La gringa chilena

06/2018 You should know by now when you are part of this family or part of the beautiful corner of the North Side of Springfield, only 5 houses will lose power. Your neighbor to the left will continue to do what they do; cooking, seeing, etc. But you, with your luck, will be one of those five who lose power, along with the neighbors to your right. You will all gather together, asking is it just me, only to be answered by the loud and chubby neighborhood boy, whose head is just the size of a basketball in comparison to his body which is the size of 30. He will yell at your mom, Mrs. Trump! We don’t have power either!!!  It is 9:30, and you don’t realize it yet, but you won’t have power till approximately 1:30 in the morning. So you wait, Mormons with food storage and flashlights, gathered together in the living room. Megan will promptly get home from her job, tired and wanting to eat and watch Zombie; the epitome of relaxation after saying "My Pleasure" approximately 237 times

     Llegue a la casa agotada, tratando de sonreír y contestar todas sus preguntas. Les conté sobre las decoraciones blancas que destacaron contra la parcela rustica y que la pizza era la mejor que había probado en Chile. Todo salió bien, lo pase bien bailando hasta que se fueron los novios. Me saco los tacones y aunque ya son las una de la mañana, con la Renata decidimos abrir una sopa maggi. Ella empieza a hervir el agua y quisiera decirle que se siente, que yo lo hago. Pero estoy cansada y la verdad es que hoy no doy mas.      La sopa es mejor cuando la compartes. La Rana siempre esta dispuesta a tomarse la sopa y guardarme los fideos. Mientras me sirve le cuento como me fue y sobre los comentarios que la gente tira. Empiezo a llorar despues de una tarde de puro sonreir. Ella me consuela y me siento chiquita. Eso no esta bien ya, y paro, y me levanto a calentar las tortillas como yo las se hacer. Me toca a mi servirle, a escuchar como me cuenta sobre sus preocupaciones de niña de 1

I used to like my apartment. It was built back in the seventies and hadn’t really been renovated since. The four columns stood tall through it all, leading you down the circular drive, all the way to letter C. We would explore it sometimes, walk the halls, and admire the long-standing decor. It felt like we stepped into a time machine walking those halls. When you did make your way back to 216, it wasn’t much better. The garbage disposal hadn’t run since the ’90s and the lime green door handles to the wooden doors belonged in some sort of time capsule. It was an open concept, no place for a table but I bought one anyway. It took me a couple of months to find the rhythm of living alone. But once I had it, it was like things clicked into place. It stayed mine until it was ours and it was so good for a bit. I had stayed in your apartment for the month before I found mine. We had moved out at the same time, drew straws, and yours came out short. The hole in the ceiling that dripped

  Monday is my breaking point and Wednesday is his.  Monday, I yell in a public park and run down the Frisco trail, tears streaming down my face. I tell the entire state of Missouri that I hate it! I hate the cows that moo like nothing is out of the ordinary even though I can’t seem to breathe because there isn’t enough air in all these trees. Are they letting enough CO2 out, or am I just out of oxygen?  I hear all about the elves, how their magic has got us under their spell. I take a look around and realize they must be hiding in the trees. They can't face me at least. Maybe it's because I'd tell them who they were, maybe I'd look them in the eyes and scare them away from you. I convince you to wait until seven, wait till seven and everything will be fine if we just meet up at lucky number seven. I've never been too good at running or math, algebra or numbers, but today they seem to be in my favor. I think you're lucky, you can't remember these calls, ca

Those days passed in slow motion. I remember them clearly, although maybe not correctly. But  I knew it was all I wanted in those moments, I could feel it. I kick off my pants to his surprise and wade into the river. The cool water cuts me like broken glass, but it is so clear, and I couldn’t have had the perfect memory without having tried it. It was so hot that day that the river flowed eternal, it looked like a postcard photo. I walked over the rocks, feet on fire but talking, always talking. You listen as I babble incoherent geology nonsense. Join in my fun, and you do. I wish I could stay here all day. The pool on the other side of the campsite doesn’t do it justice, it doesn’t even compare. I kiss you as we walk back along the path until they come looking for us and I don’t remember anything else about that day. Just how the river looked, just watching it run its course. How I felt so free. Estamos lejos de casa, lejos de la cabaña. Lo recuerdo claramente, a mi manera, pero era l