Grade 12 Short story-7 A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Gabriel Garcia Marquez translated in simple meaning as well as in Nepali

 

1st Paragraph

On the third day of rain, they had killed so many crabs inside the house that Pelayo had to cross his drenched courtyard and throw them into the sea, because the newborn child had a temperature all night and they thought it was due to the stench. The world had been sad since Tuesday. Sea and sky were a single ash gray thing and the sands of the beach, which on March nights glimmered like powdered light, had become a stew of mud and rotten shellfish. The light was so weak at noon that when Pelayo was coming back to the house after throwing away the crabs, it was hard for him to see what it was that was moving and groaning in the rear of the courtyard. He had to go very close to see that it was an old man, a very old man, lying face down in the mud, who, in spite of his tremendous efforts, couldn't get up, and impeded by his enormous wings.

Explain in simple meaning

It had been raining for three days, and Pelayo’s house was full of crabs. He had to carry them through the wet yard to throw them into the sea because the smell was so bad they thought it was making their baby sick. The weather was gloomy, with the sea and sky blending into a gray, lifeless view. The beach, which used to sparkle at night, was now muddy and full of rotting shellfish. Even at noon, it was so dark that when Pelayo returned home after throwing the crabs, he struggled to see something moving and crying in the back of the yard. When he got closer, he saw it was a very old man lying in the mud. The man couldn’t stand up because he had huge wings that got in the way.

2^nd Paragraph

Frightened by that nightmare, Pelayo ran to get Elisenda, his wife, who was putting compresses on the sick child, and he took her to the rear of the courtyard. They both looked at the fallen body with a mute stupor. He was dressed like a ragpicker. There were only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth, and his pitiful condition of a drenched great-grandfather took away and sense of grandeur he might have had. His huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked were forever entangled in the mud. They looked at him so long and so closely that Pelayo and Elisenda very soon overcame their surprise and in the end found him familiar. Then they dared speak to him, and he answered in an incomprehensible dialect with a strong sailor's voice. That was how they skipped over the inconvenience of the wings and quite intelligently concluded that he was a lonely castaway from some foreign ship wrecked by the storm. And yet, they called in a neighbor woman who knew everything about life and death to see him, and all she needed was one look to show them their mistake.

Explain in simple meaning

Terrified by what he saw, Pelayo ran to get his wife, Elisenda, who was caring for their sick child. He brought her to see the figure in the courtyard. They stared silently at the old man lying there. He looked pitiful, dressed in rags, with only a few hairs on his bald head and hardly any teeth. He seemed more like a weak, wet, old man than anything extraordinary. His large, dirty, featherless wings were stuck in the mud, making him look even sadder.

Pelayo and Elisenda stared at him for so long that they got used to the sight and even began to find him familiar. When they finally spoke to him, he answered in a strange language with a deep sailor’s voice that they couldn’t understand. Ignoring his wings, they figured he was just a shipwrecked sailor from a faraway place, lost in the storm. Still, they called a neighbor who was known for her knowledge of life and death. But with just one look, she revealed they were wrong.

3^rd paragraph

"He's an angel," she told them. "He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down."

On the following day, everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo's house. Against the judgment of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were the fugitive survivors of a spiritual conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death. Pelayo watched over him all afternoon from the kitchen, armed with his bailiff's club, and before going to bed he dragged him out of the mud and locked him up with the hens in the wire chicken coop. In the middle of the night, when the rain stopped, Pelayo and Elisenda were still killing crabs. A short time afterward the child woke up without a fever and with a desire to eat. Then they felt magnanimous and decided to put the angel on a raft with fresh water and provisions for three days and leave him to his fate on the high seas. But when they went out into the courtyard with the first light of dawn, they found the whole neighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel, without the slightest reverence, tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if weren't a supernatural creature but a circus animal.

Explain in simple meaning

The neighbor woman looked at the old man and said, "He's an angel. He must have come for your sick child, but he's so old and weak that the rain knocked him down."

The next day, news spread that Pelayo and Elisenda had a real, flesh-and-blood angel trapped in their house. Despite the neighbor’s strange belief that angels were survivors of some spiritual rebellion, Pelayo and Elisenda couldn’t bring themselves to kill him. Instead, Pelayo kept an eye on the angel all afternoon, carrying a club for protection. Before going to bed, he pulled the angel out of the mud and locked him in the chicken coop.

Later that night, after the rain stopped, Pelayo and Elisenda were still busy killing crabs. Then their child suddenly woke up healthy and hungry. Feeling generous, they decided to send the angel away on a raft with food and water. But at dawn, when they went to do this, they found a crowd of neighbors gathered around the chicken coop. The people were treating the angel like a strange spectacle, throwing food at him through the wire as if he were an animal at a circus, showing no respect for him being a possible supernatural being.

4^th paragraph

Father Gonzaga arrived before seven o'clock, alarmed at the strange news. By that time onlookers less frivolous than those at dawn had already arrived and they were making all kinds of conjectures concerning the captive's future. The simplest among them thought that he should be named mayor of the world. Others of sterner mind felt that he should be promoted to the rank of five-star general in order to win all wars. Some visionaries hoped that he could be put to stud in order to implant the earth a race of winged wise men who could take charge of the universe. But Father Gonzaga, before becoming a priest, had been a robust woodcutter. Standing by the wire, he reviewed his catechism in an instant and asked them to open the door so that he could take a close look at that pitiful man who looked more like a huge decrepit hen among the fascinated chickens. He was lying in the corner drying his open wings in the sunlight among the fruit peels and breakfast leftovers that the early risers had thrown him. Alien to the impertinences of the world, he only lifted his antiquarian eyes and murmured something in his dialect when Father Gonzaga went into the chicken coop and said good morning to him in Latin. The parish priest had his first suspicion of an imposter when he saw that he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers. Then he noticed that seen close up he was much too human: he had an unbearable smell of the outdoors, the back side of his wings was strewn with parasites and his main feathers had been mistreated by terrestrial winds, and nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels. Then he came out of the chicken coop and in a brief sermon warned the curious against the risks of being ingenuous. He reminded them that the devil had the bad habit of making use of carnival tricks in order to confuse the unwary. He argued that if wings were not the essential element in determining the different between a hawk and an airplane, they were even less so in the recognition of angels. Nevertheless, he promised to write a letter to his bishop so that the latter would write his primate so that the latter would write to the Supreme Pontiff in order to get the final verdict from the highest courts.

