Dialogue between Winnie and Angela

The marriage, an actual right decision, isn’t it?

Once, Angela decided to go for a walk since she wanted to think about herself and her future lifestyle as Norman´s wife. She aimlessly walked, immersed herself in her thoughts. She arrived to a deserted place, unknown for her, and she started to observe all over the place. Suddenly, she saw a woman buried head – deep. Angela felt curiosity about her and approached where she was.

Angela noticed that woman looked smiling, despite her condition. So Angela asked her:

- What are you doing there, Madam? (While she asks Winnie, a gentle breeze blows her black long hair)

- Winnie: Hi, lady! I´m just waiting for my husband, Willie

- Angela: Oh! Really? Are you married? ( As Angela makes this question, her blue eyes opens in wonderment before Winnie´s presence )

- Winnie: Yes, Lady, I am (She smiles)

- Angela: Sorry Madam, I would like to ask you about your lifestyle as a wife. You´ll see, I´m getting married soon, but as my father died, I didn’t have the opportunity to contemplate my parents´ marriage while I grew up… so, I don’t know so much at all of this lifestyle…and... I wonder if you….

- Winnie: You´ll see, being a married woman will bring you a lot of satisfactions and rewards…

- Angela: oh! I´m so happy to hear that. I sometimes have doubts about the marriage but now than you, a married woman, are telling me that, I realize I made the right decision.

(Angela starts listening to all what Winnie tells her)

- Winnie: your husband will be a pleasant company which will save you from the loneliness… he´ll be someone who will hear you all the time, even though he is busy with any male activity, like reading the newspaper… for instance, my dear Willie always does it, while he is reading his newspaper, he carefully hears whatever I want or need to talk about … What can I say to you? I´m always disturbing him!

- Angela: I see. My dear Norman always hears me. It´s his more remarkable quality. I expect he remain like your husband, madam!

- Winnie: For sure, he´ll remain like this. As well, I would suggest you to fill your married woman lifetime with pleasant rituals which distract your mind and complement your home environment, just in case your husband is busy or sleeping, like my Willie.

- Angela: sorry, madam, but rituals like what??

- Winnie: well, for instance, like combing your hair, brushing your teeth. Keep in mind that you should always look beautiful for your husband as well. Thus, those rituals will help you to distract your mind and, at the same time, to look nice for him.

- Angela: Let me ask you something madam, what do you think it´s the most important issue in terms of marriage?

- Winnie: For me, the most important issue in terms of marriage is the happiness that provides being a married woman after long time. Now in my fifties, and in spite of the sadness I have felt at any lifetime, I realize that Willie complements all over my humanity, only by pronouncing one single word!

- Angela: Wow, I guess that´s truly love, I mean, between you and your husband. (the breeze goes on blowing Angela´s hair)

- Winnie: through your marriage, you will learn the art of loving in many ways. You´ll see it, since the most insignificant details until ones really outstanding in your own life, just as I have done it … you will see it, dear, those years as a married woman will be the happiest in your life.

- Angela: Thanks Madam, now everything is clear for me! Now I realize the marriage is the clue of the happiness! You´re right madam … madam?? Can you remind me your name? Please! I guess I didn’t even ask your name.

(Angela bows his head in shame)

- Winnie: My name is Winnie, but if you want, you can call me “Win” like my dear Willie sometimes calls me.

- Angela: ok, Madam. By the way, your husband! he hasn’t arrived yet. Where is he right now?

- Winnie: ohh!! Well, don’t worry dear, he is coming right now. I´m sure about it.

- Angela: ok, madam…eeeeh… I´m leaving right now. My mother and my boyfriend should be waiting for me. Nice to meet you!!

- Winnie: Bye Angela. Nice to talk with you.

(Angela goes away from the place where Winnie is buried, and suddenly, Winnie exclaims)

- Winnie: dear Angela, one more thing! Things get old, and… they cannot be cured! Keep that in mind, please!

(Angela turns back to look at Winnie, but without approaching anymore)

- Angela: what do you mean? Madam.

- Winnie: don’t worry dear, you´ll get it sooner than you think.

- Angela: ok, thanks, I should actually leave. Have a nice day.

- Winnie: sure I will have it. In fact, it will be another heavenly day for me!!

