Español

— Encontramos a su hijo — era lo
primero que soltó apenas acomodándose
en el viejo sofá de la sala, donde incluso
rechazó una bebida.

La madre sentía su corazón llenarse de
tantas emociones que apenas y podía
escuchar lo que dijo el oficial después de
la primera oración.

No lo podía creer, eso debía ser un
sueño y en cualquier momento se
levantaría para ver ese cuarto vacío
desde hace cuatro años, sintiéndose sola
y derramando las más amargas y
lastimeras lágrimas que sólo una madre
puede dar a su hijo, a su adorable
pequeño que le quitaron de sus brazos
hace cuatro años. Entonces empieza a
divagar, recuerda su primera risa, su
primera palabra, los primeros pasos que
entorpecidos llegaron con ella quien le
abrazó al verse casi caer, recuerda todo
de él y la alegría infantil que siempre le
contagio, ahora temía, recordando el día
que se lo llevaron, estaban jugando al
escondite.

Vuelve a caer en llanto y sientes sus
piernas flaquear, sin un apoyo caes al
suelo junto al vaso de agua que traía al
oficial, coloca despacio su mano en su
boca intentando callar los sollozos,
cuando cierra los ojos viene a ella el
rostro sonriente de un niño de siete
escasos años, teme lo que pudo pasarle
en esos eternos cuatro años, ella piensa
en su capacidad como madre, si merece
el verle, si tan siquiera la recuerda y ama
como la última vez que lo ha visto.

El oficial detiene su explicación de las
condiciones en las que encontraron a su
amado hijo, algo sobre una breve
desnutrición y por eso debería
acompañarle al hospital, pone una
mirada con una calidez de empatía
levantándose del viejo sofá, el mismo
lugar en el cual solía contar cuentos a su
pequeño, el oficial coloca una de sus
manos en el hombro de la madre para
sonreírle y ofrecer la otra para levantarla
del suelo, ahora ella era quien descansa
en el viejo sofá mientras sigue intentando
callar su llanto.

Le costó más de una hora en
tranquilizarse, en ningún momento el
oficial volvió a hablar, al igual que no
apartó su mano que la madre se negaba
a soltar, cuando el oficial nota su
respiración relajada, él repite sus
palabras.

—Encontramos a su hijo con vida, sufre
una pequeña desnutrición e hidratación,
pero no es nada grave para su salud, lo
llevamos al hospital San Miguel. La
llevaré en breve.

La madre respira profundo alejándose de
todos los pensamientos que sólo la
alterarían antes de asentir e ir a la
patrulla del oficial y ver a su pequeño
hijo, aunque ya no lo sea tanto. Mira por
la ventana durante el camino y por la
misma observa acercarse al hospital. El
nudo en su estómago parece apretarse,
va detrás del oficial al bajarse del
vehículo.

Él señala la puerta del paciente y la
madre se paraliza, en su caminar sentía
dar un esfuerzo por cada paso y con las
pocas fuerzas que tenía levanto su
manos hacia la perilla, al abrir la puerta
incluso se sorprende no escucharla
rechinar como esperaba.

—Mamá…
Levanto su cabeza que miraba al suelo,
si planeaba no llorar más sabrá que fallo,
apenas logrando no caer de nuevo y en
cambio correr a la cama, a pesar de ya
no ser un niño de siete años sino uno de
once la madre lo reconoce.
—¡Mamá! — no grita con desprecio
como creía que lo haría al verla, en
cambio le sonríe tan grande como sólo
sabe hacerlo su hijo que incluso repleto
de lágrimas no pierde su brillo — ¡Mamá,
te extrañe!
—¡Mijo, mi pequeño Miguelito!

Finalmente está otra vez en sus brazos,
se aferran uno al otro, ambos se niegan
a romper el abrazo, no les intereso
cuanto estuvieron así, la madre deseaba
poder fundirse a su hijo para nunca más
perderlo, por la forma que le apretaba
ella piensa que el deseo era mutuo.
Cuando se separan del abrazo la madre
le dedica una mirada llena con todo el
amor que una madre puede darle a su
hijo, limpia las mejillas del menor para
luego besarlas. Mientras se miraban la
madre pensó decir una pequeña broma.