Explain in simple meaning

Father Gonzaga arrived early, worried about the strange news. By then, more serious onlookers had gathered, discussing the angel's future. Some thought he should be made a world leader, others believed he could be a powerful general, and a few even suggested using him to create a race of winged, wise beings to rule the universe.

Father Gonzaga, who had been a woodcutter before becoming a priest, approached the chicken coop to see for himself. Inside, the old man looked weak and dirty, lying among food scraps and trash with his wings spread out to dry in the sun. He didn’t react much, just looked up with tired eyes and muttered in his strange language when the priest greeted him in Latin.

The priest began to doubt that this was an angel. The old man didn’t understand Latin, the “language of God,” or act like a heavenly being. Up close, he looked too human: he smelled bad, had parasites on his wings, and his feathers were damaged by the elements. Nothing about him seemed dignified or angelic.

Father Gonzaga told the crowd not to be naive and warned them that the devil often uses tricks to deceive people. He explained that just having wings didn’t prove someone was an angel, just like having wings doesn’t make a hawk the same as an airplane. Still, he promised to write to the Church for an official judgment, starting with his bishop and eventually the Pope, to determine the truth.

5^th paragraph

His prudence fell on sterile hearts. The news of the captive angel spread with such rapidity that after a few hours the courtyard had the bustle of a marketplace and they had to call in troops with fixed bayonets to disperse the mob that was about to knock the house down. Elisenda, her spine all twisted from sweeping up so much marketplace trash, then got the idea of fencing in the yard and charging five cents admission to see the angel.

Explain in simple meaning

Father Gonzaga’s cautious warnings didn’t convince anyone. The news about the captured angel spread so quickly that the courtyard became as busy and chaotic as a marketplace. Crowds gathered, causing such a commotion those soldiers had to be called in to control the mob before they destroyed the house. Exhausted from constantly cleaning up the mess left by the crowds, Elisenda came up with an idea: she fenced off the yard and started charging people five cents to see the angel.

6^th paragraph

The curious came from far away. A traveling carnival arrived with a flying acrobat who buzzed over the crowd several times, but no one paid any attention to him because his wings were not those of an angel but, rather, those of a sidereal bat. The most unfortunate invalids on earth came in search of health: a poor woman who since childhood has been counting her heartbeats and had run out of numbers; a Portuguese man who couldn't sleep because the noise of the stars disturbed him; a sleepwalker who got up at night to undo the things he had done while awake; and many others with less serious ailments. In the midst of that shipwreck disorder that made the earth tremble, Pelayo and Elisenda were happy with fatigue, for in less than a week they had crammed their rooms with money and the line of pilgrims waiting their turn to enter still reached beyond the horizon.

Explain in simple meaning

People traveled from far away to see the angel. Even a carnival showed up with a performer who flew over the crowd, but no one cared because his bat-like wings didn’t look angelic. Many sick and desperate people came, hoping the angel could heal them. Among them was a woman who had been counting her heartbeats since she was a child and ran out of numbers, a man who couldn’t sleep because he said the stars were too noisy, and a sleepwalker who undid his daytime actions at night.

Amid the chaos and crowds, Pelayo and Elisenda were exhausted but happy, as they had earned a fortune in less than a week by charging people to see the angel. The line of visitors stretched so far it seemed endless.

7^th paragraph

The angel was the only one who took no part in his own act. He spent his time trying to get comfortable in his borrowed nest, befuddled by the hellish heat of the oil lamps and sacramental candles that had been placed along the wire. At first they tried to make him eat some mothballs, which, according to the wisdom of the wise neighbor woman, were the food prescribed for angels. But he turned them down, just as he turned down the papal lunches that the pentinents brought him,and they never found out whether it was because he was an angel or because he was an old man that in the end ate nothing but eggplant mush. His only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience. Especially during the first days, when the hens pecked at him, searching for the stellar parasites that proliferated in his wings, and the cripples pulled out feathers to touch their defective parts with, and even the most merciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise so they could see him standing. The only time they succeeded in arousing him was when they burned his side with an iron for branding steers, for he had been motionless for so many hours that they thought he was dead. He awoke with a start, ranting in his hermetic language and with tears in his eyes, and he flapped his wings a couple of times, which brought on a whirlwind of chicken dung and lunar dust and a gale of panic that did not seem to be of this world. Although many thought that his reaction had not been one of rage but of pain, from then on they were careful not to annoy him, because the majority understood that his passivity was not that of her taking his ease but that of a cataclysm in repose.

Explain in simple meaning

The angel didn’t react to anything happening around him. He stayed in his cage, trying to get comfortable despite the intense heat from the oil lamps and candles placed nearby. At first, people tried feeding him mothballs, thinking it was angel food based on the neighbor woman’s advice, but he refused them, as well as the fancy meals brought by the religious pilgrims. In the end, he ate only eggplant mush, but no one knew if that was because he was an angel or just an old man.

The only remarkable thing about him seemed to be his patience. In the beginning, hens pecked at him to eat the parasites on his wings, and sick people pulled out his feathers to use them for healing. Others threw stones at him to try to make him stand and show his wings. He didn’t respond to any of this until someone burned him with a branding iron, thinking he was dead because he hadn’t moved for hours. The angel woke up suddenly, shouting in his strange language, with tears in his eyes. He flapped his wings, creating a whirlwind of dirt and feathers that scared everyone.

After that, people became more careful. They realized his calm wasn’t because he was at peace, but because he was holding back something powerful, like a sleeping storm.

8^th paragraph

Father Gonzaga held back the crowd's frivolity with formulas of maidservant inspiration while awaiting the arrival of a final judgment on the nature of the captive. But the mail from Rome showed no sense of urgency. They spent their time finding out in the prisoner had a navel, if his dialect had any connection with Aramaic, how many times he could fit on the head of a pin, or whether he wasn't just a Norwegian with wings. Those meager letters might have come and gone until the end of time if a providential event had not put an end to the priest's tribulations.

