El Taller de Bicicletas
(The Bicycle Workshop)
Cuando Rocio Valverde recibio la noticia de que su tio Esteban le habia dejado en herencia el taller de bicicletas, su primera reacción fue de incredulidad.
When Rocio Valverde received the news that her uncle Esteban had left her the bicycle workshop in his will, her first reaction was one of disbelief.
Ella, que vivia en Madrid y trabajaba como abogada en un despacho donde las horas se median por facturaciones, no habia pisado aquel pueblo en mas de diez años.
She, who lived in Madrid and worked as a lawyer in a firm where hours were measured by billings, had not set foot in that village in more than ten years.
Le parecio absurdo que alguien hubiera pensado que ella era la persona adecuada para hacerse cargo de un negocio que olia a grasa y a caucho viejo.
It seemed absurd to her that someone had thought she was the right person to take charge of a business that smelled of grease and old rubber.
Sin embargo, algo la empujo a ir.
However, something pushed her to go.
Quizá fue la curiosidad, o quizá fue la culpa de no haber visitado a Esteban cuando aun estaba vivo.
Perhaps it was curiosity, or perhaps it was the guilt of not having visited Esteban when he was still alive.
El caso es que, un viernes de marzo, Rocio aparco su coche frente a un local estrecho cuya fachada desconchada mostraba un letrero pintado a mano: <<Bicicletas Valverde.
The fact is that, one Friday in March, Rocio parked her car in front of a narrow premises whose peeling facade displayed a hand-painted sign: <<Valverde Bicycles.
Reparaciones y Sueños.>> Aquella segunda palabra, Sueños, la hizo detenerse.
Repairs and Dreams.>> That second word, Dreams, made her stop.
No recordaba que su tio hubiera tenido sentido del humor.
She did not remember her uncle having had a sense of humour.
Dentro, una mujer mayor barria el suelo con movimientos lentos y precisos.
Inside, an older woman was sweeping the floor with slow, precise movements.
Se presento como Amparo, la vecina que habia cuidado de Esteban durante sus ultimos meses. <<Su tio hablaba mucho de usted>>, dijo Amparo, apoyandose en la escoba. <<Decia que usted era la unica de la familia que habia heredado sus manos.
She introduced herself as Amparo, the neighbour who had looked after Esteban during his final months. <<Your uncle talked a lot about you,>> said Amparo, leaning on the broom. <<He used to say that you were the only one in the family who had inherited his hands.
Yo le contestaba que eso era imposible, porque usted era abogada, y el se reia y respondia: las manos no se pierden, Amparo.
I would reply that that was impossible, because you were a lawyer, and he would laugh and answer: hands are not lost, Amparo.
Solo se olvidan.>>
They are only forgotten.>>
Rocio paso aquella tarde recorriendo el taller.
Rocio spent that afternoon walking through the workshop.
Habia herramientas colgadas en las paredes con un orden que parecia obedecer a una logica propia, ruedas de todos los tamanos apiladas en un rincón, y en el centro, sobre un banco de trabajo gastado por decadas de uso, una bicicleta a medio reparar.
There were tools hanging on the walls in an order that seemed to obey its own logic, wheels of every size stacked in a corner, and in the centre, on a workbench worn by decades of use, a half-repaired bicycle.
Era una bicicleta antigua, de las que ya no se fabrican, con el cuadro de acero pintado de un azul desvanecido.
It was an old bicycle, the kind that is no longer manufactured, with the steel frame painted a faded blue.
Junto a ella, una nota escrita con la caligrafia temblorosa de su tio: <<Para Rocio.
Beside it, a note written in her uncle's shaky handwriting: <<For Rocio.
Esta fue la primera que arreglamos juntos.
This was the first one we repaired together.
Ella tampoco lo ha olvidado.>>
She has not forgotten it either.>>
Rocio se sento en el taburete y miro la bicicleta durante un largo rato.
Rocio sat down on the stool and looked at the bicycle for a long while.
Entonces, sin saber muy bien por que, alargo la mano y toco el manillar.
Then, without quite knowing why, she reached out and touched the handlebars.
El metal estaba frio, pero algo en aquel contacto le resulto familiar, como si sus dedos reconocieran una textura que su mente habia descartado hace mucho tiempo.
The metal was cold, but something in that contact felt familiar to her, as if her fingers recognised a texture her mind had discarded long ago.
Cerro los ojos y, por un instante, pudo oir la voz de Esteban guiandola: <<Primero la cadena, Rocio.
She closed her eyes and, for an instant, she could hear Esteban's voice guiding her: <<First the chain, Rocio.
Siempre hay que empezar por la cadena.>>
You always have to start with the chain.>>
Se quedo tres semanas.
She stayed three weeks.
Fueron necesarias para reparar la bicicleta azul, pero también para reparar algo en ella misma que no sabia que estuviera roto.
They were needed to repair the blue bicycle, but also to repair something in herself that she had not known was broken.
Cada mañana, Amparo le traia café y le contaba historias sobre Esteban: como habia ensenado a montar en bicicleta a medio pueblo, como habia dicho, la noche antes de morir, que por fin habia terminado de arreglar todas las bicicletas que le debian.
Every morning, Amparo would bring her coffee and tell her stories about Esteban: how he had taught half the village to ride a bicycle, how he had said, the night before he died, that he had finally finished repairing all the bicycles he was owed.
Todas menos una.
All except one.
El día que termino de montar la ultima pieza, Rocio saco la bicicleta a la calle y pedaleo por el pueblo bajo una luz de atardecer que lo tennia todo de dorado.
The day she finished fitting the last part, Rocio took the bicycle out into the street and pedalled through the village under an evening light that bathed everything in gold.
Al pasar por delante de la iglesia, un grupo de niños la senalo y uno de ellos grito: <<¡Esa es la bicicleta azul del señor Valverde!>> Y Rocio sonrio, porque comprendio que habia cosas que no se heredan a través de papeles ni de notarios, sino a través de las manos, del aceite en los engranajes y del sonido de una cadena que vuelve a girar.
As she passed in front of the church, a group of children pointed at her and one of them shouted: <<That is old Valverde's blue bicycle!>> And Rocio smiled, because she understood that there were things that are not inherited through papers or notaries, but through the hands, through the oil in the gears and the sound of a chain that turns once more.
Key Vocabulary
el taller workshop
la herencia inheritance, legacy
hacerse cargo de to take charge of
la fachada facade, front
el manillar handlebars
la cadena chain
jubilarse to retire
los engranajes gears, cogs
desvanecido faded, faint
arreglar to repair, to fix