The bad luck
"You are lucky, compadre!" -Jacinto had said to him with some envy and Serapio, with a mischievous smile, had confessed:
"Before throwing the dice, blow on the dice several times, so that the dice will hear you,” Serapio had said, and Jacinto always followed his advice: before throwing the dice, he would blow on them loudly, several times, so that they would hear his plea.
But Jacinto had never won anything, not even a coin that had been cut in half.
"You are unlucky in gambling, because you are lucky in love,” Ana Helena repeated, making love to the man and sticking her body to Jacinto's, who always came home complaining about his bad luck.
But for once in my life I want to win something, a prize, the lottery. To be like my friend Serapio, who is very lucky,” exclaimed Jacinto in despair.
"What luck is Serapio going to have, Jacinto? If he has no one to love him. I am your greatest prize, Jacinto. Me and the boys, your sons. For them you are their hero,” Ana Helena repeated to make her husband feel happy, but no: board games were Jacinto's Achilles heel, his kryptonite, his undoing.
"I want another chance. I want a rematch!"
"But you have nothing left, Jacinto, only the pants you are wearing,” said the other men and laughed mockingly. Jacinto felt anger, but preferred to remain silent and said again:
"Let me go home for money and I'll be right back",_ he assured and got up awkwardly from the chair and left feeling that the eyes of the other men were daggers stuck in his back.
"When I get the money together, let's go to the store and buy a nice kitchen. I want it white, like the one Antonio bought for Gertrudis,” Ana Helena said whenever she could.
"If I take that money, I'm sure I'll multiply it and Ana Helena will not only buy the kitchen, she'll also be able to buy the refrigerator and the furniture set,” thought Jacinto, determined to take all the money that was in the sewing box.
"What happened, Jacinto?" -said the worried woman with her hands on her head.
"I lost all the money I earned at work, but I'm going to get it back. So I came for the savings that are in the sewing box,” said Jacinto and went to the bedroom. Ana Helena went after him, shouting:
"No, Jacinto. Don't take my money. You know how much it has cost me to save it" - but Jacinto did not listen to her, he looked like a disoriented animal. So she opened the sewing case and took all the bills and put them in her pocket:
"If you walk out that door with my money, forget that you have a family, Jacinto" - shouted Ana Helena clinging to the man's shirt. But Jacinto tore off his wife's hands with his own, freeing himself from them easily, and then said angrily:
"You are the one giving me bad luck, woman",_ he expressed resolutely and staggered off, as if wearing a blindfold, without compasses. And on the way, Jacinto blew his closed hands, which had invisible dice in them, and threw them to the wind:
"Now I will have good luck",_ said Jacinto and stumbled over the stones, disoriented , like a hero without a cape.
All images are free of charge and the text is my own, translated in Deepl
Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends
Click here to read in spanish
La mala suerte
Ahí estaba Jacinto apostando todo el dinero que llevaba encima. Todo su cuerpo temblaba mientras los dados daban vueltas entre sus dos manos. Jacinto echó un soplo de aire a los dados y volvió a darles vueltas, mientras mantenía las manos cerradas. Esto lo había aprendido con su compadre Serapio, quien en una fiesta de San Juan, se había ganado un toro y una vaca, y luego en la Feria de la virgen, se había ganado tres chivas y dos cerdos:
_¡Usted si tiene suerte, compadre! -le había dicho Jacinto con algo de envidia y Serapio, con una sonrisa traviesa, le había confesado:
_Usted antes de tirar los dados, sople varias veces los dados, para que los dados lo escuchen -había dicho Serapio y Jacinto seguía su consejo siempre: antes de tirarlos, los soplaba fuerte, varias veces, para que oyeran su súplica.
Pero Jacinto nunca había ganado nada, ni una moneda picada por la mitad:
_Es que tú no tienes suerte en el juego, porque tienes suerte en el amor -le repetía Ana Helena, haciéndole cariño al hombre y pegando su cuerpo al de Jacinto, que siempre llegaba a casa quejándose de su mala suerte.
_Caramba, mujer, pero por una vez en la vida quiero ganarme algo, un premio, la lotería. Ser así como el compadre Serapio que tiene mucha suerte -exclamaba Jacinto desesperado.
_¿Qué suerte va a tener Serapio, Jacinto? Si no tiene a nadie que lo quiera. Yo soy tu mayor premio, Jacinto. Yo y los muchachos, tus hijos. Para ellos tú eres su héroe -repetía Ana Helena para que su esposo se sintiera alegre, pero no: los juegos de mesa eran el talón de Aquiles de Jacinto, su kriptonita, su perdición.
