A series of bad decisions
"Why don't we go home and buy a case of beer and a bottle of anise?" -She proposed and everyone agreed, except Karina, Indira and I, who decided to go home for lunch and then meet up with them in the evening.
The meeting point was Maria G.'s house, which was a dorm where only girls lived and was always used for impromptu parties, weekend get-togethers and even to watch movies with friends. Maria G.'s family lived in another city and she had come to Cumana to study.
I arrived with Karina and immediately Sanchez came and offered us a drink of rum. I didn't want to because at that time I didn't like to drink, but Karina accepted and drank the drink in one sip:
"The beers were finished and it's already the third bottle I've gone out to buy". -Sanchez said overexcited, with red eyes and a lost look: it was obvious that the alcohol was having an effect on him.
I am not going to dance with Sanchez because he is too drunk, I told him and went to dance with Ray who at that moment asked me to dance.
Sanchez was not sad, he looked relaxed, you could say happy, but maybe it was a product of the amount of alcohol he had in his body. He was the one who handed out the drinks and who had the bottle. The drinks were served in a small plastic cup that passed from hand to hand and was filled, again and again, by Sanchez. Personally, I didn't like Sanchez very much. He was a sloppy kid, from the student center, had a motorcycle and was very vain:
"No woman can resist me",_ he assured me once when he tried to kiss me and I turned him down. After that, although he became the boyfriend of a classmate, I always kept my distance from him and at the party was no exception: when I saw Sanchez coming towards me, staggering, with the bottle, I would go somewhere else.
"I think there is a can of tuna and a package of flour" -Maria G. hesitated and then told me- "Look in the kitchen".
Indeed, there was the can of tuna, the flour and some other things:
"I'm going to make some arepas with tuna" -I said to Maria G. who signaled with her finger that she agreed.
That's what I was doing, when Karina came in and told me that Sanchez and Ray had gone out on the motorcycle to buy another bottle. Then Karina started to help me in the kitchen.
"The boys had an accident",_ came Maria G crying into the kitchen, very pale and screaming like crazy.
Karina and I stopped what we were doing and went out to find out what was going on, and sure enough: the boys had had an accident on their motorcycle. Right then and there we agreed and one group went to the hospital and the other stayed at Maria G.'s house. About an hour later, they called and informed us that Sanchez had died and Ray was injured. Nobody could believe it, we all thought it was a macabre nightmare. At one point, when I went into the kitchen and saw the arepas and the tuna salad on the table, with flies all around, I thought that maybe it would have been different if they had eaten, if they had not drunk too much, if they had not gone out to buy another bottle, but “what if” does not exist and surely in the book of Sanchez's life, on the last page, that sad ending was written.
All images are free of charge and the text is my own, translated in Deepl
Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends
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Una serie de malas decisiones
Habíamos llegado al punto de encuentro como a las 6 de la tarde y ya la mayoría de los amigos estaban allí. Habían comenzado a beber desde el mediodía. Habíamos salido de clases y María G. había propuesto:
_¿Por qué no nos vamos a la casa y compramos una caja de cerveza y una botella de anís? -propuso y todos estuvieron de acuerdo, menos Karina, Indira y yo que decidimos ir a nuestras casas a almorzar y luego reunirnos, en la noche, con ellos.
El punto de encuentro era la casa de María G., la cual era una residencia estudiantil donde solo vivían chicas y siempre servía para las fiestas improvisadas, para las reuniones de fin de semana y hasta para ver películas entre amigos. La familia de María G vivía en otra ciudad y ella había llegado a Cumaná a estudiar.
Yo llegué con Karina e inmediatamente vino Sánchez y nos ofreció un trago de ron. Yo no quise porque en esa época no me gustaba beber, pero Karina si lo aceptó y se tomó el trago en un solo sorbo:
_Las cervezas se terminaron y ya es la tercera botella que salgo a comprar. -expresó Sánchez sobre exaltado, con los ojos rojos y la mirada perdida: se notaba que el alcohol le estaba haciendo efecto.