As Angela goes away, she questions herself about Winnie: “Why is she buried over there? And why has her husband taken so long? … mmmmmm… let me think of it… I get it, surely, she is doing herself any esthetic treatment, and that´s why she is buried in the ground, and… her husband will come back to take her out when the treatment finishes. I see husbands always support wives when they need it, as that couple, Winnie and Willie, does it each other”

Angela arrives home. Now, she is convinced marriage is a kind of synonym of happiness due to her conversation with Winnie. As she is actually innocent, she doesn’t know about sarcasms or ironies like to think that Winnie had been sarcastic or ironic in her comments. Finally, Angela says to herself: “I expect to be as happy as Winnie has been with her husband. They actually love each other”

In the wastebasket of my character: Angela

The marriage, an actual right decision, isn’t it?

…And there was Angela, a young girl who was just in her early twenties. She was a middle class woman, who grew up in a happy family, in spite of being the daughter of a single mother. She was a sweet and naïve girl, who tended to be easily influenced and credulous about what people said. Put it into these words: she was kind of dumb!!

About her father, her mother told her that long time ago he had died in unclear circumstances for her, but anyway, she said he had been a good husband and father. Her mother worried so much about Angela because she didn’t have any relative that supported her since they were alone, and for Angela, without a father to support her, the best option was supposedly to find a kind of protection, thus her mother decided to suggest her to choose a good man in order to get married and to settle herself as a married woman. However, Angela´s mother insisted her on being selective with her choice in terms of love and well - being. Therefore, the chosen guy should have a stable socioeconomic status, which could guarantee Angela´s welfare. In such a way, she would get a company and, at the same time, a comfort of home.

Incidentally, she knew Norman, a thirty-one year old man, who worked in a factory as an operator, in Angela´s town. They started a conversation at a bus stop, and he finished asking for Angela´s phone number. They started going out until ending in a love relationship. What Angela really liked about Norman was the way he heard all what she said, even the most minimum details she told him. As well, he always seemed to care about her. After one year and a half of engagement, and with Angela´s mother approval, they decided to get married.

The wedding would be in the summer, in about two months. Angela and her mother felt really blessed due to this wedding. Both thought they would improve their lifestyle in many ways. Plus Angela felt really in loved with Norman.

Once, Angela decided to go for a walk since she wanted to think about herself and her future lifestyle as Norman´s wife. She aimlessly walked, immersed herself in her thoughts. She arrived to a deserted place, unknown for her, and she started to observe all over the place. Suddenly, she saw a woman buried head – deep. Angela felt curiosity about her and approached where she was.

TRIP - Second version

An awful and unforgettable trip at everyday of my life

Characters:

Me

An old woman

A woman with a baby

A young woman

I still remember the fist time I heard about it, when they said on TV “This transportation is going to improve your lifestyle and bla bla bla” or almost funny when they also stated “now our city is going to be more civic...the MIO is yours, Cali a new beat.” Thus, I think back about those bureaucratic promises, I say to myself “I knew it.” Therefore, since my personal viewpoint, I´m going to tell you one of my common journeys by using the MIO in order to set out that traveling by this bus is actually an awful and unforgettable experience to me at everyday of my life.

I remember I was getting out of my workplace so I just wanted to arrive home. I walked around the street at about twenty minutes, and then I arrived at MIO station which was full of people who tried to buy a ticket to step in this transportation. I had to wait for almost fifteen minutes to buy my ticket. While I waited I thought: “all this life time only to buy a ticket, that´s an insult for the citizens.”

I walked inside the station trying to prepare myself for the next wait. As always, it was actually full of people over there. I would like to escape from that place but I didn’t have any other option, as at everyday of my life as a bus user.

At the station, people gave pushes one another to be the first at stepping in the bus. They looked kind of aggressive. I guess they were mad at this means of transport as I was.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, the bus arrived so, the struggle started. Many people got into the bus while they almost fought each other to get one of its gray, plastic chairs. Between the crowd, an old woman exclaimed: “…but you look like animals!”

I remember I couldn’t get any available place, and therefore I had to be stood up all that long way home.

I would say that traveling by MIO could be classified like an “eternity”, I mean: while you buy the ticket, then you should wait for the bus in the first station, later the change to actually arrive home or work, ah! well. The thing is that´s a lot of time consumed just because! But just because of an inefficient means of transport. We are almost forced by our local government to step in this transportation. Those situations have made me realize that our local government doesn´t care about what´s going on with its citizens since its only purpose is to get citizens´ money without offering them an actual benefit as they state in MIO´s advertising.

