The Time of the Hero

  They drank their colas in silence. Paulino watched them with his evil eyes. Arana’s father merely sipped from the bottle, and sometimes he sat with it halfway to his mouth, his eyes completely blank. Then he came to, shook his head, and took another sip. Alberto had to force himself to drink his cola, the gas upset his stomach. He avoided talking because he was afraid the man would start confiding in him again.

  His eyes wandered everywhere. He could not see the vicuña, probably it was in the stadium. It always went as far away as it could when the cadets had free time, but when they were in the classrooms it sauntered around in the field. Arana’s father paid for the colas and gave Paulino a tip. The classroom building was invisible because the lights around the parade ground had not been turned on yet and the fog was even thicker.

  “Did he suffer much?” the man asked. “I mean on Saturday, when they brought him in.”

  “No, Señor. He wasn’t conscious. They got him into a car on Progreso Avenue and took him straight to the infirmary.”

  “They didn’t let us know till Saturday afternoon,” the man said in a tired voice. “It was about five o’clock. They didn’t give him a pass for about a month. His mother wanted to come out here to see him. They always punished him for one thing or another. Captain Garrido called us on the phone. It was pretty hard to take, believe me. We came as fast as we could, we almost had an accident on Costanera. And they wouldn’t even let us get near him. That wouldn’t happen in a hospital.”

  “You can take him to a hospital if you want. They can’t stop you.”

  “I know. But the doctor says he can’t be moved. His condition’s serious, no doubt about it, why try to fool ourselves any more. And his mother’s going crazy. She keeps talking about what happened on Friday. It isn’t fair, but that’s the way women are. They twist things all around. I know I’ve been strict with the boy, but only for his own good. And what happened on Friday was nothing, absolutely nothing. But she throws it in my face every ten minutes.”

  “Arana didn’t say a word about it,” Alberto said. “Even though he tells me all his problems.”

  “Believe me, it was absolutely nothing. He came home for a few hours, on some sort of a pass, I don’t know how he got it, and he’d hardly arrived when he wanted to leave the house again. That wasn’t very considerate, was it?—coming home and then running out again. So I told him to stay with his mother, she was upset on account of his not getting any passes. And that’s all there was to it. A mere nothing. But now she keeps telling me I crucified him. Do you think that’s fair?”

  “Your wife must be nervous,” Alberto said. “That’s natural enough. A thing like…”

  “You’re right,” the man said. “But she refuses to rest. She spent the whole day in the infirmary, waiting for the doctor. And all for nothing. He hardly even talks to us. ‘Just be patient, folks, we’re doing all we can, we’ll keep you informed.’ But the captain must have a kind heart, he tries to cheer us up, but put yourself in our place. It doesn’t seem possible that an accident like this could happen after three years of training.”

  “You can’t tell,” Alberto said. “I mean…”

  “The captain explained the whole thing. I know all about it. You can say what you want about the army but at least they’re frank, they call a spade a spade, they don’t talk in circles.”

  “Did he tell you all the details?”

  “Of course,” the man said. “That’s the way he is. But it made my hair stand on end. It seems the rifle jumped or something when my son pulled the trigger. Didn’t they tell you about that? I think it’s partly the Academy’s fault. What kind of training do they give you?”

  “The captain told you he fired the shot himself?”

  “Well, he sort of skipped over that,” the man said, “but even so, he shouldn’t’ve said anything, my wife was there, you know how sensitive women are. But that’s how it is in the army, they speak out. I wanted my son to be like that. And do you know what the captain told us? He told us that a soldier has to pay dearly for his mistakes. He said the rifle was examined by experts, it was in perfect condition, so the boy was to blame. I don’t know. It may have been an accident. It’s hard to tell. The army knows more about these things than I do, it’s part of their job. Besides, what difference does it make now?”

  “That’s what the captain told you?”

  “Yes.” The man thought for a moment, then looked at Alberto. “Why?”