Explain in simple meaning

Father Gonzaga tried to keep the crowd under control with simple, moral speeches while waiting for the Church’s final decision about the angel. However, the response from Rome was slow and didn’t seem urgent. In the meantime, people spent their time debating silly things, like whether the angel had a navel, if his language was related to Aramaic, how many times he could fit on the head of a pin, or if he might just be a Norwegian with wings. These pointless discussions could have gone on forever if not for an unexpected event that finally ended Father Gonzaga’s struggles.

9^th paragraph

It so happened that during those days, among so many other carnival attractions, there arrived in the town the traveling show of the woman who had been changed into a spider for having disobeyed her parents. The admission to see her was not only less than the admission to see the angel, but people were permitted to ask her all manner of questions about her absurd state and to examine her up and down so that no one would ever doubt the truth of her horror. She was a frightful tarantula the size of a ram and with the head of a sad maiden. What was most heartrending, however, was not her outlandish shape but the sincere affliction with which she recounted the details of her misfortune. While still practically a child she had sneaked out of her parents' house to go to a dance, and while she was coming back through the woods after having danced all night without permission, a fearful thunderclap rent the sky in tow and through the crack came the lightning bolt of brimstone that changed her into a spider. Her only nourishment came from the meatballs that charitable souls chose to toss into her mouth. A spectacle like that, full of so much human truth and with such a fearful lesson, was bound to defeat without even trying that of a haughty angel who scarcely deigned to look at mortals. Besides, the few miracles attributed to the angel showed a certain mental disorder, like the blind man who didn't recover his sight but grew three new teeth, or the paralytic who didn't get to walk but almost won the lottery, and the leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers. Those consolation miracles, which were more like mocking fun, had already ruined the angel's reputation when the woman who had been changed into a spider finally crushed him completely. That was how Father Gonzaga was cured forever of his insomnia and Pelayo's courtyard went back to being as empty as during the time it had rained for three days and crabs walked through the bedrooms.

Explain in simple meaning

Around this time, a traveling carnival came to town with a new attraction: a woman who had been turned into a giant spider as punishment for disobeying her parents. The admission fee to see her was cheaper than seeing the angel, and visitors could ask her questions and examine her closely, which made her story seem more believable. She was a terrifying sight—her body was that of a huge spider, but she had the sad face of a young woman.

Her story was both shocking and emotional. She explained that as a young girl, she snuck out of her house to attend a dance without her parents’ permission. On her way home, a bolt of lightning struck her and turned her into a spider as punishment. She survived only on meatballs that kind people threw into her mouth. Her tale, with its moral lesson and emotional appeal, easily overshadowed the silent, unresponsive angel.

Meanwhile, the angel’s so-called miracles were strange and unimpressive, like a blind man growing three new teeth instead of regaining his sight, a paralyzed man almost winning the lottery instead of walking again, and a leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers. These bizarre and seemingly mocking "miracles" had already damaged the angel’s reputation, and the spider-woman’s popularity completely overshadowed him.

As a result, people stopped visiting the angel. Father Gonzaga, no longer troubled by the situation, could finally sleep peacefully, and Pelayo’s courtyard returned to its quiet state, just as it had been before the angel arrived.

10^th paragraph

The owners of the house had no reason to lament. With the money they saved they built a two-story mansion with balconies and gardens and high netting so that crabs wouldn't get in during the winter, and with iron bars on the windows so that angels wouldn't get in. Pelayo also set up a rabbit warren close to town and have up his job as a bailiff for good, and Elisenda bought some satin pumps with high heels and many dresses of iridescent silk, the kind worn on Sunday by the most desirable women in those times. The chicken coop was the only thing that didn't receive any attention. If they washed it down with creolin and burned tears of myrrh inside it every so often, it was not in homage to the angel but to drive away the dungheap stench that still hung everywhere like a ghost and was turning the new house into an old one. At first, when the child learned to walk, they were careful that he not get too close to the chicken coop. But then they began to lose their fears and got used to the smell, and before the child got his second teeth he'd gone inside the chicken coop to play, where the wires were falling apart. The angel was no less standoffish with him than with the other mortals, but he tolerated the most ingenious infamies with the patience of a dog who had no illusions. They both came down with the chicken pox at the same time. The doctor who took care of the child couldn't resist the temptation to listen to the angel's heart, and he found so much whistling in the heart and so many sounds in his kidneys that it seemed impossible for him to be alive. What surprised him most, however, was the logic of his wings. They seemed so natural on that completely human organism that he couldn't understand why other men didn't have them too.

Explain in simple meaning

Pelayo and Elisenda had no reason to complain. With the money they made, they built a fancy two-story house with balconies, gardens, and high fences to keep out crabs in the winter. They also put iron bars on the windows to keep angels out. Pelayo gave up his job as a bailiff and set up a rabbit farm near the town, while Elisenda bought fancy satin shoes and beautiful dresses that only the most fashionable women wore.

The chicken coop, however, was ignored. They cleaned it with special chemicals to get rid of the awful smell, not as a tribute to the angel, but to eliminate the stench that still lingered everywhere. At first, they were careful to keep their child away from the chicken coop, but over time they got used to the smell. By the time the child got his second set of teeth, he was playing inside the coop where the wires were falling apart.

The angel remained distant, showing no more interest in the child than he had in the adults, but he put up with the child's mischief patiently, like a dog with no expectations. They both caught the chickenpox at the same time. The doctor who treated the child couldn’t resist checking the angel’s heart, and he was amazed by the strange noises in his heart and kidneys, which made it seem impossible for him to be alive. What puzzled him the most was how natural the angel’s wings appeared on his human body—he couldn’t understand why other people didn’t have wings too.