Back to my journey, I felt totally crushed and battered, and the bus hadn’t even left the station. Later, the trip started while the MIO moved to and fro like a boat in a turbulent pond. Inside the bus, people were extremely quiet. Suddenly, a woman with a baby got into the MIO in one of the stations. As she stepped in it, she tried to make her way between the stressful crowds. However, it was kind of impossible since the bus was full. I guess she felt as crushed as me since she shouted at some passengers: “you´re gonna injure my baby by pushing me like this.” Fortunately, another young woman gave her away her place and told her: “please, sit down here, otherwise they´re gonna crush your baby.”

After hundreds of pushed and crushed, I finally arrived at the most longed station to me, my neighborhood´s, and I got off this slow, big and blue bus.

I couldn’t deny the fact that some people have good experiences by travelling into MIO. Maybe, all my experiences are due to my lifestyle since I´m a hard working person so I should get into any transportation very early in the morning or at about five or six pm in the evening. That´s what is called in Colombia “hora pico.” At this time the transportation tends to be complicated. Thus, if someone has a different appreciation about this means of transport, below this text is the right place to express it. By the way, I swear not to be a MIO user all my life!

TRIP - First Version

An awful and unforgettable trip

at everyday of my life

Characters:

A woman with a baby

A young woman

A man

Me

I still remember the fist time I heard about it, when they said on TV “This transportation is going to improve your lifestyle and bla bla bla” or almost funny when they also stated “now our city is going to be more civic...the MIO is yours, Cali a new beat.” Thus, I think back about those bureaucratic promises, I say to myself “I knew it.” Therefore, since my personal viewpoint, I´m going to mention three arguments in order to set out that traveling by MIO bus is actually an awful and unforgettable trip to me at everyday of my life.

First at all, if you expect to be on time at any place by MIO bus, forget it! When you arrive at any station, please, be ready! since you´ll wait for really long time just to arrive home. Thus, your trip by that bus might take an “eternity.” Imagine! Many time consumed due to a local reform stated by the caleña mayoralty which almost forces us to get into an inefficient means of transport like that.

Secondly, once you have gotten into this bus, you´ll realize what a push is. People should travel completely “squeezed” so, they should push each other in order to fit inside it.

I remember once when a woman with a baby shouted at some passengers: “you´re gonna injure my baby by pushing me like this.” That was horrible, the poor woman with her son were actually suffering inside this transportation. I still can´t understand why a person should suffer into a bus if his/her only intention is to arrive home. Those situations have made me realize that our local government doesn´t care about what´s going on with its citizen since its only purpose is to get citizens´ money without offering them an actual benefit as they state in MIO´s advertising. By the way, about that woman with her baby, well, another young woman gave her away her place and told her: “please, sit down here, otherwise they´re gonna crush your baby”

My last appreciation about MIO is related to the desperation that some people feel into this transportation. They behave like “wild animals” just to get a place inside this bus. I still remember once when a man told me while he pushed me: “hey! That place is mine!” so, I replied to him: “ok, don’t worry, it´s totally yours. I´m not going to discuss for anything which is not yours and mine either” However that might be since they are tired of working the whole day and their only hope is to get an available place to rest a bit.

I couldn’t deny the fact that some people have good experiences by travelling into MIO. Maybe, all my experiences are due to my lifestyle since I´m a hard working person so I should get into any transportation very early in the morning or at about five or six pm in the evening. That´s what is called in Colombia “hora pico.” At this time the transportation tends to be complicated. Thus, if someone has a different appreciation about this means of transport, below this text is the right place to express it. By the way, I swear not to be a MIO user all my life!

Anecdote

A crime of passion

Breaking news:

Yesterday night a horrible crime, followed by a suicide, took place in a hispanic neighborhood of New York City. Carlos Suarez murdered his wife, Ana Vazquez de Suarez, by stabbing her seventeen times in her abdomen, chest and neck, with a 314 × 435 - Single Blade Pocket Knife. After killing his wife, Mr. Suarez committed a suicide by shooting himself with a 350 × 280 - Maxsell Jackal Full Auto Pistol, in his head.

Everything seems to point out a crime of passion due to Mr. Suarez´s jealous since her wife worked as a waitress in a well-known restaurant of the city. Their little seven years old son, Juan Carlos Suarez Vázquez, witnessed this entire scene.

