Siete minutos by Ismael Camacho Arango (the little red hen read aloud TXT) 📖

“That is excellent.”
“Thank you.”
Homer thought of the papers talking of his disappearance as everyone cried for the widows, who had to be in heaven at that moment.
“Two and two are seven,” he muttered to himself.
Cesar shrugged. “I know.”
“Do you?”
Homer stood on the deck, reflecting about the tragedy and of the new life waiting for him in another world. He had to feel his scrotum now.
“I don’t feel well,” he said.
Cesar had to help him down the stairs to his room by the pool, where the world of the ship disappeared amidst his dreams. He had loved the widows, touched their breasts and played with their children for the love of God, living in heaven. Then he heard footsteps, coming out of the darkness.
“I’m the doctor,” a tall man had appeared at the door.
Homer adjusted his eyes to the light coming through the window, as the man took his pulse after listening to his chest.
“Will I die?” he asked.
“Don’t worry.”
The doctor wanted to know if Homer could sit up in his bed but his head hurt too much to do anything at all. He couldn’t understand all the fuss when he had gone to bed only a few moments ago but Cesar had other ideas.
“I will find a girl,” he said.
The doctor nodded. “It’s a good idea.”
Homer wondered about the connection between his illness and his sex life, as the doctor left a few tablets on the table.
“I’ll come back,” he said.
On going to sleep, Homer felt the floor shaking forever while his stomach hurt. He had to be in hell or something else like that. Unable to understand his suffering at the hands of the sea, he dreamed of his country and the new land he had never seen, except in his imagination.
“I have a girl,” Cesar interrupted his dreams.
Homer saw someone of the opposite sex sitting by his side.
“Hi,” she said.
“Who are you?”
She looked under his blankets, the movements of the boats bringing a new wave of nausea to his senses. Then she sucked his member like a wolf, sending him to heaven amidst his illness.
“Yes,” he said.
“She knows what to do,” Cesar said.
The little man didn’t miss anything aboard the ship he commanded.
“Do it faster,” Homer said.
“Mmmm,” she said.
“Yes,” Cesar said.
Fastening her mouth around his member, she swallowed all the sperm coming her way as Cesar applauded, thunder roaring outside the window.
“God likes it,” Cesar said.
“I’m dying,” Homer said.
“Where is my money?” she asked.
Homer went back to sleep, the girl fading into infinity like everything else in his life. She visited him a few more times, when she played with his member until he ejaculated in her mouth.
“We have arrived at New York,” Cesar said one day.
Too busy with his illness, Homer had not seen the little man coming into the room. On looking out of the window, he saw the buildings rising to the sky behind a tall woman with a torch in her hand. He had to honour his parent’s memory in that other land of his imagination.
“Everyone will remember this moment in history,” Homer said.
“That’s the statue of liberty,” Cesar said.
Homer saw it beckoning him to another life, where he might conquer the universe. He felt like Christopher Columbus arriving at a new world, even if the widows had died in the middle of the night.
“Where is the girl?” he asked.
“You must be mad,” Cesar said.
“She touched my balls.”
“I saw no one,” Cesar said.
“Liar.”
Homer looked at his image in the mirror, while thinking of that mouth giving him pleasure amidst his dreams.
“I want her,” he said.
“It’s Armageddon,” Cesar said.


New York
The ship stopped moving and people went down the steps towards the waiting officials. Homer didn’t have anything to declare as none of his belongings cost more than one dollar.
“I hope you have a nice time,” Cesar said
“I will,” Homer said.
He moved with his case towards the immigration officer, asking questions to everyone around him.
“What’s your purpose of your trip to the USA?” he asked Homer in broken Spanish.
Homer showed him the letter his uncle had sent him, and a bank statement with the money he had made during the years. They had to welcome the rich businessman, bringing dollars to the country.
“I wish you a nice time here, Mr. Homer,” the man said.
As Homer moved amongst the crowd, looking for Uncle Hugh, a middle aged man with a moustache hugged him.
“I thought you were taller,” Homer said.
Uncle Hugh smiled. “I must have shrunk during the years.”
Homer pushed his suitcase towards a coffee shop, where they sat at a table overlooking a street full of people.
“How was your trip?” Uncle Hugh asked.
“I was sick all the time.”
“I hate ships,” Uncle Hugh said.
The waitress appeared with two coffees and a few cakes. Homer ate a roll full of cream while Uncle Hugh talked about many things.
“Do you keep my coin?” he asked.
On opening his wallet, Homer showed him the shinny cent he kept amidst his loose change and other things in his pocket. He had managed to keep it throughout his life.
“It brings me good luck,” he said.
Homer remembered his invisible friend and the tree of life in the garden of his childhood while looking at his uncle.
“You’ll have to free our country with your tanks,” Uncle Hugh said.
Homer felt happy for the first time since embarking in that ship, as he imagined making a fortune with the warriors of the world.
“I’ll put my fleet to the service of my country,” he said.
“You’re a patriot,” Uncle Hugh said. “You offer your life for your land.”
Homer didn’t like people misunderstanding his intentions, as Uncle Hugh ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate his arrival.
“To the end of the war,” he said.
Homer nodded. “To us.”
He looked at the other customers while sipping his drink. This was a country of opportunities and good for his plans. They left the coffee shop while the sun set on the tall buildings and the stars appeared in an autumn sky. As Homer barked, his uncle looked at him.
“Are you OK?” he asked.
Homer smiled. “I couldn’t be better.”
They saw lovers hiding beneath the bushes, whilst children played football in an enchanted universe.
“Your mother used to cook a nice chicken,” Uncle Hugh interrupted his reverie.
Homer nodded. “I know.”
He had been a lonely boy the last time he had seen his uncle, as he dreamt of invisible friends dancing by the treed.
“Two and two are seven,” he said.
Uncle Hugh smiled. “I’ve heard that before.”
Dark clouds gathered in the sky in order to start the worst storm humanity had ever seen...


Another day
As Homer dozed in Uncle Hugh’s room that evening, he heard the traffic in the city that never slept. It had streets paved with fools, who should give him gold. The sun sneaked through the curtains the next day, when he heard footsteps along the corridor.
“Good morning,” Uncle Hugh said.
He put a tray with some coffee, bread and other things to calm his hunger on the bedside table.
“How did you sleep?” his uncle asked.
“Like an angel,” Homer said.
Uncle Hugh switched on the radio as the presenter spoke of the war in Europe. Homer had to help his motherland punished by Hitler’s troops on the other side of the continent.
“We’ll go to see Maria,” Uncle Hugh interrupted his thoughts.
Homer frowned. “Maria?”
“We meet in her house,” Uncle Hugh said.
Homer remembered that other Maria, missing his shop and everything else from his previous life.