A Tanya la conocía de toda la vida, era la borracha del barrio siempre sucia, maloliente, rodeada de hombres que se aprovechaban de ella.
La recordaba de niña en el parque, todo el día sola, jugando tranquila. Ni siquiera iba a su casa almorzar. Siempre con su risa burlona cuando la veía llegar con alguno de sus padres. Pero se llevaban bien jugaban juntas, compartían la merienda que ella llevaba. En la escuela era un caos, la maestra la sentaba cerca para tenerla controlada. Había días que estaba cansada, solo dormía en la clase. Otros no se podía estar quieta. No mostraba ningún interés por aprender y los maestros la dejaron por incorregible .
Recuerda una vez por su cumpleaños le regaló un libro, una edición lindísima de El principito y Tanya lo recibió con ese modo suyo tan despectivo. Un libro, para mí, tú estás loca. Ella le respondió porqué no, es fácil de leer, te va a gustar. Imagina que lo tomó para no hacerle el desaire y lo debió haber lanzado en el primer rincón que encontró.
Cuando ella cambió de escuela a penas se veían. A veces la saludaba de lejos o cuándo Tanya estaba sola. No le gustaban las personas con quien se relacionaba y en lo que se había convertido. Siempre bebiendo, escandalizado. Estafando a las personas para poder beber más.
Esa mañana tocaron a su puerta, era la abuela de Tanya le traía un paquete, el libro que le había regalado cuando eran pequeñas. Tanya había muerto, el cáncer la había matado o la vida que llevó. Quién sabe.
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She had known Tanya her whole life, she was the always dirty, smelly neighborhood drunk, surrounded by men who took advantage of her. She remembered her as a child in the park, all day alone, playing quietly. She wasn't even going home for lunch. Always with her mocking laugh when she saw her arrive with one of her parents. But they got along well, they played together, they shared the snack she brought. At school it was chaos, the teacher would sit her close to keep her under control. There were days when she was so tired, that she just slept in class. Others could not be still. She showed no interest in learning, and the teachers dismissed her as incorrigible. She remembers once for her birthday she gave her a book, a beautiful edition of The Little Prince, and Tanya received it in that contemptuous way of hers. A book, for me, you are crazy. She replied why not, it is easy to read, you will like it. She imagine that she took it so as not to snub her and she must have thrown it in the first corner she found.
When she changed schools, they hardly saw each other. Sometimes he greeted her from afar or when Tanya was alone. She did not like the people with whom she related and what she had become. Always drinking, scandalized. Scamming people so she can drink more. That morning there was a knock on her door, it was Tanya's grandmother bringing her a package, the book that she had given her when they were little. Tanya had died, the cancer had killed her, or the life she led. Who knows.