Yes, whatever you want, no problem, she answered.
And what about the chickens? What are you going to do with them? Theyre going to get in the way here, Simón asked again.
Well, theyre free range. Theyre used to it and even though theyre not cooped up, they dont go very far, they spend the day pecking around over there, she added. Ill leave you be, I dont want to leave the child for too long, hes a little rascal and I want to know what hes up to, and off she went.
Guys, we have a job! Youve already seen everything that needs to be done, Simón told us.
And what is there to do? we asked intrigued, because he had not put anything forward.
Well, look here, we can build one room here, he said quietly, as if waiting for us to protest.
Why not two? I asked.
Would you be brave enough to build two? Simón asked.
It was an idea that came to me, I dont know, all of a sudden, and I asked the others.
Sure, if we can build one, we can build two. I think it would be good, but first we have to make some plans and adapt them to the space we have, Jorge told us. It seemed that he was on board with my idea.
Yes, but what about the doors? Where could we put them? Weve already seen that they only have that one room that they use for everything; sitting room, dining room and bedroom, where the bed is. With this space we can build two rooms, a larger one for the Mom and Dad and a smaller one for the little one, Simón was telling us.
The little one will grow up and hell need a place, and perhaps in time theyll also have another one. This should really be taken into account, and if the room is too small, he wouldnt really fit, Santi told us, who until now had been very quiet, but we noticed from the tone of his voice how much he had embraced the idea.
I dont imagine theyd have another kid, youve already seen that he doesnt seem to be very well, but if they did, they could put in some bunk beds.
My brothers sleep in them and theyre very practical, because theres no need for any extra space in the room, they occupy the same floor space as a single bed.
We all agreed and we decided that it was best to make only one connecting door, so as not to weaken the load-bearing wall too much and the two bedrooms would be connected.
Seeing that wed all liked the idea, Simón opened a notebook that hed been holding in his hand the whole time and we saw that hed prepared some sketches. Then, with great skill, he plotted some lines, making a new sketch. When he finished, he showed it to us:
What do you think?
We all looked at it, and although we didnt really understand much of what we were looking at, it seemed to us that it would turn out well, and we gave it our approval.
Okay, well tell them, lets see if they agree, Jorge said, because their opinion is the one that matters, its their house and they have to live here.
Happy with the idea, we went to tell them about it. When we went to knock on the door to enter, we heard that the man was sobbing and we didnt think we should interrupt, but we heard:
Yes, come in, come in. As wed all been talking, Im sure theyd heard us as we approached.
Whats wrong mister? I asked him without thinking as soon as I saw him. I instantly regretted it, but it was too late.
I dont know how were going to be able to pay for it, he answered tearfully.
Look, honestly, weve told you before, this isnt going to cost you anything, well take care of everything, said Jorge.
But, that takes a lot of material and your labor on top of that, why would you do that? the man went on, asking but still crying.
Well! said Simón, who was more confident with them. We do it to stave off boredom during vacation time.
Really? said the woman. Such good-looking boys bored? Youll get a girlfriend and then youll know when you start Courting that time is precious, to spend it together.
Well, some of us have one already, Santi said jumping up. No one said we didnt, but theyre very supportive, and they let us be free to do what we want.
Yes, of course and also, perhaps, shes gone to the beach to spend her vacation with her parents, and shes ditched you, I told Santi who knew that this was what had happened to him.
Shut up foghorn! he said at once, and turned red.
Alright, lets change the subject, said Simón. Ive brought some sketches that Ive made, and I want you to take a look at them to see what you think, and if we can do it.
Son, we dont know anything about all that, just do whatever you think is best, the woman was saying somewhat nervously.
Well, take a look at them to see if you like them, and he took the notebook he had brought over to the bed.
We saw that the man didnt take his hands out from under the sheet, that it was the woman who took it and showed it to him.
The blue lines represent whats standing now, and the red lines are what we can do in the yard, and those pencil marks, I just drew there behind, weve all agreed that if we expand this just a little, instead of one, you could have two extra rooms, Simón was saying, excited about the idea.
The man could no longer contain himself and began to cry inconsolably, so we decided to go out and leave them in peace. I took the child in my arms and said:
Lets play! I can teach you a game that Im sure you wont know: Hide-and-Seek.
Because he didnt understand what I was talking about, the little one, looking at me with a face full of surprise, looked back:
Dad, Dad, he was screaming, but as soon as we had left the house, he immediately saw a hen, and he began to struggle in my arms, because he wanted to get down. The instant I put him down on the ground, he ran off after it.
The four of us stayed outside for a while, a little serious because of the situation. The woman came out with eyes red from crying, and said:
Forgive him, hes always been such a hard worker and he could never be still, and now he cant bear anyone having to do things for him.
Simón came forward and, resting a hand on her shoulder, said:
Its alright, just tell us where to start.
She used her apron to wipe away some of the tears that had escaped from her eyes and ran down her cheeks, and then she said:
This is everything we have, I cant offer you anything else. She showed us some tools, which were piled up in one corner and covered with an old sack.
Dont worry, well find out everything well need and bring it here ourselves, Jorge said, taking a hoe in his hands. Lifting it into the air, he continued: This works for me.
But I dont know how were going to pay for it, she said in a sad voice. We barely have enough to eat, and the little one needs so much
I think we can also solve that, youll see, trust us, I said immediately.
She was staring at me and I saw that her eyes were once again filled with tears. Turning around she went into the house saying:
What strange things these young men are saying!
Out there alone and all in agreement, we said:
We should start immediately so that this family eats every day. We have to, without fail, get in touch with those ladies who help the needy.
