He walked heavily down the road in the quiet of the early afterno
naron tuvis
the town. He was laughing
and holding a co
6 Here he com
whispered so we
watched him 20
plump middle-age
of snow. When he
walked heavily down the road in the quiet of the
afternoon. In the blazing sun he roamed
w twisting streets of the town. He was laul
Iding a conversation with an invisible person
he comes! Here he comes!' we children
so we wouldn't wake the adults from their
fternoon nap. Through half on
10. Through half open shutters we
him go by, shuddering with excitement and
fear.
The object of our curiosity wa
of our curiosity was Nieves, a mysterious
middle-aged man. His skin was rough and
his eyes were like pieces of coal in pools
w. When he spoke, his white teeth gleamed
through fleshy red lips.
in most places, there was in our town a
llection of funny characters: the cheerful chubby
man who was nearly bald and drove an imaginary
down the street; the eccentric old ballet teacher
the danced in her garden in long bright flowing
resses; and the strange twins, pale and skinny, in
heir white dresses. They stood stiffly on their
mndah and watched us other kids play through their
sad dark eyes.
But Nieves was different: he was new to our town.
of None of us knew where he had come from or where
exactly he lived now. And he was clearly mad!
He must be from another planet,' my cousin
suggested breathlessly.
15
As in mo
Don't be silly! There are no people on other
30 planets. I think his boat was shipwrecked and he
managed to swim to the beach. All his family died and
he's gone mad from the pain
One evening, as I walked home from running an
errand, I heard heavy steps behind me. Gathering all
35 my courage, I looked round to see Nieves a short
distance away, smiling his big white smile. I ran home
as fast as I could, occasionally turning to see if he was
still there. He followed me all the way home but I
managed to get in just before he was able to reach
40 me. I slammed the door in his face and wailed as 1
pointed to the door. Alarmed, my mother opened the
door.
This is Mr Luna,' she said. "He's going to work with
your father at the boatyard. Please excuse my
45 daughter's behaviour,' she added turning to him. She
has a vivid imagination.
Nieves Luna soon became part of the family. At first,
people criticised my parents for taking him into our
home. The man is obviously a lunatic,' said the nosy
50 woman next door. 'It'll come to no good. I wouldn't
let my children spend so much time with a mad
stranger.' But Nieves was a kind friendly man who was
very fond of children. He never lost the habit of
talking to imaginary listeners but in time he was
55 accepted by the people in our town.

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