Karma

Teresa and Gloria were talking calmly in the old bar when Teresa’s husband walked in. Gloria Panicked because her boyfriend and Teresa’s lover had gone out to buy some cigarettes and should be arriving any minute, her panic grew as she watched her friend’s calmness.
Carlos was white, he didn’t even ask his wife what was she doing there, he entered the bar because he needed a drink, as simple as that, when he saw his wife he just sat at her table.
Deep down it seemed that if there was something wrong it was between Carlos and Gloria, the two of them were clearly terrified, whereas Teresa seemed like a mere bystander with nothing in common with those two. Teresa merely asked Carlos why was he there, to which she got no reply.
What should he do? Would he tell his wife? How?
Gloria thought she was going crazy, those two had just gone to the service area, on motorbike, surely they would be arriving and Carlos, even dumb as he was, soon would figure out what was going on.
Meanwhile Teresa was trying to find the reason for her husband to enter THAT bar that very night, to no avail. That he didn’t go in there after her was obvious, she didn’t marry him by chance, his dumbness was perfectly reliable, even before the wedding Teresa knew she could easily cheat on him, and she did so, from the very first day.
Carlos finally said he had been mugged, a reasonable lie to justify his frantic state, he thought. He could hardly think of a better excuse, not even remembering he asked for a whisky as soon as he got there and paid for it immediately.
Did anybody see it? Fortunately his jeep had no marks, he just hit the damned motorbike’s tire with his bumper. He fled without even stopping his car, didn’t even knew if those two were alive. Though it was almost certain, nobody could survive such a crash!
Not even after being arrested did Carlos come to know that ironically he had killed his wife’s lover…


This is one of the short stories I wrote many years ago.
Somehow one of my friends read it and realized it was inspired by Teresa's marriage, he then told her about the story and she hates me to this day...
If you want to read the original Portuguese version click here.


Teresa e Glória conversavam calmamente no velho bar quando entrou o marido de Teresa. Glória entrou em pânico pois o seu namorado e o amante de Teresa tinham ido comprar tabaco e deviam estar a chegar, o seu pânico aumentava ao ver a calma da sua companheira.
Carlos estava branco, nem perguntou à mulher o que é que ela estava ali a fazer, tinha entrado naquele bar porque precisava de uma bebida, só isso, ao ver a mulher limitou-se a sentar-se na mesa dela.
No fundo, parecia que se algo se passava seria entre Carlos e Glória, pois eles estavam nitidamente aterrorizados, ao passo que Teresa parecia apenas uma observadora que nada tinha em comum com qualquer dos dois. Teresa limitou-se a perguntar a Carlos o que é que fazia ali, ao que ele não respondeu.
Que faria? Contava à mulher o que se tinha passado? Como?
Glória pensava que ia enlouquecer, aqueles dois tinham ido à bomba de gasolina, de mota, por certo deviam estar a chegar e Carlos, por muito burro que fosse, depressa ia perceber o que se estava a passar.
Entretanto, Teresa tentava em vão descobrir o que tinha levado o marido a entrar naquele bar e logo nessa noite. Que ele não tinha ido ali atrás dela era óbvio, ela não casara com ele por acaso, a burrice dele era perfeitamente fiável pelo que, mesmo antes de casarem, Teresa sabia que o poderia trair sempre que quisesse, o que aliás aconteceu desde o primeiro dia.
Carlos acabou por dizer que fora assaltado, o que lhe parecia uma mentira razoável para justificar o estado em que se encontrava. Mal conseguia pensar numa desculpa melhor, nem se lembrou que assim que chegou pedira um whisky e que o pagara de imediato.
Será que alguém tinha visto? Felizmente o jipe não tinha marcas, apenas tocara com o para-choques na roda da maldita mota. Fugira sem sequer parar o carro, nem mesmo sabia se os dois tipos estavam vivos. Era quase certo, ninguém poderia sobreviver a uma queda daquelas!
Nem depois de ser preso Carlos chegou a saber que, por ironia, matara o amante da mulher...