The Easiest

Noir Press, 2017

Translated by Jura Avizienis. Cover design by Le Dinh Han

 

1. Here We Go Again…, Or, Usually Things Are Simpler Than They Appear

My name is Tom. No, my name is Blanca*. My name is Blanca.  I’m 35, although I was 30 not too long ago.  Years don’t always follow in chronological order.  Is there anything you can do about it?  Can you make time obey you?  Of course you can’t.  Nobody can.  Nobody even bothers to give it an honest try.  So we travel together: time on its course, and I on mine.

I have a sister.  And that’s a lot.  Not everyone has a sister.  I’d like a brother too, but I don’t have one.  My sister is so much older that I sometimes think of her as my mom.  I once asked her if she was.  My sister didn’t say a word, but my mom said “You’re mad.”  That’s how she answers every other question I ask, and that’s why I try to ask less questions.

Sometimes I talk funny, and even look funny.  My sister says it’s nothing: sooner or later this happens to everyone.  My sister’s right.  But mom never says “you’re mad” to her.  And mom is right.  Everyone‘s always right, except me.  And that’s OK.

I forgot to mention one more thing: I don’t actually exist.