What strange things these young men are saying!
Out there alone and all in agreement, we said:
We should start immediately so that this family eats every day. We have to, without fail, get in touch with those ladies who help the needy.
Then we started to make a list of the materials we needed, the tools, and basically everything we thought we would need to get on with the work at hand.
First of all, we have to take down that roof, Santi said. Its in a very bad state and as soon as we begin to make a start here, Im sure itll fall. That being said, you guys know more about this than I do, and he added, Sorry.
We all agreed:
But what do we do with the sick mans bed in the meantime? Itll take us several days Jorge asked.
Well deal with the problems as they arise. First of all, lets remove the chicken wire from the yard and clean everything up to start with the foundations, Simón suggested.
Okay, we said in unison, lets get the ball rolling.
We headed to the back of the house. When the little one saw us, he came up behind us. We had to call on his mother to take him, because it wasnt safe for him to be around where we had to work.
His mother, who, like all mothers, always had resources for every situation, brought out a big cardboard box, which had been flattened in a corner, reassembled it a little away from where we had to work, but from where the kid could see us properly, and she put the child inside it, and said:
See, now you can watch those gentlemen playing from here inside your little house.
He sat down quietly, and there he sat for I dont know how long, watching us as we moved about from here to there doing things and he stayed so calm and quiet, so much so that at some point he must have gotten bored and fallen asleep. When we noticed, we called on his mother to take him and she told us:
No, hes all right here, and with that she left, but came straight back with an old towel and covered him.
The box served as a crib, perhaps it was his crib, because we hadnt seen one inside. None of us batted an eyelid at the time, but it seems that it did leave more than one of us a little concerned, because in the afternoon, when we finished the work, we commented on it on the way back.
Well learn more about the things they need, Simón said. Now, the first order of business, we have to get a move on so that tomorrow we can begin to change these peoples lives, so that they dont miss a meal. We have to make a move now to try to fix that.
As we already had contacts, Jorge and Santi, who would pass closer to them, paid them a visit before going home. They explained the problems and the urgency of the case.
The lady who received them told them not to worry, that the next day they would go to the place and that they would see what their needs were themselves.
And if you can, bring them some food! Jorge told them, they really need it.
And thats how it went. We were working again. We had already eaten the sandwiches that wed brought for lunch, and today we all wanted to share them with the couple, but none of us remembered to bring any for the kid. The four of us had brought two sandwiches each without making any sort of agreement. When it was time to eat, we all took them out and gave them to the lady. Of course, since we had one extra per head, they got two each, but what about the little one? It was only at that point that we realized.
Dont worry, she said with a smile, he only takes porridge and then the breast, hes still too small for sandwiches, and thanking us for what wed given her, she continued, we already have enough food for today and tomorrow.
No, tomorrow well bring you more, I said promptly.
No, theres no need, with these we have enough, theyre very big and certainly very rich, thank you very much, she said looking at us gratefully.
After resting a little, wed gone back to continue with our digging, so we could finish the ditch where we would pour the cement for the wall, when we saw some confused ladies coming from the distance.
Simón, being the most alert, approached them and said:
Its over here, come, come.
We werent sure about the location, its a little complicated, they said smiling.
Madam, can you come out? You have a visitor, I said, approaching the door of the house.
Without coming out, she said:
Visitor? Surely not! Lifting the curtain, she saw the two women who had already arrived and Simón behind them with some bags that hed taken from their hands to help them.
What can I do for you? Who are you? she asked in surprise.
They introduced themselves and talked about why theyd come. We left them to it and continued with our task, because we set a goal for ourselves each day and we had to finish it, so we got back to the old grindstone as they say in construction slang. We finished the whole ditch that day, pleased and upbeat. We were even singing on the way home because of how happy we were.
We commented that they wouldnt go hungry anymore, that was the first goal fulfilled, they would bring them food. Now we had to do our part so that they would be living in a decent place, and they wouldnt get wet at the very least, because in this part of the country, with so many rainy days, that was very important, but as we told ourselves, that was our thing and we would leave it in fantastic condition, we were already experts after all.
How time flies. The summer passed and everything reached completion. The assignment was done and the two whitewashed rooms looked as though theyd been built by professionals. We even put in windows, well mini-windows, they might not have been very large, but they were big enough to let the light in and properly ventilate the place.
We did as wed intended on that seemingly distant day at the start of the summer. The two rooms were connected, but there was no way of putting in doors, no matter how hard we tried, so one day when we were discussing it with the woman, she immediately told us:
Dont worry, they can be separated with a curtain and thatll do very nicely.
The ladies who came from time to time would tell us:
Look, thisll come in handy for you, and they brought us a little something.
One of them appeared one day with a very beautiful painting, with views of the sea. When Encarnación saw it, she immediately asked us, Why dont we put it on the wall? That way it would make the place look more beautiful.
On another occasion, they brought some blue curtains, which one of the ladies had been keeping in a drawer. She said that since shed changed them for new ones, she wasnt going to need them anymore and they were only getting in her way. She hadnt wanted to throw them away because they were still good.
Those were the curtains that we subsequently put up to separate the two rooms and everything looked ten times better than we had ever imagined.
They also brought a vase, which, although it didnt seem useful to us, Encarnación was very excited about. Santi immediately went around the field and picked some bunches of flowers and put them into that vase and in truth, what he created was pretty original.
One of the days that the ladies came, one of them brought a small picture frame.
When the little one gets older, Ill take a photograph and put it in here, the mother said, thanking them.