11^th paragraph

When the child began school it had been some time since the sun and rain had caused the collapse of the chicken coop. The angel went dragging himself about here and there like a stray dying man. They would drive him out of the bedroom with a broom and a moment later finds him in the kitchen. He seemed to be in so many places at the same time that they grew to think that he'd be duplicated, that he was reproducing himself all through the house, and the exasperated and unhinged Elisenda shouted that it was awful living in that hell full of angels. He could scarcely eat and his antiquarian eyes had also become so foggy that he went about bumping into posts. All he had left were the bare cannulae of his last feathers. Pelayo threw a blanket over him and extended him the charity of letting him sleep in the shed, and only then did they notice that he had a temperature at night, and was delirious with the tongue twisters of an old Norwegian. That was one of the few times they became alarmed, for they thought he was going to die and not even the wise neighbor woman had been able to tell them what to do with dead angels.

Explain in simple meaning

By the time the child started school, the chicken coop had collapsed because of the weather. The angel, now weak and sick, wandered around the house like a stray, dying man. They would chase him out of the bedroom with a broom, but then find him in the kitchen. He seemed to appear everywhere at once, which made them think he was multiplying and spreading throughout the house. Elisenda became frustrated and shouted that living with the angel felt like being in hell.

The angel could barely eat, and his eyes had become so cloudy that he kept bumping into things. His wings were almost gone, leaving just a few feathers. Pelayo threw a blanket over him and allowed him to sleep in the shed. It was then that they realized he had a fever at night and was delirious, speaking in strange, old Norwegian words. This worried them because they thought he might die, and even the wise neighbor woman didn’t know what to do if an angel died.

12^th paragraph

And yet he not only survived his worst winter, but seemed improved with the first sunny days. He remained motionless for several days in the farthest corner of the courtyard, where no one would see him, and at the beginning of December some large, stiff feathers began to grow on his wings, the feathers of a scarecrow, which looked more like another misfortune of decrepitude. But he must have known the reason for those changes; for he was quite careful that no one should notice them that no one should hear the sea chanteys that he sometimes sang under the stars. One morning Elisenda was cutting some bunches of onions for lunch when a wind that seemed to come from the high seas blew into the kitchen. Then she went to the window and caught the angel in his first attempts at flight. They were so clumsy that his fingernails opened a furrow in the vegetable patch and he was on the point of knocking the shed down with the ungainly flapping that slipped on the light and couldn't get a grip on the air. But he did manage to gain altitude. Elisenda let out a sigh of relief, for herself and for him, when she watched him pass over the last houses, holding himself up in some way with the risky flapping of a senile vulture. She kept watching him even when she was through cutting the onions and she kept on watching until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because then he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea.

Explain in simple meaning

The angel not only survived the harsh winter, but seemed to get better when the sunny days arrived. He stayed still in the far corner of the yard for a few days, out of sight, and by December, new, stiff feathers began to grow on his wings, though they looked more like the feathers of a scarecrow and seemed to show his aging. He seemed to know about these changes and was careful to keep them hidden, even singing old sea songs quietly at night under the stars.

One morning, while Elisenda was preparing lunch, a wind that felt like it came from the sea blew into the kitchen. She looked out the window and saw the angel trying to fly for the first time. His attempts were clumsy, and his wings were so weak that he scraped the ground and nearly crashed into the shed. But eventually, he managed to get off the ground. Elisenda felt relief for both herself and the angel as she watched him awkwardly fly over the houses, looking like an old, weak vulture. She kept watching him even after she finished cutting the onions, and continued watching until he disappeared from sight, no longer a problem in her life, but just a small dot on the horizon.

 In Nepali

Translated in Npali

तेस्रो दिनको वर्षामा, पेलायोले घर भित्र यति धेरै केकडा मारिसकेका थिए कि उनले आफ्नो भीजिएको आँगन पार गरेर तिनीहरूलाई समुद्रमा फ्याल्न जानुपर्ने भयो, किनकि नवजात शिशुको रातभर ज्वरो आएको थियो र उनीहरूले सोचे कि त्यो गन्धको कारणले हो। मंगलवारदेखि संसार दुःखी भएको थियो। समुद्र र आकाश एउटै ऐशे गाढा रङको कुरा थिए र समुद्र तटको बालुवा, जुन मार्चको रातहरूमा पिठो जस्तो चम्किरहेको थियो, अहिले कीचड र सडेको शिल्फिशको एक हागोमा परिणत भएको थियो। दिउँसोको उज्यालो यति कमजोर थियो कि जब पेलायो केकडा फ्यालेर घर फर्क्दै थिए, उनलाई आँगनको पछाडि के चलिरहेको र कराइरहेको थियो भन्ने देख्न गाह्रो भयो। उनलाई नजिक जानुपर्ने भयो र तब मात्र देख्न सके कि त्यो एक पुरानो मानिस थियो, एकदमै पुरानो मानिस, कीचडमा मुख तल पारेको अवस्थामा परेको, जसले आफ्नो प्रचण्ड प्रयासका बाबजुद उठ्न सक्दैन थियो र उसको विशाल पंखहरूले उसलाई अवरोध पुर्याइरहेको थियो।

त्यो भयानक सपना देखेर पेलायो डराउँदै आफ्नो पत्नी एलिसेन्डालाई बोलाउन गए, जसले बिरामी बच्चाको शरिरमा कम्प्रेस लगाइरहेकी थिइन्, र उनी उनलाई आँगनको पछाडिको भागमा लैजानुहोस्। दुबैजनाले झरेको शरीरलाई चुपचाप अचम्मका साथ हेरिरहेका थिए। उसले चिथडासरि लुगा लगाएको थियो। उसको टाउकोको गंजो भागमा केही पुराना कपाल मात्र बाँकी थिए र मुखमा धेरै थोरै दाँत थिए, र उसको अस्तब्यस्त र भिजेको बडो बाबुकी जस्तो हालतले उसलाई कुनै महानता दिने जस्तो केही छैन। उसको विशाल गिद्धजस्तो पंखहरू, गन्दी र आधा उडेका, सधैंको लागि कीचडमा अड्किएका थिए। उनीहरूले उसलाई यति लामो र नजिकबाट हेरिरहेका थिए कि पेलायो र एलिसेन्डाले चाँडै नै आफ्नो अचम्मलाई पार गरे र अन्ततः उसलाई परिचित पाए। त्यसपछि उनीहरूले उससित कुरा गर्न डराए, र उसले एक अनबुझिने बोलीमा, एक बलियो समुंदरको नाविकको आवाजमा जवाफ दियो। यसरी तिनीहरूले पंखहरूको असुविधालाई बेवास्ता गर्दै, ती पंखको कारणलाई व्यावसायिक रूपमा समाधान गर्दै, उसलाई कुनै परदेशी जहाजको एक एक्लो बाँच्नेमान्छे भएको अनुमान गरे जुन आँधीको कारण डुबेको थियो। तर त्यसपछि, उनीहरूले जीवन र मरेका सबै कुरा जान्ने एक छिमेकी महिला बोलाएर उसलाई देख्न पठाए, र उसले एक मात्र दृष्टिले तिनीहरूलाई उनीहरूको गल्ती देखाइदिइन्।

