γένεσις tríptico
A retelling of the Genesis story in three languages.
El Origen
Se despertó en posición fetal, desnudo y sin recuerdo. Sintió el suelo húmedo en el que reposaba y le agradó el olor a vida. Se levantó torpemente, como si nunca hubiera caminado. Miró a su alrededor y se deleitó en los colores de los árboles frutales, arbustos rastreros y verduras de caprichosas formas que llenaban su entorno. A lo lejos oía un zumbido suave y constante. Tuvo sueño y durmió. Cuando se despertó encontró acurrucada a su lado a una mujer, igual de desmemoriada y desvestida que él. Dedicaron los días enteros a recorrer el huerto hermético en el que se encontraban, aprendiendo a balbucear sonidos que primero se convirtieron en el nombre de las cosas y poco después fueron idioma.
En cierta ocasión encontraron en el suelo dos idénticas prendas de ropa y su correspondiente calzado. Se dieron cuenta así que estaban desnudos, lo cual les causó algo de bochorno. Se vistieron.
Habiendo descubierto los preceptos básicos del recato, estaban listos para explorar el sacrificio: en el suelo se formó súbitamente una cavidad circular que revelaba otro suelo. Bajaron por una escalera, ella primero, y se encontraron en una planicie interminable, de pastos casi tan altos como ellos y esporádicos árboles de copas con retoños. Al mirar hacia arriba contemplaron el interior de una enorme bóveda celeste, tan distante como jamás pudieron haber concebido posible. Sintieron el soplar de un aire hasta entonces para ellos desconocido.
Vieron también que hasta ese momento habían vivido en el interior de una enorme esmeralda flotante que sin explicación se elevó hasta perderse en las regiones celestiales. Imperó una quietud absoluta. Ninguno de los dos se atrevió a hablar. Sin saber bien por qué, se tomaron de la mano y comenzaron a caminar anhelando hallar compañía.
Ya a miles de kilómetros de distancia, el ser inescrutable que piloteaba la esmeralda estiró la mano y tecleó las coordinadas de otro mundo semejante al que acababa de visitar. Después presionó su dedo pulgar contra un diminuto cilindro que le extrajo una pizca de sangre. Algún tiempo después, en la parte inferior de la esmeralda, despertaba en posición fetal, desnudo y sin recuerdo, otro hombre.
Origin
He awoke in a fetal position, naked, void of memories. He felt the wet soil on which he rested and was pleased to smell life. He stood awkwardly, as if he had never walked before. Looking around, he found enjoyment in the colors of the fruit trees, the low-lying shrubs, and the oddly shaped vegetables that filled his surroundings. In the distance he heard a soft, steady buzzing. He felt the pull of slumber and fell asleep. When he woke up, he saw next to him a cuddled woman, just as void of memories and clothing as he was. They spent entire days exploring the hermetic garden in which they found themselves. As they did, they learned to babble sounds that became the names of things and promptly developed into a language.
A certain time they came across two identical pieces of clothing, with their corresponding footwear, on the ground. That was when they realized they were naked, which embarrassed them somewhat. They got dressed.
Having discovered the basic principles of modesty, they were ready to explore sacrifice: on the ground below them there suddenly appeared a round hole. This aperture opened the view to another ground further below. They climbed down a ladder—she went first—and found themselves on an endless plain, covered by grasses that were nearly as tall as them. Here and there they could see the occasional sprouting trees. As they raised their sights, they saw above them the inside of a large blue dome. It was more distant than they could have ever imagined. An as-yet-to-them unknown breeze began blowing.
They also saw that up to that point they had been living inside a large, floating emerald. Without explanation, it began moving up and up until it vanished in the heavenly regions. Absolute silence reigned. Neither dared speak. Unsure as to why, they clasped each other by the hand and began walking in hopes of finding company.
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, the inscrutable being who piloted the emerald stretched his hand and keyed in the coordinates to a world that was like the one he had just visited. Then he pressed his thumb against a tiny cylinder that extracted a pinch of blood. Some time later at the bottom of the emerald, in a fetal position, naked, and void of memories, another man awoke.
About the Author
Gabriel González Núñez is an Associate Professor of Translation at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is the author of ten children’s books (Penguin Random House Uruguay 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022), a short story collection titled Rumbos (Jade Publishing 2021), a poetry collection titled Ese golpe de luz (FlowerSong Press 2020), and a bilingual chapbook titled El ciclo / The Cycle (Center for Latter-day Saint Arts 2020). He is the translator of poet Javier Fuentes Vargas’ Vaho / Mist (FlowerSong Press 2021) into English. González Núñez was born in Montevideo, Uruguay.