La mayoría de las muchachas estaban con sus parejas, menos Karina, Gabriela y yo, porque en esa época no teníamos novio. Yo me puse cerca del equipo de música y busqué un Cd de música más bailable y lo introduje. Cuando la música comenzó a sonar, varias parejas se fueron a la sala y comenzaron a bailar. En eso Víctor se puso a mi lado y me dijo que sacara a bailar a Sánchez, ya que estaba triste porque la novia y él habían terminado:
_No voy a bailar con Sánchez porque está muy borracho -le dije y me fui a bailar con Ray que en ese momento me sacó a bailar.
Sánchez no estaba triste, se veía relajado, se podría decir que alegre, pero tal vez era producto de la cantidad de alcohol que tenía en el cuerpo. Era él quien repartía los tragos y quién tenía la botella. Los tragos se servían en un pequeño vaso de plástico que pasaba de mano en mano y era llenado, una y otra vez, por Sánchez. En lo personal, Sánchez no me agradaba mucho. Era un muchacho descuidado, del centro de estudiantes, tenía una moto y era muy vanidoso:
_Ninguna mujer se me resiste -me aseguró una vez cuando intentó besarme y yo lo rechacé. Luego de aquello, aunque se hizo novio de una compañera de clases, mantuve distancia de él siempre y en la fiesta no fue la excepción: cuando veía que Sánchez se dirigía a mí, tambaleante, con la botella, yo me iba a otro lado.
En un momento, me di cuenta que casi todos estaban borrachos: hablaban muy alto entre ellos, de nuestros profesores, del semestre y de la vida. La música seguía sonando, pero ya nadie estaba en la pista: algunos estaban hablando, otros estaban casi dormidos. Así que le pregunté a María G. si había algo para hacer comida:
_Creo que hay una lata de atún y un paquete de harina -Maria G. dudó y luego me dijo- Busca en la cocina.
Efectivamente, estaba la lata de atún, la harina y otras cosas más:
_Voy a hacer unas arepas con atún -le dije a María G. que hizo la señal con el dedo de que estaba de acuerdo.
En eso estaba, cuando Karina entró y me dijo que Sánchez y Ray habían salido en la moto a comprar otra botella. Después Karina comenzó a ayudarme en la cocina. >Estábamos hablando amenamente cuando escuchamos la algarabía, el escándalo:
_Los muchachos tuvieron un accidente –entró María G llorando a la cocina, muy pálida y gritando como una loca.
Karina y yo salimos consternas para enterarnos de lo que estaba pasando y efectivamente: habían tenido un accidente en la moto. Ahí mismito se pusieron de acuerdo y un grupo se fue al hospital y otro se quedó en la casa de María G. Como a la hora, llamaron y nos informaron que Sánchez había muerto y que Ray estaba herido. Nadie podía creerlo, todos creíamos que era una pesadilla. En un momento, que yo me metí a la cocina y vi las arepas y la ensalada de atún sobre la mesa, con moscas alrededor, pensé que tal vez hubiese sido diferente si hubiesen comido, si no hubiesen bebido mucho, si no hubiesen salido a comprar otra botella, pero el “que hubiera” no existe y seguramente en el libro de la vida de Sánchez, en la última página, estaba escrito aquel triste final.
Very happy and grateful for your appreciation, friends. Happy Three Kings Day. Greetings
What a nightmare that was. So many people are injured and killed over the years with drink driving.
I am so happy you are okay Nancy. Big hugs to you and Happy Three Kings Day 🤗💙
Sanchez was certainly not my friend, but his death was devastating for everyone. Maria G still remembers that event every year, when someone says to go out and buy more liquor."If it's over, it's over, nobody goes out to buy more", she always says. I send you a hug too, my friend. I hope the Kings bring you good things. ;)
So sad, a moment of draw back would have prevented a lot, but then again, no medicine after death
That is so unfortunate. It most had been devastating to witness someone die like that
Excessive taking of alcohol can always pose a problem. One needs to be careful with alcohol because, it may appear to be good but end up as a disaster.
Such a sad and shocking experience you went through. I'm so sorry about that. I hope you are okay.
If Sánchez had not gone today to buy alcoholic beverages on the motorcycle he would not be dead
What a strong story. It's amazing how doing things without thinking about the consequences can forever change the destiny of many more people than we realize
Drink driving has claimed the lives of many people over the years. This reminded me of a classmate who lost his life in a similar manner. Once the last page is opened circumstances that favours one's death suffices. Sanchez last page of his existence was opened that day.