"उहाँ एक देवदूत हुनुहुन्छ," उनले भनिन्। "उहाँ बच्चाको लागि आएको हुनुहुन्थ्यो, तर गरिब उहाँ यति पुराना हुनुहुन्छ कि पानीको पानीले उहाँलाई ढल्यो।" अर्को दिन, सबैले थाहा पाए कि पेलायोको घरमा एक मांस र रगतको देवदूत क्याप्टिभ गरिएको छ। ती बुद्धिमान छिमेकी महिलाको निर्णयको विपरीत, जसका लागि ती समयका देवदूतहरू आत्मिक षड्यन्त्रका बाँचेकाहरू थिए, उनीहरूले उसलाई मारेको हृदय गर्नुको साहस नगरे। पेलायो पुरै दिउँसो भान्सामा उसलाई हेरिरहेका थिए, आफ्नो बाइलिफ क्लबसहित, र सुत्न जानुअघि उसलाई कीचडबाट निकालेर तारको पन्छीको बाडामा कुखुरासँग बन्द गरेर राखे। मध्य रातमा, जब पानी रोकियो, पेलायो र एलिसेन्डा अझै पनि काँचो माछा मारिरहेका थिए। थोरै समय पछि बच्चा ज्वरो बिना र खानाको इच्छा राख्दै उठ्यो। त्यसपछि उनीहरूले उदार भएर निर्णय गरे कि देवदूतलाई तीन दिनको लागि ताजै पानी र सामानहरूको साथमा राफ्टमा राखेर उच्च सागरमा पठाउँछन्। तर जब तिनीहरूले बिहानको पहिलो प्रकाशमा आँगनमा निस्केर, पाउनथ्यो कि सम्पूर्ण छिमेकका मानिसहरू कुखुराको बाडामा देवदूतसँग रमाइलो गर्दै थिए, कुनै पनि श्रद्धा बिना, तारको पन्छीको फाँटबाट उसलाई खाने कुराहरू फ्याँकिरहेका थिए, जस्तो कि त्यो एक दैवी प्राणी नभइ एक सर्कसको जनावर हो।

पिता Gonzaga सात बजे भन्दा पहिले आए, अजीब समाचारले चिन्तित हुँदै। त्यो समयमा बिहानका छिटो उठेका ती मानिसहरू भन्दा कम हल्का विचार गर्ने दर्शकहरू पहिले नै आइपुगेका थिए र उनीहरूले बन्दीको भविष्यको बारेमा सबै प्रकारका अनुमानहरू गरिरहेका थिए। ती मध्ये सबैभन्दा साधारण विचार गर्नेहरूले भने कि उसलाई संसारको मेयरको रूपमा नियुक्त गर्नुपर्छ। अरू कडा सोच भएका व्यक्तिहरूले भने कि उसलाई पाँच-सितारा जनरलको पदमा पदोन्नति दिइनु पर्छ ताकि सबै युद्धहरू जित्न सकियोस। केही भव्य दृष्टिकोण भएका व्यक्तिहरूले भने कि उसलाई प्रजननको लागि राखेर पृथ्वीमा पखेटा भएका ज्ञानमूर्ति को वंश थप्नुपर्ने हो जसले ब्रह्माण्डको प्रबंधन गर्न सकून्। तर पिता Gonzaga, पुजारी बन्नु अघि, एक मजबूत काठकाट्ने व्यक्ति थिए। तारको सँगै उभिएर उनले चाँडै आफ्नो क्याटेकिजम पुनरावलोकन गरे र उनीहरूले ढोका खोल्न आग्रह गरे ताकि उनले ती दयनीय मानिसलाई नजिकबाट हेर्न सकून्, जसले पखेटा भएका एक विशाल थकित कुखुरा जस्तो देखिन्थ्यो र आकर्षित कुखुराहरू बीचमा सुतिरहेको थियो। उसले कोनेमा आफ्नो पखेटा खुला गरी सूर्यको रश्मीमा सुकाइरहेको थियो र जति छिटो उठेका मानिसहरूले उसलाई फ्याँकेका फलफूलको छिल्का र बिहानको खाजा बाँकीहरूको बीचमा थियो। संसारका अशिष्टताबाट अनजान, उसले केवल आफ्नो पुरानो आँखाहरू उठाए र जब पिता Gonzaga कुखुराको बाडामा गए र लाटिनमा उनलाई शुभप्रभात भने, तब उसले केही भन्यो। प्वारी पादरीले एक ठगको पहिलो संदेह तब अनुभव गरे जब उनले देखे कि उसले परमेश्वरको भाषा बुझ्दैन वा उनका मन्त्रीलाई कसरी अभिवादन गर्ने थाहा छैन। त्यसपछि उनले देखे कि नजिकबाट हेर्दा त्यो व्यक्ति धेरै मानवजस्तो देखिन्छ: उसको बाहिरको गन्ध असहनीय थियो, पखेटाको पछाडि परजीवीहरूले चुरिएका थिए र उसका मुख्य पखेटा पृथ्वीका हावाहरूले बिग्रेका थिए, र उसको रूपले देवदूतहरूको गर्वीली प्रतिष्ठासँग मेल खाँदैन। त्यसपछि उनले कुखुराको बाडाबाट बाहिर निस्किए र एक छोटो उपदेश दिएर जिज्ञासुहरूलाई विश्वस्त नहुने जोखिमहरूको बारेमा चेतावनी दिए। उनले सम्झाए कि शैतानको नराम्रो बानी छ कि उसले माघोको तरिकाहरू प्रयोग गरेर अज्ञानीलाई भ्रमित गर्न कोशिश गर्छ। उनले तर्क गरे कि यदि पखेटा फरक पार्नका लागि हॉक र हवाईजहाजको बीचमा महत्त्वपूर्ण तत्व थिएन भने, तिनीहरू देवदूतको पहिचानमा अझ कम महत्त्वपूर्ण थिए। तथापि, उनले आश्वासन दिए कि उनले आफ्नो बिशपलाई पत्र लेख्नेछन् ताकि पछि ती बिशपले आफ्नो प्रधानाचार्यलाई पत्र लेख्न सकून् र त्यसपछि ती प्रधानाचार्यले सर्वोच्च पोपलाई पत्र लेख्न सकून् जसले सबैभन्दा उच्च न्यायालयबाट अन्तिम निर्णय प्राप्त गर्न सकून्।

