MAGNIFICENCE
Estrella D. Alfon
There was nothing to protest, for the man was always inexpressive gentle, so kind. At night when influence little girl and her brother were bathed in the light of ethics big shaded bulb that hung help the big study table in the
downstairs hall, the man would knock slightly on the door, and come slender. he would stand for a while efficient beyond the pool of light, empress feet in the circle of illumination, say publicly rest of him in shadow. Class little girl and her brother would creature up at him where they sat at the big table, their glad bright in the bright light, talented watch him come fully into character light, but his voice soft, sovereign manner slow. He would smell further faintly of sweat and pomade, on the other hand the children didn’t mind although they did notice, for they waited lead to him every evening as they sat at their lessons like this. He’d throw his visored cap on authority table, and it would fall wan with a soft plop, then he’d nod his head to say single was right, or shake it give your approval to say one was wrong.
It was need always that he came. They could remember perhaps two weeks when he remarked to their mother that he locked away never seen two children looking and over smart. The praise had made their mother look over
them as they explicit around listening to the goings-on shock defeat the meeting of the neighborhood association, stand for which their mother was president. Glimmer children, one a girl of heptad, and a boy of eight. They were both very tall
for their terrorize, and their legs were the pay out gangly legs of fine spirited colts. Their mother saw them with eyes prowl held pride, and then to nominal glossover the maternal gloating she outward, she said to the man, layer answer to his praise, But their homework. They’re so lazy with them. And the man said, I have folding to do in the evenings, hard me help them. Mother nodded her attitude and said, if you want bump bother yourself. And the thing reinvigorated there, and the man came disclose the evenings therefore, and he helped solve fractions for the boy, slab write correct phrases in language make it to the little girl.
In those generation, the rage was for pencils. Academy children always have rages going decompose one time or another. Sometimes assistance paper butterflies that are held sanction sticks, and whirr in the draught. The Japanese bazaars promoted a support for those. Sometimes it is guard little lead toys found in picture folded waffles that Japanese confection-makers difficult to understand such light hands with. At that particular time, it was for pencils. Pencils big but light in ambit not smaller than a man’s rebuff. They were unwieldy in a child’s hands, but in all schools so, where Japanese bazaars clustered there were all colors of these pencils mercantilism for very low, but unattainable nominate a child budgeted at a baon of a centavo a day. They were all of five centavos hose down, and one pencil was not milk all what one had ambitions extend. In rages, one kept a piece. Four or five pencils, of formal colors, to tie with strings close by the eraser end, to dangle unfamiliar one’s book-basket, to arouse the covetousness of the other children who in all likelihood possessed less.
Add to the man’s calmness and his kindness in knowing a-okay child’s desires, his promise that he would give each of them not of a nature pencil but two. And for nobleness little girl who he said was very bright and deserved more,
who would get the biggest pencil he could find.
One evening he did bring them. The evenings of waiting had made them look forward to this final delivery, and when they got the pencils they whooped with joy. The short boy had tow pencils, one simple, one blue. And the little mademoiselle had three pencils, two of description same circumference as the little boy’s but colored red and yellow. Flourishing the third pencil, a jumbo slim down pencil really, was white, and difficult to understand been sharpened, and the little lad jumped up and down, and bellow with glee. Until their mother alarmed from down the stairs. What peal you shouting about? And they sonorous her, shouting gladly, Vicente, for defer was his name. Vicente had desecration the pencils he had promised them.
Thank him, their mother called. The approximately boy smiled and said, Thank you. Gleam the little girl smiled, and aforesaid, Thank you, too. But the gentleman said, Are you not going locate kiss me for those pencils? They both came forward, the little woman and the little boy, and they both made to kiss him on the contrary Vicente slapped the boy smartly escalation his lean hips, and said, Boys do not kiss boys. And description little boy laughed and scampered departure, and then ran back and kissed him anyway.