Luego de soplar varias veces los dados, por fin los soltó sobre la mesa. Los dados cayeron ante el silencio de todos los jugadores. Cuando por fin mostraron los números, algunos presentes lanzaron un grito de euforia; excepto Jacinto que arrugó el rostro y dijo con voz fuerte:
_¡Quiero otra oportunidad. Quiero la revancha!
_Pero ya no te queda nada, Jacinto, solo los pantalones que llevas puesto -dijeron los otros hombres y se rieron con burla. Jacinto sintió rabia, pero prefirió quedarse callado y volvió a decir:
_ Déjenme ir a casa por dinero y ya regreso -aseguró y se levantó torpemente de la silla y salió sintiendo que los ojos de los otros hombres eran puñales clavados en su espalda.
Mientras caminaba rumbo a su casa, recordaba el costurero en el que Ana Helena guardaba unos billetes. De todas las veces que había lavado ropa ajena, Ana Helena había guardado cierta cantidad de dinero para comprar una cocina nueva:
_Cuando reúna el dinero, vamos a la tienda y compramos una cocina bonita. La quiero blanca, como la que le compró Antonio a Gertrudis -decía Jacinta cada vez que podía.
_Si agarro ese dinero, yo estoy seguro que voy a multiplicarlo y Ana Helena no solo se va a comprar la cocina, también se podrá comprar la nevera y el juego de muebles -pensó Jacinto decidido a tomar todo el dinero que estaba en el costurero.
Cuando llegó a casa, Ana Helena estaba en la sala. Con solo verle los ojos, inyectados de rabia, supo que le pasaba algo:
_¿Qué pasó, Jacinto? -dijo la mujer preocupada con las manos en la cabeza.
_Perdí todo el dinero que gané en el trabajo, pero lo voy a recuperar. Así que vine por los ahorros que están en el costurero -expresó Jacinto y fue a la habitación. Ana Helena se fue detrás de él, gritando:
_No, Jacinto. No agarres mi dinero. Sabes lo mucho que me ha costado ahorrarlo - pero Jacinto no la escuchaba, parecía un animal desorientado. Así que abrió el costurero y tomó todos los billetes y se los metió en el bolsillo:
_Si sales por esa puerta con mi dinero, olvídate que tienes familia, Jacinto -gritó Ana Helena aferrándose a la camisa del hombre. Pero Jacinto arrancó con sus propias manos las manos de su esposa, liberándose de ellas fácilmente y luego dijo con rabia:
_Tú eres la que me das mala suerte, mujer -expresó decidido y salió tambaleante, como si llevara una venda, sin brújulas. Y en el camino, Jacinto soplaba sus manos cerradas, que tenían dados invisibles y los tiraba al viento:
_Ahora sí tendré buena suerte -decía Jacinto y tropezaba con las piedras, desorientado , como un héroe sin capa.
Gambling is one terrible weakness that can utterly destroy a man. It's like a spirit that won't rest till you're completely ruined
Considered as a vice, it is capable of destroying families and relationships! Thank you for your comment!
Oh Jacinto😔
Lovely tale...
Poor Jacinto! Now he will have bad luck. Greetings and thanks for commenting
Gambling is a destroyer, that's why people are warned against but they just don't listen. See how it destroyed him.
When people are addicted to gambling, it is just like other addictions: they become a shadow of themselves. Sad, but true. Greetings and thank you
You are right
From Venezuela, our witness drives decentralization and the adoption of Web3 technology, creating opportunities for the local community and contributing to the global ecosystem. // Desde Venezuela, nuestro testigo impulsa la descentralización y la adopción de la tecnología Web3, generando oportunidades para la comunidad local y contribuyendo al ecosistema global.
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Very grateful and happy for your support, friends! Greetings
Jacinto has no limits when it comes to gambling. He lost everything due to his stubbornness and his vice. Excellent story and very well narrated.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Excellent day.
Thanks to you for your comment, my friend! Have a nice weekend
Thanks for your appreciation, friends! Regards
Everything in moderation or you will be addicted. I like to gamble, but there is an addiction for some people. When you are addicted like that, you become evil. A hug for this wonderful story teller.
You are so right! Although I don't gamble at all, I remember my father did, but in moderation. I don't remember that being a problem in my house. But I know many people who spend what little they have on games and while they win, they also lose a lot. Anyway, a big hug, my friend and thank you for your words.
Everything in moderation. All gamblers lose, the idea is to win more than you lose jeje!
A super big Nancy
I’ve seen people gambling and it ruins them so much
Jacinto is so unlucky not to conquer gambling
What a beautiful story. Have a nice day
This is really a very powerful story and that is why I always tell people to run away from gambling
A perfect ending, not telling us whether he won or lost on the next roll. He already lost his real treasure.
I always enjoy reading your fiction when curating for the Creative Coin Fund, and this one stands out as one of your best too. The details really come through and help us see the story, even in translation.