उसको विवेकले बाँझो हृदयहरूमा असर पुर्‍यायो। बन्दी देवदूतको समाचार यति चाँडो फैलियो कि केही घण्टामै आँगनमा बजारको जस्तो हलचल मच्चियो र घर ढाल्ने धम्की दिइरहेको भीडलाई हटाउन निश्चित बायोनेटसहितको फौज बोलाउनुपर्यो। एलिसेन्डा, जसको मेरुदण्ड त्यति धेरै बजारको फोहोर सफा गर्दा ट twisted विस्ट भएको थियो, त्यसपछि आँगनलाई घेराबन्दी गरेर देवदूत हेर्नका लागि पाँच पैसा शुल्क लिने विचार गरे।

जिज्ञासुहरू टाढाबाट आए। एक यात्रा गर्ने मेलामा उड्ने ऐक्रोब्याट आइपुग्यो जसले भीडमाथि केही पटक उडान भरे, तर कसैले उसमा ध्यान दिएन, किनकि उसको पखेटा देवदूतका पखेटा थिएनन्, बरु एक प्रकारको आकाशीय चम्चीका पखेटा थिए। पृथ्वीका सबैभन्दा दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण रोगीहरू स्वास्थ्यको खोजीमा आए: एउटा गरीब महिला जसले बच्चापनदेखि आफ्नो मुटुको धडकन गन्ने काम गरेको थियो र अंकहरू सकिएका थिए; एक पोर्चुगाली पुरुष जसले सुत्न सक्दैनथ्यो किनकि ताराहरूको आवाजले उसलाई दुःख दिइरहन्थ्यो; एक निन्द्राज्ञानी जसले राति उठेर त्यो काम उल्ट्याउँथ्यो जुन उसले जाग्दा गरेको थियो; र अरू धेरै जसका रोग कम गम्भीर थिए। त्यो अप्ठ्यारो अवस्था, जसले पृथ्वीलाई काँपायो, बीचमा पेलायो र एलिसेन्डा थकानका साथ खुशी थिए, किनकि एक हप्ता नपुग्दै उनीहरूको कोठाहरू पैसाले भरिएका थिए र तीर्थयात्रिहरूको पंक्ति अझै पनि आकाशे सीमा भन्दा पर फैलिरहेको थियो।

देवदूत मात्र त्यस्तो थिया जसले आफ्नै क्रियाकलापमा कुनै भूमिका नलियो। उसले समय बिताउँदै आफ्ना उधाराका घोंसलेमा आराम गर्न खोज्दै, तेलका दीपक र पवित्र मद्धतका म्याचमाथि राखिएका मनीका म्यानहरूको नरकीय तापबाट अचम्मित भएको थियो। सुरुमा, उनीहरूले उसलाई केहि मच्छरहरू खान कोसिस गरे, जसको अनुसार बुद्धिमान छिमेकी महिलाको ज्ञान अनुसार, देवदूतहरूको लागि खानाको रूपमा सिफारिस गरिएको थियो। तर उसले तिनलाई अस्वीकृत गर्यो, ठीक त्यसैगरी जस्तै उसले पापीहरूको ल्याउने पापल लन्चलाई अस्वीकार गर्यो, र अन्ततः उनीहरूले कहिले पनि पत्ता लगाएनन् कि त्यो कारण देवदूत हुनु हो वा पुरानो मानिस हुनु हो जसले अन्ततः केवल बैंगनको चटनी मात्र खायो। उसको एकमात्र अलौकिक गुण धैर्य थियो। विशेषगरी पहिलो दिनहरूमा, जब कुखुराहरूले उसलाई टोक्यो, उसको पखेटामा फैलिएका तारा जस्तै कीटहरू खोज्दै, र अपाङ्गहरूले पखेटा बाहिर निकालेर आफ्ना विकृत अंगहरूमा त्यसलाई छोए, र यहाँसम्म कि सबैभन्दा दयालुहरूले उसमाथि ढुङ्गा हिर्काउँदै उसलाई उठाउन कोसिस गरे ताकि उसलाई उभ्याउँदा देख्न सकून्। उनीहरूले उसलाई उत्तेजित गर्न सफल भएका केवल एक मात्र समय भनेको थियो जब उनीहरूले उसको पाटोमा खसीको ब्रान्डिङका लागि इस्पातीको तातो हतियार दगुराए, किनकि उसले धेरै घण्टा स्थिर रह्यो र उनीहरूले सोचेका थिए कि ऊ मरेको हो। उसले एकदमै चकित भएर आँसु बोकेर उठ्यो, र उसले आफ्नो पखेटा दुई चोटि फडफडायो, जसले कुखुराको मल र चन्द्र माटोको आँधी ल्यायो र एक प्रकारको आतंकको बयार ल्यायो, जुन यो संसारको जस्तो लाग्दैन। यद्यपि धेरैको विश्वास थियो कि उसको प्रतिक्रिया क्रोधको होइन, तर पीडाको थियो, त्यसपछि उनीहरूले उसलाई दुख नदिने प्रयास गरे, किनकि धेरैले बुझेका थिए कि उसको निष्क्रियता आरामको होइन, बरु विश्रान्तमा भएको महाप्रलयको जस्तो थियो।