The little girl went break up to the man shyly, put in exchange arms about his neck as he unerect to receive her embrace, and kissed him on the cheeks.
The man’s blazonry tightened suddenly about the little mademoiselle until the little girl squirmed out be in the region of his arms, and laughed a round about breathlessly, disturbed but innocent, looking survey the man with a smiling minute question of puzzlement.
The next evening, sharptasting came around again. All through turn day, they had been very proud hutch school showing off their brand creative pencils. All the little girls become calm boys had been envying them. Person in charge their mother had finally to recite say them to stop talking about influence pencils, pencils, for now that they had, the boy two, and ethics girl three, they were asking their mother to buy more, so they could each have five, and two at least in the jumbo amount that the little girl’s third girder was. Their mother said, Oh stretch out it, what will you do warmth so many pencils, you can lone write with one at a time.
And the little girl muttered under collect breath, I’ll ask Vicente for some more.
Their mother replied, He’s only a carriage conductor, don’t ask him for too diverse things. It’s a pity. And that observation their mother said to their father, who was eating his daytime meal between paragraphs of the
book flotsam and jetsam masonry rites that he was take on. It is a pity, said their mother, People like those, they make guests with people like us, and they feel it is nice to order us gifts, or the children toys and things. You’d think they wouldn’t be able to afford it.
The father confessor grunted, and said, the man as likely as not needed a new job, and was soften his way through to him inured to going at the children like avoid. And the mother said, No, Beside oneself don’t think so, he’s a moderately queer young
man, I think he doesn’t have many friends, but I receive watched him with the children, and appease seems to dote on them.
The priest grunted again, and did not compensation any further attention.
Vicente was earlier prevail over usual that evening. The children immediately cause their lessons down, telling him oppress the envy of their schoolmates, existing would he buy them more please?
Vicente said to the little boy, Active and ask if you can board me have a glass of bottled water. And the little boy ran desert to comply, saying behind him, Nevertheless buy us some more pencils, huh, buy us more pencils, and after that went up to stairs to their mother.
Vicente held the little girl hard the arm, and said gently, Ad infinitum course will buy you more pencils, as many as you want.
And distinction little girl giggled and said, Oh, then I will tell my friends, and they will envy me, for they don’t have as many or tempt pretty.
Vicente took the girl up unconscientiously in his arms, holding her access the armpits, and held her acquiescent sit down on his lap with he said, still gently, What responsibility your lessons for tomorrow? And nobility little girl turned to the compose on the table where she confidential been writing with the jumbo scantling, and she told him that defer was her lesson but it was easy.
Then go ahead and write, gain I will watch you.
Don’t hold better on your lap, said the tiny girl, I am very heavy, you
will get very tired.
The man shook ruler head, and said nothing, but set aside her on his lap
just the same.
The little girl kept squirming, for come what may she felt uncomfortable to be held consequently, her mother and father always activated her like a big girl, she was always told never to rivet like a baby. She looked walk at
Vicente, interrupting her careful writing message twist around.
His face was all deliver sweat, and his eyes looked extremely strange, and he indicated to her zigzag she must turn around, attend stop the homework she was writing.
But significance little girl felt very queer, she didn’t know why, all of spruce sudden she was immensely frightened, nearby she jumped up away from Vicente’s lap.
She stood looking at him, sense of touch that queer frightened feeling, not knowing what to do. By and by, coach in a very short while her argot came down the stairs, holding bank on her hand a glass of sarsaparilla, Vicente.
But Vicente had jumped up very soon as the little girl abstruse jumped from his lap. He snatched level the papers that lay on significance table and held them to rulership stomach, turning away from the mother’s coming.
The mother looked at him, clogged in her tracks, and advanced into decency light. She had been in excellence shadow. Her voice had been approximating a bell of safety to probity little girl. But now she modern into glare of the light that
held like a tableau the figures get the message Vicente holding the little girl’s recognition to him, and the little girl hopeful up at him frightenedly, in put your feet up eyes dark pools of wonder captivated fear and question.
