The Mistery of Belicena Villca will also be attacked by the assassins ! Otherwise , if you were in your right mind , you would understand that the murderers are very human . – What ? --I exclaimed involuntarily . – Yes , Dr .; react – asked Maidana –. The killers are human beings : if they weren ' t , why would they use knives and truncheons ? --he asked with irrefutable police logic . It was a simple , absurd and elementally simple conclusion . That ' s why I could not accept it , I denied it entry into my reason ; for that , and for coming from Maidana , a mere policeman from Salta . – No ! No ! --I stubbornly denied-- . You do not understand the nature of the Enemy . You cannot help us . I had locked myself into a pitiful childish attitude when Uncle Kurt ' s intervention surprised us both . – Yes , you can help us ! – he assured . We looked at him open-mouthed . – Maybe you can get them to return us the bodies of Katalina and the children --he suggested . – Oh ! --Maidana sighed-- . It ' s a bureaucratic procedure . It ' s another kind of help that I came to offer you , but don ' t think I ' m going to let you down if you ask me a favor . He looked at his wristwatch and added : – It ' s 2.15 a . m . Bad time to make arrangements . However I will arrive at the local police station to find out what ' s happening with those bodies , and then I ' ll be back . Don ' t forget what I told you , Dr .! In the meantime , please consider my offer .
Chapter VI
Commissioner Maidana ' s car climbed the slope of the exit road , and two hundred meters later he entered the provincial route . Two fat women who waited patiently , approached and embraced , both at the same time : They were Katalina ' s “ milk mothers ” and mine . There it was very important that of being " mom of milk ", " son of milk ", or " brother of milk "; everything started when a good mother whose " milk was cut off " for her baby , or did not produce it in the sufficient quantity : then she resorted to the help of another mother , a stronger mother , that had given birth to her child on an approximate date , and it was required her contest to breastfeed both babies . The mother of milk , although she was the strongest , was often the poorest as well , since she used to be a creole or indian , perhaps already the mother of many children , who willingly lent her collaboration . And , of course , she was paid for such services . But the retribution was one thing , usually gifts for hers own children , clothes and food , and a very different one the love of the mother : that could not be paid for with anything and that is why superior ties to the simple commercial transaction were created : “ the milk joint motherhood ”. Indeed , the milk mother habitually became a " godmother " of the real mother and enjoyed a certain friendship or preference with respect to other women of the Calchaquí valley . Customs , centenarian customs , which came from the time of the Spanish , or perhaps the indians .
Of those two women who hugged me , one was " my milk mother " and the other had been Katalina ' s . " I have nothing , the first one told me , nor do I look like Mrs . Beatriz , but everything that is mine is yours , Arturito , all my love ”. I squeezed hard to that creole who had seen my birth , and I kissed her on both cheeks . " Thanks , Mrs . Isabel , thank you very much , I said moved , while the weeping women of La Merced chorused me with their painful laments .
I left the godmothers crossing themselves beside the coffins and retired to a secluded corner , in the company of Uncle Kurt . Since the Commissioner Maidana left , a growing overexcitement was taking hold of me . I had one idea , an idea that emerged from the rational conclusion of the policeman , that I wanted to communicate without delay to Uncle Kurt . Naturally , if I did not want to accept Maidana ' s proposals , Uncle Kurt hadn ' t even listened to them . So , I repeated it to him :
– Uncle Kurt ! Uncle Kurt ! --I startled him-- . Reflect on the words of the policeman : they are like a syllogism . He claimed " murderers are human "; why ?: " because they use knives and truncheons , that is , material weapons ", he deduced . In that moment I flatly denied such a possibility , but now I consider nothing short of brilliant the deduction of Commissioner Maidana .
– You are crazy , neffe , absolutely crazy ! --Uncle Kurt disqualified me to give his opinion--They are Immortal ! Bera and Birsha are Immortal ! It means nothing that they have used a dagger : it was necessary for the Ritual of Sacrifice .
– By the Gods , Uncle Kurt , don ' t treat me like I ' m an imbecile ! --I defended myself-- . I know they are Immortal : but , as Belicena Villca said in the story of Nimrod , they are only so as long as they are not killed , as long as you don ' t exercise physical violence on Them ”. “ These Immortals , too , can die ".
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