Laha went over to the chair where he had hung his trousers and took his wallet from the pocket. He opened it and took out a piece of a photo of a man leaning against a truck.
Daniela did not have to look at the photo for long to grasp two things. First, the man in the photo was Kilian. And second, the piece fitted like a jigsaw with the one she had.
She wanted to cry.
Laha began getting dressed.
“This can only mean one thing,” he said in a strange tone, as if the dream they had been living together had become a nightmare.
When he finished getting dressed, he began walking from one side of the room to the other, possessed by a fury that Daniela had never seen in him before. He kept raising his hands to his head in despair.
Just then he realized that Daniela was watching him in a mixture of confusion and sadness. She was still naked. On seeing her in front of him with no clothes on, a shiver went through his body, and he felt like screaming out.
How could she not understand the seriousness of the situation?
“Daniela, for the love of God!” he pleaded. “Get dressed.”
Daniela went over to the wardrobe and took out some clothes. Her whole body was trembling.
“There’s something I haven’t told you, Laha . . . ,” she finally allowed herself to say. “Up to a few minutes ago, Clarence and I suspected that Jacobo was your real father.”
Laha came over to her and grabbed her by the arms so hard she let out a yelp.
“The two of you thought we could be related and you hid it from me?” Laha shook her violently. His green eyes had become a harsh gray.
“I wanted to tell you during this visit, but it was never the right moment,” she murmured, letting the tears roll down her cheeks. “I was worried about how you would react, of course, but I was convinced that even if we were cousins it wouldn’t change anything.”
“But don’t you realize that you and I are . . . ?” he shouted.
“I don’t want to . . . ,” she whispered between her teeth. “Don’t say it.”
Laha was hurting her.
And it was not his strong hands gripping her arms, but the terrible suspicion that what they had discovered was true. She would never be able to forgive her father! He should have warned them . . .
She just wanted to cry, cling to Laha’s arms, feel his body next to hers, and wake up from the nightmare.
“You’re hurting me, Laha,” she managed to say in a weak voice.
Laha felt gutted. He had never reacted so violently before. Daniela’s arms were fragile. Daniela was fragile. For a moment, he had given in to his rage.
Daniela did not speak. She just cried without making a sound. He had to calm down.
He felt an urge to sweep her into the enormous bed.
Whose did she say it was? Her great-grandparents, Kilian’s grandparents.
His own great-grandparents!
His head hurt. What was he supposed to do now?
Daniela raised her head toward him.
“Look at me, Laha. Please . . .”
Laha did not meet her eyes. He squeezed her in his arms with the despair of someone who was hugging the person they most loved for the last time.
“I have to go, Daniela. I have to go.”
He went over to the wardrobe, took out his suitcase, and packed. Neither of them said anything. Outside, after weeks of calm, the north wind began to howl.
Daniela remained sitting in the same position for a long time after she heard the sound of Laha’s car disappearing down the rear track. If she had scrubbed her skin with the thorn-filled branches of the hawthorn outside, she could not have felt a deeper pain.
Only when her subconscious had accepted that Laha was so far away that there was not the slightest possibility of him turning around and coming back to her arms, only then did Daniela strip the sheets from the bed while screaming in anger.
She took the sheets, went down to the kitchen, opened a bag, and put them in it.
She would not throw the sheets away.
She would burn them.
She had to burn the threads that had absorbed the sweat of an incestuous passion.
Still, despite the evidence, Daniela still refused to believe that Laha was her brother.
“You’re looking beautiful tonight!” It was the first time Clarence had met Julia in the city. Julia was wearing a light chiffon patterned dress and elegant high heels. Nothing like the thick clothes she wore in Pasolobino. Since the party had started, they had not had a minute together.
Julia smiled. That night, she was happy. She accepted a glass from the waiter and took a sip.
“Today is all memories . . .” Her eyes shone. “Manuel would have enjoyed it a lot.”
“Even my mother looks to be having a good time,” joked Clarence to dispel the woman’s sadness about Manuel. “She doesn’t have many opportunities to get out to parties like this.”
“Yes.” Julia sighed. “It’s just like the Santa Isabel casino.”
The music began to play. Jacobo was the first on the dance floor. Carmen followed his lead with the precision acquired after years of dancing with the same partner.
Julia watched them. She wondered if they had had a happy marriage and felt a pinch of nostalgia for what could have been but never was. If Jacobo had not been so stupid, she would be in Carmen’s place now. She took another sip. It was ridiculous to have those thoughts at her age. Jacobo had probably ended up making the right choice. Carmen seemed to be a loving and sensible woman capable of tempering Jacobo’s mercurial character. Julia might not have succeeded in that.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen my parents looking so well,” said Clarence. “In that suit, my father looks twenty years younger.”
“Your father was very handsome, Clarence,” said Julia. “You can’t imagine.”
Clarence had promised herself not to mention Laha’s paternity. She understood that it was a special night, and she did not want to ruin it. Nevertheless, Julia’s comment brought an image to mind.
“Knowing Laha, I think I have a fair idea . . .” She noticed that Julia frowned. She added, “I’m not at all surprised that Daniela has fallen in love with him.”
“What did you say?” Julia went completely red. Her hand went to her chest as if she could not breathe.
Clarence got a fright.
“What’s the matter, Julia? Are you not feeling well?” She looked around her for help, but the woman caught her by the wrist.
“But that’s not possible,” murmured Julia.
“They’re not the only cousins in the world to have fallen in love.”
“I need to sit down, please, Clarence.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if I got a doctor?” She took Julia over to a comfortable chair away from the racket.
“Tell me, Clarence. Do your father and uncle know?”
“I think my mother is the only one who suspects something.”
Julia buried her face in her hands and began to sob. “Oh, Clarence . . . You have to know. I thought you were going in the right direction. I’m afraid there has been a terrible mistake.” Julia looked at Clarence with her eyes filled with tears. “I should have told you before.”