  “Nothing. We didn’t even see it. We were climbing the hill.”

  “Excuse me,” Paulino said, “but I’ve got to close.”

  “Let’s go back to the infirmary,” the man said. “They might let me see him, at least for a couple of minutes.”

  They stood up, and Paulino nodded good-by. They went back across the field. Arana’s father walked with his hands clasped behind him. He had raised the lapels of his coat. The Slave never talked to me about him, Alberto thought. Or about his mother either.

  “Can I ask you a favor?” he said. “I’d like to see Arana for a moment. I don’t mean now. Tomorrow, or the day after, when he’s better. You could get me in by telling them I’m a relative or a friend of the family.”

  “Yes,” the man said. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ll speak with Captain Garrido. He seems very accommodating. A little bit strict, like all the army men. But after all, he has to be.”

  “I know,” Alberto said. “They’re all like that.”

  “Let me tell you something,” the man said. “My son resents me very much. I’m sure of it. I’m going to have a talk with him, and if he’s got any brains at all he’ll understand that everything I did was for his own good. I’ll make him see that the ones to blame are his mother and that crazy old Adelina.”

  “She’s his aunt, isn’t she?” Alberto asked.

  “Yes,” the man said, furious now. “She’s out of her mind. She brought him up like a girl. She gave him dolls to play with, she even curled his hair. They can’t fool me, I’ve seen some pictures they took of him in Chiclayo. Just think of it, my own son with his hair curled, and wearing skirts. They took advantage of the fact I wasn’t there. But I put an end to all that.”

  “Do you travel a lot, Señor?”

  “No,” the man said in a harsh voice. “I’ve never been out of Lima. I don’t like to travel. But when I got him back they’d already spoiled him, he was just a good-for-nothing. Do you blame me for wanting to make a man out of him? Is that something I ought to be ashamed of?”

  “I’m sure he’ll get well right away,” Alberto said. “I’m sure of it.”

  “But perhaps I have been a little too severe,” the man went on. “Because I cared for him so much. I did what I thought was best. His mother and that crazy Adelina can’t understand. Would you like some advice? When you have a son, keep him away from his mother. There’s nothing like a woman to ruin a boy for life.”

  “Yes,” Alberto said. “Well, here we are.”

  “What’s going on?” the man asked. “Why are they running?”

  “It’s the whistle. To fall in. I’ve got to go.”

  “I’ll see you later,” the man said. “And thanks for keeping me company.”

  Alberto started running. He caught up with one of the cadets. It was Urioste.

  “It isn’t seven yet,” Alberto said.

  “The Slave just died,” Urioste said. “We’re on our way to report it.”

