Riding Disaster

It hasn't been long when a ring of jumping clouds loom over the horizon, they look like the rubble of ash threatening rain. Today I have a night shift at the hospital, so, for now, I will not have to suffer the ravages of the downpour, which seems to start its usual course, drenching the windows and facades with its broken tears.

Ivan has gotten up from his nap with his face contorted and his brow furrowed, it seems as if something unpleasant had disturbed his sleep.

Hector doesn't want to have a snack and he's claiming me with his tears. He has recently begun to take his first steps, while his brother, Iván, who looks at him suspiciously, demands his attention by throwing the nibbled sandwich on the ground.

I look out the window at the swimming pool of the urbanization, its abandonment has ended up painting it green. Around her float all kinds of waste, plastic bags; floaters discolored and bruised from inattention; loungers full of filth; the grass sprouting even in the most unexpected corners.

- Mom, have you seen the frogs? - Ivan asks me with wide and bright eyes.

 - Yes, they are there floating in that greenish water ... Yuck! - I answer, contracting my face while my stomach turns.

 - Mom, can we go see them? - She interrogates me again pulling my dress to get her attention.

 - No, we are not going down! It's disgusting! - I replied raising the tone of my voice and raising my eyebrows.

 - But mom, the "lady" has sent us to draw the pool of our house. Do you want me to be punished if I don't do my homework?

 - You will not have made it up, like taking you to the Botanical Garden! This time you will have to prove it to me. I have spoken with your "master" and he has promised that he will write down each task in your notebook. Bring it to me right now!

 - Here it is!

 - Well, but it will have to be when the sky clears. For now, we will not go down so you do not catch a cold. Today is not a good day, Ivan. Also, don't worry because I have a book with pictures of frogs that you can draw.

 - Mom, it's not the same! I want to paint the frogs in the pool! - My son exclaimed protesting with his little feet, kicking the table in the living room outlining a plaid. Something that Hector instantly imitated.

 - Now it is OK! As long as you keep crying, you won't see the cartoons! - I concluded frowning and raising my eyebrows.

In an astonishing way, the storm begins to subside, the drops that drummed on the windows slowly shrink until they become tiny droplets. After a while, the presence of twilight bathes the roofs of the buildings with its pink and purple tulles, descending between the lonely streets.

Iván remains calm painting the frogs with green and yellow paints, the same ones from the Nature book that he kept on the shelf, while Héctor has a fruit smoothie with milk.

The sound of the key in the lock sounds. It's my husband, who just got back from work. Children swarm around him to receive the customary pampering. He picks them up in his arms giving them kisses and tickling them.

- Gabri, honey, stay with them, I'm just on time to go to work. Today I am on duty at the hospital.

 - Wait, where did you put the spoons? This morning at breakfast I had to stir the coffee with the dessert fork.

 - Oh yeah! I have bought new ones, I have not had time to place them. They're in the paper bag by the kitchen window, you know. I'm leaving, I'm late!

 - Kids, it's bath time, then dinner and bedtime!

My eyes begin to weigh on me as I take the elevator down to the garage. My night shift will not allow me to return home until 8 in the morning. Traffic late at night still crashes on some ring roads, so I try to drive slowly and check my rearview mirror every time I change lanes.

I have only a few meters left to detour to the exit that leads directly to the hospital when a truck with a yellow triangle and a flammable material symbol crosses the median colliding with my vehicle. Only a few seconds before I am aware of the disaster and instinctively press with my fingers, thumb, and heart of the left hand the wedding ring on the ring finger of the other hand. Then, I close my eyes stammering: “Hector, Ivan, forgive me! I couldn't help it! "