Free Lost in the City: Tree of Desire and Serafin by Ignacio Solares Page A

transformed into sudden fear and the overwhelming need to get her brother out of there.
    He took a few steps into the room. Cristina felt that, barefoot, his presence was even more violent.
    He sat down heavily on the cot and searched for the pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket. He lit a match and held it in front of his eyes, looking from behind it with a damp smile at Cristina, as if through a wall of fire. Then he lit the cigarette and took a long drag. He exhaled, watching the smoke blow out and disappear above.
    â€œWhat did you say your name was?”
    â€œCristina.” She stood like a wide-eyed doll.
    â€œAh, Cristina. Your brother is a nuisance. I had to go out for awhile. But we played.” And, turning to Joaquín, “We played, didn’t we?”
    â€œStupid,” said Joaquín without looking at him.
    â€œHe called me stupid. Did you hear him, little girl? He called me stupid.”
    There were sparks in his eyes. His cheeks, in contrast, seemed to dissolve, as if they were of wax and were near a fire.
    â€œWhy did you hit him?” Cristina asked, her voice softened by fear.
    â€œFor being a nuisance, what else?”
    â€œHe’s very little.”
    â€œThat’s the reason I tied him up. I had to go out for a while.”
    â€œAnd you hit him.”
    â€œHe didn’t want to stay by himself. He’s a stubborn child.”
    If Joaquín had been untied, at that moment Cristina would have grabbed his hand and run away with him.
    â€œHelp me untie him.”
    Jesús opened his mouth again in a broad smile, like a half-moon.
    â€œBrat,” he said showing her the end of the cigarette, “I didn’t come to untie him. I came to tie you up. You hear me, brat? That’s what Angustias told me—go tie up that brat while I buy a couple of things.”
    â€œI’m not going to escape. If my little brother is tied up, I couldn’t escape.”
    Rounding his lips, he exclaimed, “Oooh,” and leaned back against the damp wall. In addition to the cot, there was only a chair and a small table with a plastic cover and an almost empty bottle of tequila. In some spots the tiles had come up and you could see the loose earth. Above the bed, an ostentatious Christ figure with a heart in flames.
    â€œYou’re a smart kid. That’s for sure. You could untie him while I sleep, and escape. Right?”
    â€œI can’t untie him, really,” she said holding her hands open. “I tried to, but I couldn’t.”
    â€œLet’s do something better. Come lie down with me here,” and he smiled wider and patted the pillow. “OK?”
    Cristina gulped as much air as she possibly could and held her arms out from her body as if she were about to fly. But she only let her arms fall to her waist and again breathed with difficulty.
    â€œOK?” He looked as if he were spying through a keyhole.
    â€œAll right,” Cristina said with a fleeting smile that took away the air she was breathing.
    â€œCome here, then.” He smoothed a place on the bedspread with an open hand. “Beside me.”
    â€œSissy, I’m hungry,” Joaquín said.
    â€œMy brother is hungry.”
    â€œLater! Come here now.”
    â€œGo to sleep for a little while, Joaquín.”
    â€œI don’t want to sleep!”
    â€œGo to sleep for a while!”
    â€œNo!”
    â€œJoaquín . . .”
    The child sat down on the floor, curled into a ball, with a look of resentment that made him seem even smaller. The rope wasn’t long enough for him to lie down.
    Poor Joaquín, Cristina thought.
    â€œCome on now,” the man said in a tone that was both demanding and suggestive.
    Cristina went over hesitatingly, as if minimizing the importance of the event. She stood in front of him and watched him half-close his eyes and make his lips round, simulating a kiss. Repulsion was concentrated in the taste of her