THE PRETTIEST ONE

by Lina Vergara Huilcamán

illustration by Gioia Marchegiani

illustration by Gioia Marchegiani

She smiles.
She twirls, agile.
She has always been the prettiest
of the sisters.
The long-legged one
with fetching dimples at the sides of her mouth.
The most intelligent
and cultivated one.
So beautiful that she could make any man fall in love with her,
even those who belonged to other women.
She smiles,
forgetful of the years that have gone by.
But not for her,
who will never grow old,
who is still attractive
and seducing.
With the same candour
and sweetness
she had when she was thirteen
and he watched her dance
and smiled
with her.
She has always been the prettiest one
of the sisters.
The long-legged one
with fetching dimples at the sides of her mouth.  
The most intelligent
and cultivated one.
So beautiful that she could make any man fall in love with her,
even him,
always him,
that invited her to enter
that distant room
and closed the door behind him.
That room
that she can’t remember.
She smiles, happily.