Читать книгу Narcosis - Francisco Garófalo - Страница 10

At midnight they woke me up with punches, undressed me and threw me in a bath of freezing cold water.

They all laughed and shrieked, ‘Welcome to hell.’

In that institution there was a group of pupils made up of ten classmates who ruled the roost. The gang’s leader was a boy called Sebastián and his second-in-command was Marcos Maldonado.

I endured midnight beatings for years and there was nobody at all to defend me.

Once I went to the headmistress but Sebastián was the son of a successful businessman who was a great friend of doña Josefina, people told me. I was almost beaten for making false accusations.

‘I only have one rule,’ she said, ‘Never lie because if you do I will take it upon myself to correct your bad habit.’

She told me this while brandishing a bullwhip.

They didn’t let me sleep at night. They hit me and made fun of me.

Only one child watched from a corner. A boy who seemingly did not want to involve himself in this sort of problem. A boy who was isolated from all the others, perhaps with psychological problems, a boy whom I met and saw again.

We were children but we seemed like adults. With no responsibilities and full of hatred. A hatred that consumes you and burns you inside and that only revenge can extinguish.

I had to look for somewhere else to sleep.

I needed to flee from Sebastián’s mob.

I found a bath to sleep in. It became my sanctuary.