They were two families that lived behind the back wall of the City Cemetery.Well that they helped each other: some management in the warehouse, home remedies for diseases, etc.
Until a Guayabas tree sparked a war and divided that pre-mortuary battlefield on two fronts.
Mirtha, that was the name of the patriarch of the house on the left side, had raised 10 children with a father almost absent, so she was a big woman, with imperious gestures and commands that didn't request a single replica of that troop of children of all the ages.
Josefina, meanwhile was a slender lady of slow talking and convincing with the strength of reason and sweetness. Until the day of the drama occurred.
-Mirtha-Josefina said to her neighbor- the Guayaba tree that is in the patio belongs to us. You put a fence that included the trunk for your patio and that's how it was on the side of your property.
Josefina swallowed, keeping her anger and answered
:-Look neighbor. With the tree you can do whatever you want, even put it where you know ... -she made a transition and breathe more relieved- Let me tell you that the only piece of land we have all guaranteed is there in front of us- the cemetery.
She turned around and locked herself in the house.
Mirtha, triumphant, asked her numerous children to help her. She started the fence and for a few inches she put it back so that the guabo tree was included in her own patio.
But the Guayabo scatters its branches for the house of Mirtha.
Josefina had a great idea. She tied a wire string to the trunk of the tree and stuck the other end deep into the ground next to the kitchen.So the tree remained a few months throwing its fruits to the courtyard of Mirtha, who forbade their children, on pain of a good bout of lashes, not to take a single of the attractive fruits that hung or fell ripe until they could be as a snack forbidden for the children who did not understand these things as adults.
When I left Cuba the tree was still standing. But the good work done by Josefina, the slow traction, etc., paid off and the guava tree finally stood up, this time, leaning towards the plaintiff's yard.Josefina saw that as a personal triumph.
And so it was that two neighboring families, previously inseparable, fought over a common tree of guabos and were enemies forever.
ORLANDO VICENTE ÁLVAREZ
Until a Guayabas tree sparked a war and divided that pre-mortuary battlefield on two fronts.
Mirtha, that was the name of the patriarch of the house on the left side, had raised 10 children with a father almost absent, so she was a big woman, with imperious gestures and commands that didn't request a single replica of that troop of children of all the ages.
Josefina, meanwhile was a slender lady of slow talking and convincing with the strength of reason and sweetness. Until the day of the drama occurred.
-Mirtha-Josefina said to her neighbor- the Guayaba tree that is in the patio belongs to us. You put a fence that included the trunk for your patio and that's how it was on the side of your property.
Josefina swallowed, keeping her anger and answered
:-Look neighbor. With the tree you can do whatever you want, even put it where you know ... -she made a transition and breathe more relieved- Let me tell you that the only piece of land we have all guaranteed is there in front of us- the cemetery.
She turned around and locked herself in the house.
Mirtha, triumphant, asked her numerous children to help her. She started the fence and for a few inches she put it back so that the guabo tree was included in her own patio.
But the Guayabo scatters its branches for the house of Mirtha.
Josefina had a great idea. She tied a wire string to the trunk of the tree and stuck the other end deep into the ground next to the kitchen.So the tree remained a few months throwing its fruits to the courtyard of Mirtha, who forbade their children, on pain of a good bout of lashes, not to take a single of the attractive fruits that hung or fell ripe until they could be as a snack forbidden for the children who did not understand these things as adults.
When I left Cuba the tree was still standing. But the good work done by Josefina, the slow traction, etc., paid off and the guava tree finally stood up, this time, leaning towards the plaintiff's yard.Josefina saw that as a personal triumph.
And so it was that two neighboring families, previously inseparable, fought over a common tree of guabos and were enemies forever.
ORLANDO VICENTE ÁLVAREZ
CUBA: ADORABLES VECINOS. UN CUENTO REAL
CUBA: ADORABLES VECINOS. UN CUENTO REAL.
Eran dos familias que vivian tras el muro trasero del Cementerio de la Ciudad.
Muy bien que se ayudaban: alguna gestión en el almacén, remedios caseros para enfermedades, etc. Hasta que un árbol de Guayabas desató una guerra y dividió en dos frentes aquel campo de batalla pre mortuorio.
Mirtha, que así se llamaba la patriarca de la casa del lado izquierdo había criado 10 hijos con un padre casi ausente, por lo que era una mujer corpulenta, de ademanes imperiosos y mandatos que no solicitaban ni una sola réplica de aquella tropa de hijos de todas las edades.
Josefina, por su parte. Era una dama delgada de hablar pausado y que convencía con la fuerza de la razón y la dulzura. Hasta que se produjo el día del drama.
-Mirtha-dijo Josefina a su vecina- el árbol de Guayaba que está en el patio nos pertenece. Ustedes colocaron un cercado que incluía el tronco para vuestro patio y así quedó del lado de tu propiedad.
Josefina trago en seco, guardando la ira y le contestó:
-Mira vecina. Con el árbol puedes hacer lo que quieras, incluso metértelo por donde tú sabes…-hizo una transición y respiro más aliviada -Dejame decirte que la única porción de tierra las tenemos todos garantizada allá enfrente-en el cementerio.
Dio media vuelta y se encerró en la casa.
Mirtha, triunfante, pidió a sus numerosos hijos que la ayudaran. Arrancó el cercado y por unas pulgadas lo volvió a colocar de modo que el guayabo quedara incluido en su propio patio.
Pero el Guayabo desparrama sus ramas para la casa de Mirtha. Josefina tuvo una idea genial. Ató un cordel de alambre al tronco del árbol y clavó el otro extremo profundo en su suelo junto a la cocina.
Así quedó el árbol unos meses arrojando sus frutos al patio de Mirtha, que prohibió a sus hijos, so pena de una buena tanda de azotes, que no tomaran ni una sola de los atractivos frutos que colgaban o caían maduros hasta que se podrían como bocado prohibido para los niños que no entendían estas cosas de adultos.
Cuando salí de Cuba el árbol seguía en pie. Pero el buen trabajo realizado por Josefina, la tracción lenta, etc, dio sus frutos y el guayabo al fin se erguía, esta vez, inclinado hacia el patio de la demandante.
Josefina vio aquello como un triunfo personal.
Y así fue como dos familias vecinas, antes inseparables, se pelearon por un común árbol de guayabas y fueron enemigas para siempre.
DR ORLANDO VICENTE ÁLVAREZ
cubano uruguayo,genio
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