Tanit y Lupe, dos jóvenes de orígenes muy distintos, descubren el poder liberador del grito y convierten su amistad en el germen de una inesperada revuelta. Una historia sobre la rebeldía, la esperanza y la necesidad de recuperar la propia voz en un mundo dominado por el ruido y la resignación.
En Zenda reproducimos las primeras páginas de Gritadero (Random House), de Gabi Martínez.
***
PROLOGUE
—The summary cannot be just screams. Someone will have to tell the story, how we got there —said the editor. He wants to convince me. It will soon be two o’clock and I still do not know what I am going to eat.
—Your friends have changed the world.
—Don’t be ridiculous.
Since the virus, the old grandiosity doesn’t serve anymore, those outdated phrases, but there are still people who keep turning to them, like automatons, out of habit.
—I mean… they have changed… the way people relate… to one another.
It is the third time he has come to see me, the first time I see him sweat. The previous times he said that taking refuge in the countryside was a cliché, why hadn’t I stayed in the city. I could have moved to another neighborhood, simply. Or moved to Valencia or Madrid. But the countryside?
—My friends? —I reply.
—Well, whatever they are to you.
I think I have rice left. And mushrooms, spinach, maybe some onion.
—You know that if I talk…
Fernando clicks his tongue, places his hands on the back of the wicker chair across the table and leans slightly forward.
—The book will protect you.
Conjugates the verb in the future, as if he had accepted his offer. I do not want protection, and not from a book. What kind of protection is that? But there is something I would like to express. He knows it. At the same time, revisiting that story could pulverize the life I have been rearranging. The body has recovered its method, its rhythms, and at this hour it asks me to eat.
I stand up, dragging the chair. Fernando lets go of the back, steps back half a pace. I already told him I do not know how to write. He assures that there will be a team of editors to adjust whatever is needed without deviating from what I want to tell.
—This is about seduction, and that is what we are here for.
He also knows that no one can take my photos, that my name must remain hidden.
—It does not matter, what matters is the story. Also, who remembers your name? Your real name. And so far no one has seen your face.
—They know who I am.
—Them, them, them.
—And the others.
—Are the others the ones whose whereabouts or identities no one knows at the moment?
—And my friends. The people of the neighborhood. The boy.
—When the book is published you won’t be here anymore, right? The money will help you get out. Besides, many of your neighbors will see you as a hero.
—I can’t… betray them.
—Are you serious?
I rub my left arm.
—Why would people believe my version? Why would they trust someone who hides?
—Because you hide.
—I could tell anything.
Fernando runs a hand across his face.
—There are things that only someone who was inside can tell.
Besides, we won’t leave you alone. You will write with company. The jewel of his publishing house is a collection of thrillers, and that has affected the way he talks.
—What does “accompanied” mean?
—We have found Lupe’s diary.
Paladea mi desconcierto.
—Publish the diary. Why do you want me?
—Her version isn’t enough; you can give meaning to it all.
And it would be a way to bring you back together. I know he isn’t fooling around. He has just launched a big lure. He says my story will gain all its credibility from the title: G.
—Who other than G would title it like that? —G says.
I walk toward the lobby. Fernando follows me to the door. I unlatch the two bolts, I open.
—If you need…
—Let me think about it. He nods in assent, raises his hand, and leaves. I close carefully.
[…]
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Author: Gabi Martínez. Title: Gritadero. Publisher: Random House. Sales: All of your books.
© Elena Blanco