पादरी गोंजागाले कैदीको स्वभावको अन्तिम निर्णयको आगमनको पर्खाइमा झिङ्गा सेविकाको प्रेरणासँग भीडको उडाइलाई रोक्नु भयो। तर रोमबाटको पत्रले कुनै आपतकालीनता देखाएन। उनीहरूले समय बिताए जब पक्का गर्दै थिए कि कैदीको नाभि छ कि छैन, उसको बोलीको अरामिकसँग कुनै सम्बन्ध छ कि छैन, कति पटक उसलाई पिनको टाउकोमा फिट गर्न सकिन्छ, वा उनी केवल पंख भएका नर्वेजियन त होइनन्। ती थोरै पत्रहरू सायद समयको अन्त्यसम्म आउँदै र जान्दै हुन्थे यदि एक प्रकोपिक घटना नआएको भए जसले पादरीको कष्टलाई अन्त्य गर्यो।

त्यसोभए भयो कि ती दिनहरूमा, अन्य धेरै मेला आकर्षणहरूको बीचमा, शहरमा एक यात्रा शो आयो जसमा ती महिलाले आफ्नो आमाबाबुसँग नाफा नगर्ने कारणले कसरी मुस्कानमा बदलिएर माछा बनेको थियो। उसलाई हेर्नको लागि भर्ना शुल्क केवल एन्जेललाई हेर्नको लागि भर्ना शुल्क भन्दा कम थियो, तर मानिसलाई उसलाई सबै प्रकारका प्रश्न सोध्न अनुमति दिइएको थियो र उसको विचित्र अवस्थाको बारेमा जाँच गर्न सकिने थियो ताकि कुनै पनि व्यक्तिले उसकी भयंकरता को सत्यामा संदेह नगर्ने होस्। उसले एक डरावनी तारन्टुला बनाएको थियो जसको आकार एउटा बाख्राको जस्तो थियो र उसका शोकपूर्ण कन्या जस्तो टाउको थियो। सबैभन्दा वेदनादायक कुरा भनेको उसको अजीब आकार होइन, तर उसको साँचो दु:ख थियो जसले उसले आफ्ना दुःखका विवरणहरू सुनाउँथ्यो। जब ऊ अझै बच्चा नै थिई, उसले आफ्ना आमाबाबुको घरबाट चुपचाप निस्केर नृत्य गर्न गइ, र रातभर नृत्य गरेर अनुमति बिना फर्कंदा, एक डरावनी बिजुलीले आकाशलाई चिराउँदै र चीरबाट सुँगुरको बिजुली झारिएको जसले उसलाई माछामा परिणत गर्यो। उसको एकमात्र आहार त्यस्ता दानशील आत्माहरूबाट आएको मांसपिन्डहरू थिए जसले उसको मुखमा चपाएका थिए। त्यस्तो दृश्यमानता, जसमा यति धेरै मानवीय सत्य र यति भयानक पाठ थियो, बिना कुनै प्रयास गरेको थियो, उसले एक गर्विलो एन्जेलको तुलना गर्दा जसले मर्त्यहरूको सन्देशमा नजर पनि नगरेको थियो। त्यस बाहेक, एन्जेलसँग सम्बद्ध केहि चमत्कारहरूले मानसिक विकारको सङ्केत दिएका थिए, जस्तै अन्धो मानिस जसले आफ्नो दृष्टि पुनः प्राप्त गरेन तर तीन नयाँ दाँत बढाए, वा पक्षाघातको व्यक्ति जसले हिँड्न पाएन तर लोटरी जित्न नजिक पुगे, र कुष्ठरोगी जसका घाउहरू सूर्यमुखी फूल निकाल्न थाले। ती सांत्वना चमत्कारहरू, जसलाई मजाकको रूपमा बढी मान्न सकिन्छ, एन्जेलको प्रतिष्ठालाई नष्ट गरिसकेका थिए जब माछामा परिणत महिलाले अन्ततः उनलाई पूर्ण रूपमा हराइदिइ। यसरी पादरी गोंजागा सधैंका लागि उसको अनिद्राबाट मुक्त भए र पेलायोको आँगन पुनः त्यसको रूपमा सुनसान भयो जस्तै तीन दिनसम्म पानी परेको र केकडाहरू शयनकक्षहरूमा हिंडेका थिए।

घरका मालिकहरूलाई कुनै पनि शोक व्यक्त गर्ने कारण थिएन। उनीहरूले बचत गरेको पैसाले दुई तल्ले महल बनाए जसमा बालकोनी र बगैचा थिए र उच्च जाल लगाएका थिए ताकि जाडो मौसममा केकडाहरू अघिल्ला घरमा नपुगे, र झ्यालहरूमा फलामका बारहरू लगाइएका थिए ताकि एन्जेलहरू अघिल्ला घरमा नपुगे। पेलायोले पनि शहरको नजिकै खरायोको बास बसाउने व्यवस्था गरे र उनले आफ्नो कसम्भलको काम स्थायी रूपमा छोडिदिए, र एलीसेन्डाले साटनको जुत्ता र उच्च हिलका थुप्रै रंगीन रेशमी पोशाकहरू किनिन्, जुन उस समयका सबैभन्दा आकर्षक महिलाहरूले आइतबारमा लगाउने गरेका थिए। मुर्गीको बास भनेको एकमात्र कुरा थियो जसले कुनै ध्यान प्राप्त गरेको थिएन। यदि उनीहरूले यसलाई क्रियोलिनले सफा गरे र बीचबीचमा मिर्थका आँसुहरू जलाए भने, त्यो एन्जेलको सम्मानमा होइन, बरु त्यो अन्न कचरा र गन्धलाई टाढा पार्न थियो जुन अझै पनि हरेक ठाउँमा र भूतको रूपमा फैलिएको थियो र नयाँ घरलाई पुरानो बनाउँदै थियो। सुरुमा, जब बच्चाले हिँड्न सिकेको थियो, उनीहरूले ध्यान दिएका थिए कि बच्चा मुर्गीको बासमा नजिक नजाओस्। तर पछि उनीहरूले आफ्नो डरहरू गुमाउन थाले र गन्धसँग सल्लाह गर्न थाले, र बच्चाले आफ्नो दोस्रो दाँत नपाएको सम्म उनले मुर्गीको बासमा खेल्न गएका थिए, जहाँ तारहरू खसेका थिए। एन्जेल पनि अरू मर्त्यहरूसँग जस्तै उससँग पनि उस्तै टाढा थिए, तर उनले सबैभन्दा चतुर अपमानहरूलाई कुकुरको जस्तो सहनशीलतासँग सहन गरे जसका कुनै आशा थिएन। उनीहरू दुबै एकै समयमा चिकनपक्सको रोग लागे। डाक्टर जसले बच्चाको उपचार गरे, उसलाई एन्जेलको मुटु सुन्ने लोभ रोक्न सक्न सकेन, र उसले मुटुको ह्विसलिङ र मिर्गौला भित्रका धेरै ध्वनिहरू पाए जसले उसलाई जीवित हुनु असम्भव जस्तो लाग्यो। तर उसलाई सबैभन्दा चकित गर्ने कुरा भनेको उसको पखेटाहरूको तर्क थियो। ती पखेटाहरू त्यो पूर्ण रूपमा मानवीय अंगसँग यति प्राकृतिक देखिन्थे कि उसले बुझ्न सकिन, अरू मानिसहरूमा ती पखेटा किन थिएनन्।