—Te encontré…
Y la habitación se llenó de la risa del
menor después de mucho tiempo de no
oírla.

English

“We found your son.” That was the first
thing he said as soon as he ensconced
himself in the old livingroom’s sofa, there
he even rejected a drink.

The mother felt so overwhelmed with
many different emotions that she could
barely hear what the police officer had
said after the first sentence.

She could not believe it, it had to be
some kind of dream and at any moment
she would get up and would wander off to
see that four-year-old empty room,
feeling lonely and shedding the most
bitter and pitiful tears that only a mother
could give to her child, to her adorable
little one that was taken from her four
year ago. Then she starts to blather on:
she remembers his first laugh, his first
word, his first clumsy steps that led him
to her, only to be held in an embrace
when he was about to fall; she
remembers everything about him and the
childlike joy that he always seemed to
spread, now she feared, remembering
the day he was taken, they were playing
hide and seek.

She starts to cry again and feels her legs
weaken, without a surface to support
herself, she and the glass of water she
had brought for the police officer fall
down, slowly she puts a hand to her
mouth trying to muffle her sobbing. When
she closes her eyes the face of a smiling
child, of perhaps seven years old, comes
to her mind; she fears whatever could
have happened to him during those
eternal four years, she thinks about her
skill as a mother, if she even deserves to
see him, if he even remembers and loves
her like the last time she saw him.

The police officer stops explaning the
conditions in which they found her
beloved son, something about a slight
undernourishment -the reason she must
come with him to the hospital- he then
gets up from the old sofa with this warm
look on his face, it was the same sofa
where she used to tell her little one
stories. The officer puts a hand on the
mother’s shoulder and smiles while he
beckons to her with the other to stand up
from the ground, as she is the one who is
now lying on the old sofa while she is still
trying to muffle her sobs.

It took her more than an hour to calm
herself down and the officer did not speak
again, nor did he try to take his hand
away, a hand the mother refused to let
go; once he noticed that her breathing
relaxed, he says again “We found your
son alive, he is slightly undernourished
and dehydrated, but nothing serious, we
took him to San Miguel Hospital. I’ll take
you there shortly”.

She breaths deeply, pushing aside all of
the thoughts that would make her
anxious, before nodding and getting
inside the officer’s car to go to see her
little child, although he is not that little.
She looks out the window the whole time
and as they get closer she can see the
hospital. The knot in her stomach seems
to get tighter, however, she follows the
officer when she gets out of the car.

He points to the patient’s door and she
stops altogether, feeling that each step
she took required a lot of effort and with
the little strength she had she put her
hands on the knob -surprised to not hear
the door creaking as she opens it.

“Mom…”

She came out of her trance and looked at
him; she was planning on not crying but
she knows she failed, as she barely could
help herself not falling down again and,
instead, she ran to the bed; even though
he was no longer a seven-year-old kid,
rather an eleven-year-old one, she
recognizes him.

“Mom!,” he screams, but not resentful as
she expected he would do when he saw
her, instead, he smiles a big smile that
even when his face is full of tears, he
does not lose his shine, the way only his
son would. “Mom, I missed you!”

“My son, my little Miguelito!”

He is finally in her arms again, they held
on to each other, none of them trying to
break the embrace. They did not care
how much time they were that way, the
mother wished to meld with her son, so
that she could never lose him ever again
and, judging by the way he strongly held
on to her, she thinks he also wants to do
so. When they finally break the embrace,
the mother gives him a look full of love,
all the love a mother could give to her
son and then cleans the boy’s cheeks just
to kiss them right after. While they were
looking at each other the mother thought
about telling a little joke.

“I found you…” she said.

And the room filled with the infant’s
laughter after so much time of not
listening to it.

Javier Andrei Jaime Ramírez