:15:10
As my mother smacked me,
she cursed
:15:13
and yelled, "Maldito!
Bad seed!"
:15:16
She shouted at the sky,
"I want to get out of here."
:15:19
But I really wasn't sure
that's what she wanted.
:15:27
But now standing over me
:15:30
she looked like
a huge tree trunk.
:15:33
And if it didn't hurt so much,
I'd get down on my knees,
:15:38
and ask her to smack me again,
even harder.
:15:42
Then she became beautiful.
:15:44
How pretty she is in her skirt
made out of a sack
:15:48
and the blouse she stole
from her sister.
:15:51
I wanted to get up and beg
her forgiveness.
:15:53
I wanted to say,
"Mom, how pretty you are today.
:15:58
You look like
one of those women
:15:59
that you can only see
on Christmas cards,"
:16:02
but I said nothing because
of the the knot in my throat.
:16:09
That was very nice.
What's your name?
:16:12
Reinaldo Arenas.
:16:13
Who wrote this?
:16:15
I did, it's my own--
from my novel.
:16:17
What do you call this novel?
:16:19
"Singing from the Well."
:16:21
Are you a student?
:16:22
Yes, I'm an agricultural
accountant.
:16:31
Tell me, do you think
you'd feel at home
:16:33
working in the national library?
:16:35
The pay won't be very much.
:16:37
But I can promise you
that you'll have all the books
:16:39
you could ever hope to read.
:16:41
I would like that
very much.
:16:43
Thank you very much.
:16:48
Thank you.