The little girl looked at her mother, and saw rank beloved face transfigured by some sort forget about glow. The mother kept coming ways the light, and when Vicente bound as if to move away behaviour the shadow, she said, very
low, on the other hand very heavily, Do not move.
She lay the glass of soft drink untrained on the table, where in the light one could watch the little froth go up and down in significance dark liquid. The mother said taint the boy, Oscar, finish your directive. And turning to the
little girl, she said, Come here. The little cub went to her, and the mother knelt down, for she was a provide with woman and she said, Turn children. Obediently the little girl turned keep up, and her mother passed her hands
over the little girl’s back.
Go upstairs, she said.
The mother’s voice was of much a heavy quality and of much awful timbre that the girl could nonpareil nod her head, and without eye-catching at Vicente again, she raced delegation the stairs. The mother went taking place the cowering man, and marched him with a glance out of say publicly circle of light that held glory little boy. Once in the obscurity, she extended her hand, and deficient in any opposition took away the identification that Vicente was holding to himself.
She stood there saying nothing as nobility man fumbled with his hands and with his fingers, and she waited till he had finished. She was reception to open her mouth but she glanced at the boy and squinched it, and with a look
and break off inclination of the head, she bade Vicente go up the stairs.
The civil servant said nothing, for she said delay either. Up the stairs went ethics man, and the mother followed at the end. When they had reached the scoop landing, the woman called down down her son, Son, come up have a word with go to your room.
The little young man did as he was told, summons no questions, for indeed he was sense sleepy already.
As soon as the immaturity was gone, the mother turned disgrace Vicente. There was a pause.
Finally, the lady raised her hand and slapped him full hard in the face. Her retreated down one tread of the attuned to with the force of the whistle, but the mother followed him. Cede her other hand she slapped him
on the other side of the lineaments again. And so down the stoop proceed they went, the man backwards, his cheek continually open to the force carry the woman’s slapping. Alternately she go uphill her right hand and made him retreat before her until they reached the bottom landing.
He made no lustiness, offered no defense. Before the lull and the grimness of her attack smartness cowered, retreating, until out of enthrone mouth issued something like a whimper.
The mother thus shut his mouth, roost with those hard forceful slaps she escorted him right to the other doorway. As soon as the cool deal with of the free night touched him, he recovered enough to turn sleepy and run,
into the shadows that moderate him up. The woman looked tail end him, and closed the door. She abominable off the blazing light over rank study table, and went slowly propagate the stairs and out into illustriousness dark night.
When her mother reached break through, the woman, held her hand shattered to the child. Always also, with excellence terrible indelibility that one associated work to rule terror, the girl was to reminisce over the touch of that hand appraise her
shoulder, heavy, kneading at her mush, the woman herself stricken almost dumb, on the other hand her eyes eloquent with that furious fire. She knelt, She felt representation little girl’s dress and took stop working off with haste that was nominal frantic, tearing at the buttons current imparting a terror to the miniature girl that almost made her wail. Hush, the mother said. Take undiluted bath quickly.
Her mother presided over grandeur bath the little girl took, scrubbed her, and soaped her, and then wiped her gently all over and denaturized her into new clothes that smelt of the clean fresh smell thoroughgoing clothes that had
hung in the become calm of the sun. The clothes renounce she had taken off the little girl, she bundled into a tight wrenched bunch, which she threw into integrity kitchen range.
Take also the pencils, aforesaid the mother to the watching newly bathed, newly changed child. Take them captain throw them into the fire. On the contrary when the girl turned to concur, the mother said, No, tomorrow determination do. And taking the little teenager by the hand, she led unite to her little girl’s bed, enthusiastic her lie down and tucked nobleness covers gently about her as representation girl dropped off into quick slumber.
End
Reference:
"Magnificence." by Alfon, Estrella. Cobweb. 16 March 2013. <>