Hi! Miss Carmen

Eros is the most joking, she is the most unruly, and she despises those who define her casually.

　　Juan Avila: With Indian ancestry, he spent his childhood in Indian villages, then engaged in folk studies, and traveled to Central and South America for a long time. His "New Indigenous" novels show the living state and emotional world of modern Indians in a touch of sadness, adding a strange color to the Latin American literary world at the turn of the century.

　　1.

　　I am an Indian who grew up in a small town called the Great Valley in Central America. The people in the town have depended on the mountains for generations. Therefore, before I left the town, the world was the mountain in front of the door. Although city people come to buy gum every year and use it to make high-quality chewing gum, they always come and go in a hurry, never talking nonsense with us.

　　However, one year, a lady named Carmen changed this tradition. Miss Carmen was the first city girl I had ever seen in my life. She is an actress who comes to the mountains to experience life. The children in the mountains followed her from the south of the town to the north of the town like a circus.

　　I watched her from a distance, or rather peeping at her, chatting up the vulgar women in town, and taking gentle notes from time to time with a huge pen. The girls took the opportunity to watch. So, I hate myself for being a man.

　　The day after the gum merchants arrived in the Great Valley, the town held a market as usual. Every household pulled up a large white cloth in front of the door, and wrote the variety and price of the gum on it in bright colors. The open-air stage in the central square still holds the annual poetry competition. The young men always take this opportunity to show their talents and express their inner desires to their lovers.

　　In order not to disappoint Miss Carmen, I tried my best to get a tie for first place. However, I soon regretted it. Because Miss Carmen, who was invited to attend the award ceremony, first presented the award to the third-ranked lame Juan on behalf of the mayor, and also shook the lame Juan's hand with grace (that was a dirty and intolerable hand).

　　And it was the mayor himself and his wife (a fat half-old milf) who presented the award to me and the other winner. So I hated myself for being first, and even hated myself for not being a lame Juan. Miss Carmen was in town for 4 days, and I dreamed of her with my eyes open for 4 days.

　　2.

　　But miracles happen in life. One year, the National Indigenous Center sent people to find singers, and I was chosen. They took me to the capital and placed me in a university called San Pietro. Maybe you don't know, I never went to school before this.

　　The teachers were very embarrassed by my situation. "How can a poetry champion be illiterate?" But that's what it is. Didn't our ancestors come here like this? In the words of the mayor, reciting poetry is our instinct. Whatever the situation, I don't want to go back to the big valley where I live only by instinct. Because instinct tells me that as long as I don't leave the capital, I will see Miss Carmen sooner or later.

　　However, a long time has passed, and except for the occasional sight of Miss Carmen in the press or on TV, her appearance is just an unfinished dream.

　　In this way, I persevered in college for a year, waiting for a year, until I was told that the study period was over and allowed to graduate. I don't think I learned anything. The only consolation is understanding the size of the world. One day, at the instigation of another Indian, I finally took the step that was entirely my own, and I spent 1,000 cents smuggling to the Mexican border, and then from the Mexican border to Florida to the north.

　　On the third day I got there, I was entangled by a girl named Nancy. She treated me as a servant during the day and was going to treat me as a lover that night. I turned my head and ran away, feeling sick in my heart. Fortunately, I was born lucky and handsome, and soon found an errand again. It's just that similar situations keep happening, so that I don't stay or leave, as if God intended to make fun of me to test my loyalty to Miss Carmen.

　　3.

　　Since this place is not suitable for me, it is better to return to China as soon as possible.

　　But I had nothing in my pocket, and the person who pushed me here had long since disappeared without a trace. So, I wandered around the airport every day, hoping that there would be a test flight for me to take for free.

　　Suddenly one day, Miss Carmen came to this airport like an angel. She is still so beautiful. Although thin wrinkles have radiated from the tips of her eyes, and her figure seems to be slightly plump, it makes her more mature and full of charm. I recognized her at a glance.

　　"Why are you here? A connecting flight?" she asked kindly.

　　"Hmm." I nodded and shook my head. She seemed to only notice the expression in front of me and asked what time the plane was.

