain.   Her beloved negrito was breaking the churchs laws.   Between sighs and prayers,  she asked forgiveness for his sins.

                Juana began to get desperate.   Her honey,  the leading man,  wasn't coming back.   She began to get angry,  and went through the house screaming.   Sure,  he was with someone else,  while she was alone,  praying due to his wayward ways.   He was doing whatever he pleased,    with young, tender girls.   He didn't even respect such a holy day.   He hadn't been looking at her with that same uncontrollable desire as before.   She was no longer the young black woman who was good for that sort of thing,  he'd say.   But he was also no longer so young and vigorous, so they were even.
                She would console herself;  she tried to gather conclusions from past conversations.   He loved her too much to leave her for another.   He had said this a million times,  between kisses,  hugs,  bites,  and constantly repeated promises.   She was his only one,  that's why they had gotten married,  he couldn't put up with anyone else beside him.   He'd cut himself before sleeping with someone else!   Yes,  he'd  cut himself...    she'd say  to her friends,  and pleaded with all her might for him not to do such a thing.   She was afraid that this bandit would do it,  and so she never made jealous scenes,  or  complained about lonely nights of abandonment.
    
                Juana preferred to suffer alone,  and would even prefer dying,  before making her Nacianseno feel remorse,  causing him to cut off what all the others wanted.   Then,  they would tell the whole town,  and everyone would know that he was no longer the high and mighty black man,  the hottest,  most wanted beefcake around.   Nobody would envy her then. 

                Nacianseno didn't arrive that night,  nor the second night,  nor afterwards.   Juana stayed seated,  balancing in her rocking chair.   She was sure that he wouldn't stay away from home more than a week.   He'd return,  with his song,  asking for  forgiveness already granted.   She continued waiting,  for more than two weeks.

                The neighbors were starting to whisper and murmur under their breaths.   They passed by the front door without saying hello,  lowering their heads and sticking their chins in their chests,  only to continue on their ways.   Nobody dared ask her what had happened to the negrito with the leading man looks.   The women paid close attention to the radio;   they listened to the news,  but nothing was  said.   It was established that this macho man hadn't  run off with any of them.   Everyone would have noticed already,  since the word was out.

                 But Juana didn't get up out of her rocking chair.   Every afternoon, sitting  their fanning herself,  she hoped to  receive some news of  Nacianseno.   No one could snap her out of  this state,  and they couldn't offer suggestions about what she should do,  since the chunguero  had prohibited  them going over there with their big mouths.   She was no longer  the same happy go lucky girl as before.   Her man had left her for another,  they'd say.   She cried and cried and grew sadder.

                One night Juana woke in surprise.   She left the rocking chair and went straight to the mirror.   She smiled,  as if  Nacianseno was there.   She looked at him awhile,  entwining her hands,  and sighing,  balanced on the tip of  her toes,  drew close to the mirror,  and gave a long, noisy kiss on the nose of  her funny negrito.   They exchanged greetings. From how've you been,  have you missed me,  until  reproaches for disappearing so long and his silence,  in these days of so much danger.

                She waited awhile for him to answer.   She started complaining about the noise of  the night before,  and the whining voices that called out to him.   Since she could easily imitate his voice,  she had answered for him.   She spoke of all the nights details,  and said that he was there to protect her from everything and against all  evil.   He complained that she was being overly protective,  because she didn't let him get up to scare away the girls that chased after him.   Juana had her husbands voice so down  pat,  it seemed as if he was standing in front of  her.   The neighbors didn't find it strange that she'd begun to imagine her  negrito pachanguero,   and even that she could imitate him so well.   Her voice was so close to his that people began to stick their heads out their windows in order to listen to her.   They began calling her Nacianseno.

                Juana took the way the neighbors called her and looked out their windows so seriously that,   little by little,   she began believing that Nacianseno was there.   It was quite a kick seeing her there,  dressed in her brave black mans clothes.   Up until that moment,  she hadn't dared to go out on the street.   Alone in her house,  she entertained herself playing the role of  both of them.   Slowly but surely,  she began transforming herself into him.   She got a cute haircut.   In front of the mirror,  she cut off each thick,  rough lock,  until her hair was close to the scalp.   Laughing and joking,  she would praise him,  saying that he was better looking with each day,  that women were crazy for him,  but that only she was his lady,  owner of  his love and faithfulness.   Shed smile at herself,  and ask him why she loved him so much,  what had he done with his mustache,  why had he shaved it off.   A fountain of  smiles,  she'd answer that it would grow back.   She'd make sure that he would be the most sought after guy around.   From then on,  she began shaving her upper lip,  until thick,  rough hair  began appearing on her face.   It bothered her a little,  but she smiled;  now,  her Nacianseno would no longer reproach her for her mustache,  admired by all the women.

               She called him every afternoon.   She concentrated so much on him that she changed her bathrobes for her mans fancy clothes.   She began dancing ceremoniously,  the way Nacianseno used to.   She imitated him so well that huge crowds showed up at her house.   Everyone commented,  hanging from their windows,  doors,  and  rooftops.   Nobody wanted to miss the fantastic scene that Juana was giving them as a gift.   

                Nobdy thought she would dare leave her house on Sunday morning,  all dressed up and with her man by her side.  They'd have to see it to believe it.   She walked arm in arm with Nacianseno,  all the while dragging her feet along the street.   She was all made up,  and he wore his mustache long and thick,   with a white suit  that went with his shoes and hat.   Juana looked thinner,  folks said.   Her breasts bore stuffing,  and were uneven;   under her dress,  you could make out a crease.   On her legs,  she wore dark stockings full  of cotton.   Upon spotting her,  the neighbors began running behind.   They shouted that she shouldn't let him go,  because the women around there could rob him.   Quite content and spirited,  Juana answered that she wouldn't leave him alone for anything in the world,  and that  she already knew what things were like around there.   She arrived at church that morning with music and fireworks.   There were tambourines,  drums,  and flutes;   everyone was happy.   They were celebrating the return of the salsa star,  the lover boy of the region.   Juana put on a happy face for everyone.   They applauded her triumph with cymbals and trumpets.   According to Juana,  Nacianseno had come back safe and sound.

                When the priest saw her,  he said a blessing,  as she was dressed like a man and carried a red haired broom who played the part of Juana.   He tried to recover from the surprise and approached her;   she offered her hand,  and,  imitating the voice of her one and only,  she kneeled,  and smiled.   The priest had no choice but  to give them his blessing.   This made Nanciansenos arrival official.

                On the way back to her house,  she felt quite happy.   Everyone had partied,  to welcome back her hip lover.   She deserved it.   She arrived at the corner,  and being the most important black man in town,  she began to dance,  letting loose laughs and the same noisy,  drawn out kisses that he had given her the last time they saw each other.   She said good bye to everyone,  said shed see them later,  and entered the house.

                That same night,  she left the house making the same raucous fuss.   She said good bye to Juana.   He assured her that he would be back later to make love to her like he did before,  that  he'd be faithful until death.   The whole crowd was waiting outside.   They didn't budge,  wanting to bear witness to the final scenes.   They courted the main man.   �There goes the badass,  the hottest around ...Lucky Juana, married to this one...�   She rocked back and forth like the pachanguero used to.   She sent noisy kisses everywhere.   Upon arriving at her houses corner,  among all the people,  she found a woman seated on the curb.   She took her by the shoulders,  pulled her in,  gave her a big,  long kiss on the lips,  and said 

�Lets go Juana Soler!�

Copyright@

he Steps: Stories From Heaven & Inferno (2000).
PORTADA Fiction
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