  2

  That year my birthday came on a holiday. My mother told me, “You’d better visit your godfather early, sometimes he goes out to the countryside.” And she gave me a sol for the fare. I went to my godfather’s house, he lived a long way off, out by the bridge, and when I got there he wasn’t in. His wife came to the door. She’s never liked us, and she gave me a sour look and said, “My husband isn’t here. And I don’t think he’ll be back till tonight, so there’s no use waiting for him.” I went back to Bellavista very disappointed, I’d had the idea my godfather was going to give me
five soles the way he did every year. I’d thought of buying Tere another box of chalk, but this time giving it to her as a real gift, and also a hundred-page notebook, her algebra notebook was filled up. Or I’d ask her to go to the movies, along with her aunt of course. I did some reckoning, with five soles I’d have enough for three downstairs seats and still have a little left over. When I got home, my mother said, “Your godfather’s very disagreeable, just like that wife of his. I’m sure he told her to tell you he wasn’t in.” And I figured she was right. Then my mother said, “Oh, yes, Tere wants to see you. She came looking for you.” “She did?” I said. “That’s strange. I wonder what she wants.” And I really didn’t know why she’d come looking for me, it was the first time she’d done it and I suspected something, though not what actually happened. She’s heard it’s my birthday, I thought, she wants to say Happy Birthday to me. I was at her house in two jumps. I knocked, and her aunt opened the door. I greeted her but she hardly even looked at me, she just turned around and went back to the kitchen. The aunt always treated me like that, as if I were nothing at all. I stood in the open door for a moment, not quite daring to enter. Then Tere appeared, with a different sort of smile on her face. “Hello,” she said, “come in.” I only said, “Hello,” and smiled as best I could. “Come on,” she told me, “let’s go to my room.” I followed her, very curious and without saying anything. In her room, she opened a drawer and came over to me with a package. “Here,” she said. “For your birthday.” “How did you know the day?” I asked her. She said, “I’ve known since last year.” I didn’t know what to do with the package, it was pretty big. Finally I decided to open it. All I had to do was unwrap it, it wasn’t tied. The paper was brown like the paper they used in the bakeshop on the corner and I thought she probably made a special request for it. I took out a sleeveless sweater, almost the same color as the paper, and I knew she’d thought about that, she had good taste and she wanted to have the wrapping the same color as the sweater. I dropped the paper on the floor and looked at the sweater, I told her, “But it’s wonderful. Thanks a million. It’s really wonderful.” Tere nodded, she seemed even happier than I was. “I knitted it at school,” she said, “during our sewing classes. I made them believe it was for my brother.” And she laughed. What she told me meant she’d planned the gift for a long time and was thinking about me when I wasn’t with her, and giving me a gift meant she considered me as something more than just a friend. I kept on saying, “Thank you, thank you,” and she laughed again and asked me, “Do you like it? Honestly? But try it on.” I put it on and it was a little short, but I pulled it down so quickly she didn’t notice, she was so happy she praised her own work, “It fits you, it fits you perfectly, and I didn’t even know your right size, I had to guess.” I took the sweater off and began wrapping it, but I couldn’t do it very well and she said, “Let go, what a mess you’re making of it, let me do it.” She wrapped it up again without a single wrinkle, then she said, “I’ve got to give you a birthday embrace.” She embraced me and I embraced her; for a few seconds I could feel her body against mine, and her hair brushed my face. Then I heard her cheerful laughter again. “Aren’t you happy?” she asked me. “Why are you looking like that?” So I forced myself to laugh.

  Lt. Gamboa was the first to enter. He had taken off his cap in the hall, and instead of saluting he merely came to attention and clicked his heels. The colonel was sitting at his desk; behind him, beyond the large window, Gamboa could sense the presence of the swirling fog, the main gate of the Academy, the road that passed it, the ocean. A few moments later they heard footsteps. Gamboa moved away from the door and then stood at attention again. Capt. Garrido and Lt. Huarina came in. Like Gamboa, they had placed their caps under their belts, between the first and second loops. The colonel remained seated at his desk without looking up. The room was elegant and spotless, the furniture carefully polished. Capt. Garrido turned to Gamboa, the muscles of his jaws working hard.

  “And the other lieutenants?”

  “I don’t know, Captain. I told them to be here.”

  In a few moments, Calzada and Pitaluga came in. The colonel stood up. He was much shorter than the other officers, and extremely fat. His hair was almost white and he was wearing glasses. His gray eyes looked sunken and suspicious behind the lenses. He stared at the officers one by one. They were all at attention.

  “At ease,” the colonel said. “Sit down.”

  The lieutenants waited until Capt. Garrido picked out a seat. There were a number of leather-covered chairs arranged in a circle. The captain sat down in the one next to the floor lamp. The lieutenants sat down on either side of him. The colonel came up close to them. The officers all looked at him, bending forward a little, attentive, serious, respectful.

  “Is everything all set?” the colonel asked.

  “Yes, Sir,” the captain said. “They’re in the chapel right now. Some of the relatives are here for the wake. The first section is serving as the honor guard. The second replaces them at midnight. Then the others. Also, they delivered the wreaths.”

  “All of them?”

