Owner of a Lonely Heart / Ednodio Quintero

Owner of a Lonely Heart
—a song by Yes—

They jumped me on the corner, and before I could react they were already taking me away, almost dragging me by the armpits. The attackers were two strong individuals, armed to the teeth, dark sunglasses, keepers of the law. We climbed the steps to the Palace of Justice, an iron mass of concrete and mirrored windows, ninety stories high, the tallest building in the city. I knew there wouldn’t be a trial nor any right to defense: they’d execute me with a shot to the head, in an airless room. A clamoring multitude was waiting in the reception room, they were celebrating a carnavalesque ritual and fighting over the belongings of a beggar who thought he was a king. I took a chance during a moment of confusion and escaped. I got into an express elevator that was heading to the top floor, ninety seconds is all it took. I ran towards the terrace, from where I could see the cursed city from a steep height. I was the owner of a lonely, frozen heart, my heart. I took a running start and threw myself into the void, heading south. I’ve always dreamed I was a falcon.




{ Ednodio Quintero, Combates, Barcelona: Editorial Candaya, 2009 }