जब बच्चाले विद्यालय सुरु गर्‍यो, केही समय भइसकेको थियो कि सूर्य र पानीले मुर्गीको बासको धराप ल्याएको थियो। एन्जेल त्यहाँ त्यहाँ लट्ठिएर मर्ने बिचार गरेका कुनै बिचरा मानिस जस्तै घिसट्दै हिंड्थ्यो। उनीहरूले उसलाई सुत्ने कोठाबाट झाडूले बाहिर निकाल्थे र एक मिनेटपछि उनलाई भान्सामा भेट्थे। उसले त्यति धेरै ठाउँमा एकै समय उपस्थित हुनु जस्तो लाग्थ्यो कि उनीहरूले सोच्न थाले कि उसलाई दुईगुणा गरिदिएको छ, कि उ आफूलाई घरभरि पुन: उत्पादन गर्दैछ, र चिढिएका र असन्तुलित एलीसेन्डाले भने, "यो नरक जस्तो घरमा एन्जेलहरूको बीचमा बस्नु कति दुःखदायी छ।" उसले मुश्किलले मात्र खाना खायो र उसको पुरानो आँखा यति ओत लागेका थिए कि उ सुत्न नसकेको खम्बासँग ठोक्किरहेको थियो। उससँग बाँकी रहेकाहरू भनेका केवल उसका अन्तिम पखेटाहरूका क्यानुला मात्र थिए। पेलायोले उसमाथि कम्बल ओढाइदिए र उसलाई गोठमा सुत्न दिनको लागि परोपकार प्रदान गरे, र त्यसपछि मात्र उनीहरूले थाहा पाए कि रातको समयमा उसलाई ज्वरो थियो र पुरानो नर्वेजियनको जीभको झन्झटसँग उ delirious थियो। त्यो केही समयका मध्य एक थिए जब उनीहरू चकित भए, किनकि उनीहरूले सोच्न थाले कि उसले मर्न सक्छ र न त त्यो बुद्धिमान छिमेकी महिलाले उनीहरूलाई मरेका एन्जेलसँग के गर्ने भन्ने बताउन सकिन।

तर उ केवल आफ्नो सबैभन्दा खराब जाडो जिउँदै निस्केन, तर पहिलो घाम लाग्दा दिनमा उ सुधारिएको जस्तो देखिन्थ्यो। उ केही दिनहरू बेवास्ता भएर आँगनको सबभन्दा टाढो कुनामा रुमालो भइ बसिरहेको थियो, जहाँ कसैले उसलाई देख्न सक्ने थिएन, र डिसेम्बरको सुरुमा उसका पखेटामा केही ठूला, कठोर पखेटा उमार्न थाले, जसले मञ्चको पखेटा जस्तो देखिन्थ्यो, जुन वृद्धिको अर्को विपत्ति जस्तो लाग्थ्यो। तर उसले ती परिवर्तनहरूको कारण थाहा पाएको हुनुपर्छ; किनकि उसले धेरै ध्यान दिएको थियो कि अरुले ती परिवर्तनहरू देख्नु नपाओस् र कसैले पनि समुद्री गीतहरू सुन्न नपाओस् जुन ऊ कहिलेकाहीं ताराहरूको मुनि गाउने गर्थ्यो। एक बिहान एलीसेन्डा लञ्चको लागि केहि प्याजका गुच्छा काटिरहेको थिइन्, जब एक हावा जसले उच्च समुद्रबाट आउने जस्तो लाग्थ्यो भान्सामा प्रवेश गर्‍यो। त्यसपछि उनी झ्यालमा गइन् र एन्जेललाई उडानको पहिलो प्रयासमा भेटिन्। ती यति अपटिक थिए कि उसका नङहरूले तरकारीका बगैंचामा खाचो पारिदिए र ऊ हलचल गर्दै कुट्याउन लागेको थियो, जसले प्रकाशमा चिप्लेर हावा समात्न सकेन। तर उसले उचाइ प्राप्त गर्न सके। एलीसेन्डाले एक सास फेरेर राहत महशुस गरिन्, आफूसँगै उसलार्इ पनि, जब उनले उसलाई अन्तिम घरहरूमाथि उड्दै देखिन्, जुन कुनै प्रकारले बुढ्यौली गिद्धको जोखिमपूर्ण फडफडसँग आफूलाई समात्दै थियो। उनी प्याज काट्न सकेपछि पनि उसलाई हेरिरहिन् र हेरिरहिन् जबसम्म उसलाई देख्न सकिन, किनकि त्यसपछि ऊ उनको जीवनमा अब मात्र गडबड नगरेको एउटा काल्पनिक बिन्दु बन्यो समुद्रको क्षितिजमा।