  “Yes, Colonel. I put your card on the largest one myself. They also delivered the one from the officers and the one from the Parents’ League. And a wreath for each Year. The relatives sent wreaths and flowers too.”

  “Have you talked with the president of the League about the funeral?”

  “Yes, Sir. Twice. He said the whole executive committee was going to attend.”

  “Did he ask you any questions?” The colonel was frowning. “That Juanes is always poking his nose into everything. What did you tell him?”

  “I didn’t give him any details. I simply told him a cadet had died, without going into the circumstances. And I told him we ordered a wreath in the name of the League and they had to pay for it out of their own funds.”

  “You wait, they’ll be around asking questions,” the colonel said, clenching his fist. “Everybody’s going to ask questions. You’ve always got schemers and busybodies in a case like this. It’ll go all the way up to the Ministry!”

  The captain and the lieutenants listened to him without blinking. The colonel had raised his voice and his last words were shouted.

  “It’s going to be very bad publicity,” he added. “The Academy has plenty of enemies, and this is their big chance. They can take advantage of a stupid thing like this to smear us with a thousand lies. Especially me. We’ll have to do everything we possibly can to protect ourselves. That’s why I called this meeting.”

  The officers nodded, looking even more solemn.

  “Who is Officer of the Day tomorrow?”

  “I am, Colonel,” Pitaluga said.

  “All right. You’ll read an Order of the Day at the first formation. Now listen closely. ‘The officers and the student body deeply lament the accident which has cost the life of this cadet.’ That’s the way it should sound. Be sure to emphasize that it was due to his own negligence. Don’t leave the slightest doubt about that. Then you can go on to say it should serve as a lesson and a warning, we’re going to be stricter in enforcing the regulations, so forth and so on. Write it out this evening and bring it to me when you’re finished. I’ll go over it myself to be sure it’s right. Which one of you is the lieutenant in charge of the cadet’s company?”

  “I am, Colonel,” Gamboa said.

  “Get the sections together before the funeral. Give them a little talk. Tell them we’re all very sorry about what happened but you can’t make mistakes in the army without paying for them. And there’s no place for sentimentality, that would be criminal, we’ve got to be good soldiers. Also, I want you to stay on after the others leave. This whole thing has got to be discussed. But first, I’d like to know about the funeral. Have you talked with the family, Garrido?”

  “Yes, Sir. They agreed to have the funeral at six in the afternoon. I talked with his father. His mother is completely broken up. She…”

  “Only the Fifth Year sho
uld attend,” the colonel interrupted. “And tell the cadets to be careful what they say. We don’t want to wash our dirty linen in public. The day after tomorrow I’ll talk to them in the assembly hall. If even one of them makes some stupid remark, there could be a terrible scandal. The Minister would blow up if he heard about it, and there’s plenty of people to tell him, you know how I’m surrounded by enemies. All right, here’s what we’ll do. Huarina, you’re in charge of the transportation. Tell the Military School to send us some buses. Make sure they get to the right places. Afterward, make sure they get back where they belong. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Colonel.”

  “Pitaluga, you take care of the chapel. Be especially nice with the relatives. I’ll go and talk with them myself in a little while. And tell the cadets in the honor guard to watch what they’re doing. I don’t intend to put up with any nonsense, it’s got to be smooth from start to finish. I’m holding you directly responsible. I want the Fifth Year to give the impression that they’re deeply affected by the death of this cadet. It might help us out a good deal.”

  “Excuse me, Colonel,” Gamboa said, “but you don’t have to worry about that. It’s been a real shock to all the cadets in my company.”

  “What?” The colonel looked stunned. “Tell me why.”

  “They’re young, Sir,” Gamboa said. “A few of them are seventeen. The rest are only sixteen. They’ve lived with him for almost three years. Naturally they’re shocked.”

  “But why?” the colonel insisted. “What are they saying, what are they doing? How do you know they’re shocked?”