-Daddy, what is a Bícharo?
The child asked the father who told the strangest stories of the beings who populated the earth, from the beginning of the centuries, like any event that occurs daily.
- A Bícharo," he answered",is a rare animal or species that is born every few millennia to give new life. It is not known where it comes from or what the process of its formation has been. We know how it reproduces and we know it from the stories that our parents passed on to us from generation to generation. It is a species that seems to come from a different world than ours, as it resembles the sea dancing in the air.
- Come on, said the mother, Don't fool the kid with those
stories. You look like a madman, making up nonsense.
- Mommy, mommy," the boy interrupted. Let my father
talk about the bichos, let's see if...
- Bullshit, that's all. Replied the mother.
And without waiting for any answer, she left the room to enjoy the night that let the fireflies see, while the deafening noise of the cicadas lulled them.
The man caressed the child's hair, and could feel his heart beating, eager to know that story.
*******
A shapeless animal with a trunk similar to the wings dancing in the midst of the winds, and which is held up by four flattened hooves like those of wild ducks, which has been roaming the countryside for days, and which has caused astonishment to all those who have seen it since they imagine that it has escaped from the caves of the underworld to come and devastate humanity. As he passes by, he is revered for the fears left by his presence. His enormous legs suck the moisture from the vegetation. The beings he meets on his way, and the objects he passes through on his journey, are left with a breath that worries us all. It wanders through all the prairies, and with the passing of the days it has increased its size. It is a floating sea that moves more slowly every day. In the center of each one of its wings rests what seems to be an eye that looks at us from all cardinal points. Someone suggested that it must come from a world located in the fourth dimension, because nothing is hidden from its surroundings. Those eyes floating on the crystal water mattresses that glow in colors ranging from light tones to yellow and translucent, delight us at night. Fear has given way to admiration. We have noticed that all the things barred by the Bícharo, as we call it now, expel a pleasant smell. The vegetation that remains dehydrated on its journey, on absorbing the humidity again, remains fresh, and it seems that it will never wither again. And in that floating sea, beautiful winged fish have appeared that have left their natural habitat, and transpire the humidity of the winds. From the beginning of the nights until dawn you can see them fluttering in the sky. When confused with the clouds, they look like Christmas nights when the gunpowder transforms the environments into rays of multicolored lights that sprout moved by the hands of men.
******
To dissect a Bícharo you have to do it mentally by remembering its body report, and taking notes in a notebook. Then proceed to draw it on a blank sheet of paper, and with a pair of scissors dismember the body, and try to take out first the trunk in the shape of wings so that the crystalline water does not fall on your work table. Proceed with care. Analyze the chemical sample of the liquid that you absorb through your legs, taking into account that they are four flattened hooves very similar to those of wild ducks. Do not get confused. Find out why their crystallinity reflects the sun's rays, or the fire of the winged fish. Separate the eyes that float in each one of the centers of their wings that like immovable embers seem to decipher the secrets of the humans. Surely other millennia will pass so that this pair of eyes may become a pair of eggs, which with the heat of the depths of the Earth, may give birth to other Bichars. In this way you will be able to hear the birds singing, and caress all the energy of nature, and then you will value the life of the other beings that accompany us, just as you will know that the Bícharo was with us. There is no doubt that the dissection must be done with care, because its beauty lies in all its legacy, which forces us to talk about a new concept of life. Don't forget that anywhere on earth there are a couple of these that presumably, after centuries, will be transformed into other floating seas that will end up in multicolored dew. They will be living seas that will move in our universe.
******
At last we was certain that the largest and most frequent fruits were the product of the veil of the shapeless being that grew in a few years and was extinguished in a beautiful rain that refreshed the earth. The golden flying fish served as sources of joy for all of us who survived the history of the Bícharo, so much so that we cannot forget how the animals also celebrated within the fluffy environment of their wings, as if they were frolicking in Eden. When his cloak covered us, we could hear the sounds of space where it seemed that beings from other worlds were informing us of their existence.