In this outlandish town of strangers and crooks, there was no real disparity between its characters. The town is both good and evil just the same. The moon was just setting up in the sky; at this time one tiny bird flew up to the bell tower of Alonso to rest. Below, the little children were running in the mud; their tsinelas in their tightly clasped fists and joyous laughter echoing through the empty streets. More birds arrived.
The children looked up to see, and some paid no heed. There were too many of them now; multitudes arriving by the minute. A strange hiss filled the air; gusts of wind push the dried leaves back from where they were sleeping. The bell tower was engulfed with tiny black birds and the night was filled with their haunting tweeting and cheeping; every moment their song grew louder and louder. The flap of thousands of wings began to be felt by the children; they stopped running. Above them was something very strange.
The town stopped as if to take a breath and began to look up. The sky was black even before the night, and the noise had overwhelmed them even before the storm. Lola Chong stepped out of her abode and starred at the source of the commotion; her jaw dropped. The whole town was watching with her, in amazement, in horror, or even in just pure meaninglessness, they stared up. She began walking towards the source as the birds who numbered in the thousands, began to take refuge in the church; perching their weary wings against the man made building.
Lola Chong walked towards Father Gabriel who was staring up at the birds, and gently pulled down his chin down to face her.
“You shouldn’t look up. They might shit on your face,” she said, smiling.
Father Gabriel could not match her optimism; he breathed in a heavy sigh and looked up. He said: “You know what this means?”
“Yes. I told you this was going to happen, remember hijo?”
“Where is Berto?” Father Gabriel’s tone was stern. Now he remembers.
“Well, that’s not who you should be looking for.” Lola Chong turned around and started to walk home, as the whole town was still looking at the birds, she was the only one who turned her back on the spectacle. As she was leaving she turned her head and said to Father Gabriel: “Do not ring the bell tonight. You might disturb the birds.”
Father Gabriel didn’t hear her. He couldn’t. He could not stop but think about what kind of evil or sorcery brought this upon their quiet little town. And as if he did not know it was bound to come one day, he felt afraid of what the rest of the night had in store for them.
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