Juan Carlos Suarez Vázquez tells us:

“...Daddy was really angry with my mum and…… I didn´t know why they were fighting. I felt frightened but I kept in silent. Mum cried and said to my daddy: “that´s not true, they´re lying to you, you are my only man.” Daddy pushed her and hit her…..and… suddenly, daddy took a pocket knife and started wounding my mum. I cried, I wanted to do anything but I did nothing. Later, Daddy looked at me and started crying. Mum was on the floor, there was a lot of blood by anywhere. I was confused... I didn´t know what was going on with my mum. She seemed to be unconscious or… death. Daddy walked to their bedroom.

I decided to help my mum… I approached her. I started praying to Dios as mum had taught me.. but.. Something cut off my player. That was a pistol´s sound which came out of my parents´ bedroom…”

A couple quarrel:

Carlos: I know what you were doing last night with that man

Ana: you’re wrong dear and…. you know that due to my job at the restaurant I deal with many people

Carlos: mmmm, they told me!! They told me what you do, they told what you are. Don´t lie to me, fucking bitch!!

Ana: that´s not true, they´re lying to you, you are my only man. You know!!

Carlos: what do you think?? Bitch!! That I´m a fucking idiot!!

(He pushes her and hits her)

Ana: stop please! Our baby is in front us! (She starts crying)

(He takes out a pocket knife and starts attacking her)

Carlos: Now! You´re not gonna fool me anymore!

(She screams horrified as he stabs her seventeen by anywhere and she falls death on the floor)

Carlos: Carajo! What did I do?

(He looks at his son and cries. After murdering his wife, he goes to their bedroom)

Carlos: I need to rest from this fucking life! This stinks! …. Damned woman!

(He shoots himself with a pistol in his head)

Open Letter

March the 5^th, 2011

Miss Roach:

The caleñas sewers

I really wanted to tell you something since long time ago, something that comes out from the deepest of my soul. Are you ready to hear it? I hate you! I deeply hate you. But you´ll wonder yourself ¿why? If you are an insignificant insect. That is because you exist, you got it?? Your existence makes me feel uncomfortable, frightened, unsecure and even powerless of fighting against you. Thus, when I just think about running into you at night, maybe next to my bed, oh!! That´s actually a dreadful experience to me since I can´t stand you. I know you feel it when our unfortunate meetings happen, when you start prowling by the wall or around the kitchen, the bathroom, I don’t know, wherever you want to appear.

By the way, about your anatomy!! First at all, I guess this one is kind of awful, you know, your red, oval and viscous body is the most revolting thing around the world. Secondly, how you walk, how you even fly, how you look at people, My Goodness!! I’m pretty convinced these ones have been your weapons to intimidate the humanity for centuries.

And… please, let tell you one single experience that I had last time with one of your sister: I was in my bedroom, and it was over there too. Its intimidating presence made feel really scared. It immediately noticed that and decided to approach near me but of course I, in a brave act, took the atomizer and sprinkled that horrible roach with poison to murder it. This insect wandered through my room by clinging to its wretched life, until it finally died.

Sorry, I guess I have been kind of hard with my appreciations toward you but I want you to figure out the reasons of my hatred. I actually know you are not guilty of my fears and phobias, and nothing or nobody is. You´re not guilty of your own existence. However, I guess that never in my life I´ll stop of hating you. Now, what could we do to solve this matter? Nothing at all. Only, please, stay away me unless you want to feel my sandal´s hit.

My best wishes to you, and don’t hate because of my honesty!!

Cordially,

Viviana R.

PS: I hope not to see you in my bedroom tonight; otherwise you know what is going to happen.

Because....

Because you know how to treat me

Because I can look for you whenever I want it and need it

Because you help to overcome all kind of difficulties that I should face in my life

Because you are there and here if I require it

Because when I was deeply sad and abandoned you were just over there to pick me up

Because you´re the only one who are able to relieve my oppression

Because I used to wander around the world until I met you

Because you are the only one who can understand my happiness and sorrows

Because I know you´ll never leave me

Because no matter what´s going on, I know you´ll be there for me

Where I have been, Where I´m going to

I have been in many different places in which I have experienced a variety of feelings like passion, love, hate, fear, anguish and so on.

Being in those places has changed my mind since I was pretty young until now since the experiences in each place helped to become a mature person with a lot of expectations for the future. Therefore, the places in which I have been represent an outstanding matter in my life because of their significance throughout my twenties.

Now, about the future, well, what can I say?? Thanks to my experiences in those places where I have been, I´m able to state that I’m going to a certain place which is uncertain for me. That is because I keep many things in mind but I’m not sure about which one I’m going to get. However, what is factual for me, it´s that I’m going to struggle for them, I mean, for my expectations in order to feel satisfied at the end of my thirties.