　　I had to make a mistake and say it was tomorrow. Unexpectedly, she said, "I am also tomorrow's plane."

　　"Where are you going to spend the night?" she asked again. I hesitated for a moment, then whispered that I didn't know. She looked at her watch and said it was still early, so why don't we go have something to eat together and find a place to stay.

　　I nodded instinctively.

　　We left the airport one after the other and got on a bus. At this time, she suddenly realized that I had no luggage. I immediately lied and said that I had stored it. She then said with a smile, "You're still smart, look at me carrying such a big bag."

　　Only then did I remember that a man has to be a gentleman, so I hurriedly grabbed the backpack and put it on my shoulders. She thanked her again and again, saying, "I didn't expect you to be such a gentleman."

　　My heart is full of joy, not to mention how happy I am.

　　Next came the car, the dinner and the hotel. She paid for everything. At one point, I was so embarrassed that I left my wallet in my suitcase. "It's the same who pays." She generously rushed to pay for everything.

　　4.

　　From time to time, the receptionist at the hotel glanced back and forth between Miss Carmen and me, making me panic. At this time, Miss Carmen turned back to me and said, "Why don't we share a room, it will save money."

　　I thought something was wrong with my ears and couldn't believe it. I blushed and nodded quickly.

　　Fortunately, she didn't find anything, but the lady at the front desk pursed her lips and smiled.

　　And just like that, we moved into a room. There were two beds in the room, and Miss Carmen asked me which one I liked. "The one by the window, or..." I immediately pointed to the one by the window, because my heart was about to suffocate.

　　So Miss Carmen asked me to put my backpack on her bed and said to me, "You wash first." I was busy in the bathroom, my mind blank except for excitement.

　　I don't know how long it took, Miss Carmen knocked gently on the door outside. "What's the matter? Are you asleep?"

　　"No, no. I'll be right out." When I got dressed and went back to the bedroom, she immediately got into the bathroom.

　　I looked at the TV, and then at her back, and my heart was up and down, not knowing what it was like. I tried to turn the volume of the TV to the lowest level, and pricked up my ears to listen to all kinds of small sounds coming from her shower. I was still on tiptoe, quietly walked to the door, and peeked in through the needle-like crack of the door. As a result, of course, I saw nothing, but was taken aback by Miss Carmen, who suddenly hummed in the shower. I immediately slipped back to the bed, confused, cranky, and unable to control myself.

　　I was so dry with thought that I picked up the cup on the table and drank what seemed to be soda or something. When I opened my eyes in a daze, Miss Carmen was dressed and put on makeup and ready to go. I don't understand what happened before, I only know that my head is heavy and my whole body is uncomfortable.

　　When Miss Carmen saw me wake up, she couldn't stop laughing.

　　"You stole my sleeping pills," Miss Carmen laughed even more, "and I didn't sleep all night."

　　I couldn't help but sigh again.

　　"I'm sorry, I should have told you beforehand," she said guiltily, laughing.

　　In fact, only I know why I sigh.

　　In this way, we didn't even touch a finger with each other. I watched Miss Carmen enter the waiting room, happy and regretful.

　　5.

　　Since then, I have always dreamed of meeting Miss Carmen again. I was tight-lipped and faithful to everything that night, no matter how provocative other women were, and no matter how lame Juan was complacent that he had once held Miss Carmen's hand. I worked silently, and then held my breath for the annual poetry competition. I eulogized Miss Carmen's extraordinary beauty and extraordinary acting skills with all my emotions (even though I knew nothing about her performing arts).

　　However, one year the gum dealer brought Miss Carmen unrecognizable. It is said that a car accident cost her two ribs and an eye. Her face twitched, her expression was demented, and she followed the gum dealer for a long journey just to see me. She thanked me for my thoughts and compliments on her. I was completely stunned, then cried in public in disappointment and even despair.

　　At this moment, Miss Carmen reached out to me, but I timidly withdrew my hand and ran away ruthlessly.

　　The last time I saw Miss Carmen was two days later. She came to me again with a radiant face. Facing the faceless me, she was as pleasant as ever and asked, "How did I do?"

　　Only then did I recall the scene two days ago and the hapless camera in the crowd.