May 1st, 2009

More micro-stories

Almost a year ago I wrote these for the Santiago en 100 palabras contest. Since I already posted my earlier micro-stories of two years ago, I figured that I could as well post these. Same warning as before: amateurish, and not very well translated from the original Spanish.

Plano y gris / Plain and gray

El hormigón viste estrías como arrugas. Sometido por el tacón de un poste de luz, invadido por raíces, pisoteado por la muchedumbre. Ahogado en invierno, opacado en primavera, calcinado en verano y sepultado en otoño. Envejece y soporta, estoico, el hormigón.

The concrete wears stretch marks like wrinkles. Subjugated by the high heel of a lamp post, invaded by roots, stomped by the crowds. Drowned in winter, dimmed in spring, scorched in summer, and buried in autumn. Grows old and endures, stoic, the concrete.

Otra noche / Another night

Vestía el negro de esa noche sin luna. En el cruce, la señal parpadea. Parpadea. Parpadea. Parpadea, y finalmente cae en el silencio; la otra, imagen de un hombre erguido, se ilumina de un color carmín. No miró en ambos sentidos; dio un paso. Un paso. Un paso. Un paso. Un paso, hasta recorrer todo el trecho que separaba las esquinas. Tornándose a ver el momento en que la luz roja cede ante la verde, se lamentó. Ya no quedaban calles por cruzar antes de llegar a su destino.

He wore the black of that moonless night. At the junction, the sign blinks. Blinks. Blinks. Blinks, and finally grows quiet; the other, image of an upright man, shines in bright carmine. He didn’t look both ways; he took a step. A step. A step. A step. A step, until he had travelled the distance that separated both sides of the street. Turning in time to see the red light give way to the green, he lamented. There were no remaining streets to cross before he’d reach his destination.