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El Reloj de la Cocina

Ch. 1 · 11:47

Aria arrives home from the night shift and stops for a second on the pavement in front of her building, looking up at the one lit window on the fourth floor.
  1. Caption: Jueves, 23:47
  2. Narration: Llega con la nevera vacía y un turno entero detrás de los ojos.
  3. Narration: Aria tiene veintiséis años y trabaja de noche en un laboratorio. Hace tres semanas que vive sola en el 4B.
Aria pushes the building's entrance door open and steps in; from the street below, the only lit window in the facade is her own kitchen.
  1. Aria (thinking): Solo quiero llegar arriba y no pensar en nada.
  2. Narration: La luz de la cocina sigue encendida, como la dejó esta mañana.
Aria steps into the entry hall of the 4B and locks the front door behind her.
  1. Narration: El 4B huele a polvo viejo y a madera. Tres semanas aquí y todavía no reconoce todos sus ruidos.
Aria drops the backpack, hangs the grey coat on the rack and kicks off her sneakers; the hallway light stays on.
  1. Narration: La luz del pasillo se queda encendida, como todas las noches. No le gusta volver a un pasillo a oscuras.
Aria crosses the entry hall toward the kitchen and passes the full-length mirror without stopping.
  1. Aria (thinking): Cada noche la misma cara.
Aria pushes the kitchen door open and the narrow kitchen appears, with the dead clock on the back wall.
  1. Narration: El reloj de la pared lleva parado desde que ella llegó. Las 11:47, siempre.
Aria is alone in the narrow kitchen; the room is ordinary and small, and the dead clock hangs over her head.
  1. Narration: La cocina es estrecha: dos pasos de pared a pared.
  2. Narration: El reloj está clavado con cuatro clavos de hierro. Nadie lo ha movido en años.
Aria opens the fridge and finds it almost empty.
  1. Narration: Compra cuando puede. Hoy no pudo.
Aria eats standing at the counter with the fridge door open; her phone lies on the counter beside the plate.
  1. Narration: Las 00:03. Entró en casa a las 23:47.
Aria looks up at the stopped clock and mocks herself for checking it every night.
  1. Aria: Tres semanas parado. Ni un segundo.
Aria turns her back on the clock and washes the plate; behind her the minute hand steps forward for the first time in three weeks.
  1. Narration: El primer tic no lo oye nadie.
Aria turns from the sink and looks up at the clock: it reads 11:48.
  1. Narration: Han pasado dieciséis minutos desde que llegó. El reloj ha avanzado uno.
Aria holds her phone up beside the clock and compares the two times.
  1. Aria: Tú marcas 11:48. Son las doce y tres.
Aria walks under the clock, looks up at it and raises her hand toward the case.
  1. Aria (thinking): Si no lo puedo medir, no existe.
Aria touches the clock case; the second hand starts to turn backwards.
Aria pulls her hand back from the clock and stares at it; the minute hand has not moved.
  1. Aria: No.
  2. Narration: El reloj llevaba tres semanas parado. Esta noche se ha movido dos veces.
Aria backs away from the clock until the counter stops her, and stands there trying to think.
  1. Aria (thinking): Piensa. Mídelo. Es lo único que sabes hacer.
Aria opens the little glass door at the bottom of the clock and finds the brass pendulum swinging.
  1. Aria: Tú no te movías.
Aria stands still in the middle of the kitchen and watches the clock, measuring it like an instrument.
  1. Aria: Un minuto en dieciséis. Eso lo puedo medir.
Aria leaves the kitchen walking backwards, eyes on the clock.
  1. Aria (thinking): Fuera de aquí.
Aria steps out of the kitchen and pulls the door shut; the entry hall is dark.
  1. Narration: La luz del pasillo está apagada. Ella la dejó encendida.
Aria tries the light switch in the dark entry hall and nothing happens.
  1. Narration: El pasillo está oscuro. Ella no lo dejó así.
Aria stands in the dark entry hall and sees a tall silhouette standing motionless at the far end, near the front door.
  1. Narration: La puerta sigue cerrada con llave. No ha entrado nadie.
The dust silhouette stands at the end of the dark hall while, behind the closed kitchen door, the clock gives its second tick and steps to 11:49.
  1. Narration: Algo que no es Aria respira al final del pasillo.

End of Chapter 1

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Chapter 2 · written, not drawn yet

Lo que come

Aria intenta descolgar el reloj y encuentra, detrás, un muro lleno de marcas y un nombre. En el fondo del cajón, una llave de latón y una nota.

about 24 pages · drawn in about 10 minutes · free for everyone after

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