Read Online A Corpse for Cuamantla by Harol Marshall - Free Book Online
Authors: Harol Marshall
Ads: Link
"Maestro, por favor, can we move the corpse to the church now?" one of the men asked.
"Yes, of course," Miguel said, stopping to direct the activities. "Gather some blankets from the nearby houses."
The men returned with a bundle of brightly colored blankets, which they dumped at Miguel's feet. He sorted out the strongest ones instructing the bearers to use them for a stretcher and to wrap the body with the others. Once the group finished, Miguel assigned everyone a task including assisting Father Aguilar, Cuamantla's visiting priest.
Chapter 14
F ortunately for Cuamantla, Father Aguilar had decided to allow his family to attend the fiesta while he tended to details in the Church. At the first sight of Pedro's corpse, the young priest performed the last rites, quickly averting his eyes from the gaping hole in Pedro's head. Despite the Holy Father's familiarity with death, violent death was a new experience. Once he completed the prescribed rituals, Father Aguilar turned his attention to preparing a place of rest for the body until family members from Pedro's village arrived to collect it. Afterward, he ducked back into the church sanctuary relieved for an excuse to retreat to a place where death was a mystical if no less gory experience.
Father Aguilar was acquainted with Pedro, though they were far from friends. The two men arrived in Cuamantla the same year, one to lead the church, the other the school. To the chagrin of Father Aguilar and the amusement of Pedro they shared a common bond. Both resided in the city of Tlaxcala living in sin with women who were not their wives. The two men kept their distance in Cuamantla despite community pressure on Father Aguilar to rein in the errant school director.
From what the priest knew about Pedro, the murder wasn't a surprise. At least there would be no question about suicide and the thorny theological issues associated with that possibility. Something to be thankful for in every situation , he mused.
Pedro's death wasn't the first murder in Cuamantla in the three years since Father Aguilar began serving the community. However, it was the first to occur on a day he was present in the village. Worse luck still, Carmencita and the children joined him today, excited to participate in the fiesta. The children would have more questions at dinner than he cared to answer.
The village of Cuamantla liked Father Aguilar and tolerated his not so celibate personal life, conspiring with him to maintain the fiction that Carmencita was his secretary. No one doubted the children were his, but since he and Carmencita raised them to call him padre rather than papá, no one worried about slips of the tongue. Father Aguilar and the community of Cuamantla were of one mind. He kept out of their business and they kept out of his, a pact that came in handy in matters pertaining to Pedro.
"There is little I can do," he would shrug when pressed by a villager to confront the school director about his illicit affairs, "I'm only one part-time priest. Better to take up the matter with the village officials. The village council has more power than I do in these matters."
Life in Cuamantla was pleasant and easy going, the main reason Father Aguilar requested the rural parishes where few priests cared to serve. Perform the necessary rituals once or twice a week and he was free to live his life, which included a part-time teaching position at the University of Tlaxcala. The extra money allowed him the luxury of sending his children to private school though Carmencita preferred they be educated in a parochial school. He vetoed that idea right away.
"Any and all indoctrination of our children will be done by us," he insisted, even though by us he really meant himself. In any case, he was a loving and tolerant father and wished to raise well-educated open-minded children, which is why he preferred to guide their religious views rather than leave the matter to the Church.
Finishing his preparations,
"Yes, of course," Miguel said, stopping to direct the activities. "Gather some blankets from the nearby houses."
The men returned with a bundle of brightly colored blankets, which they dumped at Miguel's feet. He sorted out the strongest ones instructing the bearers to use them for a stretcher and to wrap the body with the others. Once the group finished, Miguel assigned everyone a task including assisting Father Aguilar, Cuamantla's visiting priest.
Chapter 14
F ortunately for Cuamantla, Father Aguilar had decided to allow his family to attend the fiesta while he tended to details in the Church. At the first sight of Pedro's corpse, the young priest performed the last rites, quickly averting his eyes from the gaping hole in Pedro's head. Despite the Holy Father's familiarity with death, violent death was a new experience. Once he completed the prescribed rituals, Father Aguilar turned his attention to preparing a place of rest for the body until family members from Pedro's village arrived to collect it. Afterward, he ducked back into the church sanctuary relieved for an excuse to retreat to a place where death was a mystical if no less gory experience.
Father Aguilar was acquainted with Pedro, though they were far from friends. The two men arrived in Cuamantla the same year, one to lead the church, the other the school. To the chagrin of Father Aguilar and the amusement of Pedro they shared a common bond. Both resided in the city of Tlaxcala living in sin with women who were not their wives. The two men kept their distance in Cuamantla despite community pressure on Father Aguilar to rein in the errant school director.
From what the priest knew about Pedro, the murder wasn't a surprise. At least there would be no question about suicide and the thorny theological issues associated with that possibility. Something to be thankful for in every situation , he mused.
Pedro's death wasn't the first murder in Cuamantla in the three years since Father Aguilar began serving the community. However, it was the first to occur on a day he was present in the village. Worse luck still, Carmencita and the children joined him today, excited to participate in the fiesta. The children would have more questions at dinner than he cared to answer.
The village of Cuamantla liked Father Aguilar and tolerated his not so celibate personal life, conspiring with him to maintain the fiction that Carmencita was his secretary. No one doubted the children were his, but since he and Carmencita raised them to call him padre rather than papá, no one worried about slips of the tongue. Father Aguilar and the community of Cuamantla were of one mind. He kept out of their business and they kept out of his, a pact that came in handy in matters pertaining to Pedro.
"There is little I can do," he would shrug when pressed by a villager to confront the school director about his illicit affairs, "I'm only one part-time priest. Better to take up the matter with the village officials. The village council has more power than I do in these matters."
Life in Cuamantla was pleasant and easy going, the main reason Father Aguilar requested the rural parishes where few priests cared to serve. Perform the necessary rituals once or twice a week and he was free to live his life, which included a part-time teaching position at the University of Tlaxcala. The extra money allowed him the luxury of sending his children to private school though Carmencita preferred they be educated in a parochial school. He vetoed that idea right away.
"Any and all indoctrination of our children will be done by us," he insisted, even though by us he really meant himself. In any case, he was a loving and tolerant father and wished to raise well-educated open-minded children, which is why he preferred to guide their religious views rather than leave the matter to the Church.
Finishing his preparations,
Similar Books
