Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Gabriel García Marquez. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: These monologues were written for an English assignment exploring how García Marquez used point of view to obscure information in A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings. I liked how they turned out, so I thought I would share them ) Feedback is always welcome; also, if anyone knows of any other fanfic based on works by García Marquez, I'd be really interested. Thanks!
1. The old man is an angel.
When I first arrived, I thought I had been sent to save the child. He was ill, but all it took was the prayer of an angel to bring him back to health. Later, I wondered if I was doing God's will by bringing prosperity to the family. When the child was well and the family was no longer poor, still I believed that God had a purpose for me.
God alone can know what I suffered at the hands of the townspeople. The indignity, the pain, the cruelty to which I was subjected - all will be judged. I am an angel of the Lord; I know the Law.
I tried to be of some help to the ignorant folk, despite their lack of respect. I prayed for health and strength, for prosperity, for flowers to brighten their mood. Still, I felt my efforts went unappreciated. Sometimes I feared that my prayers went unanswered, although that is impossible.
The boy became the only one to pay me any heed. I cannot say he was more respectful than the rest, only that he continued to visit me. I thought that he could be taught the narrow path of virtue. Certainly to save a child from growing up as ignorant as his parents would be a worthy cause for an angel. Eventually, however, he too stopped visiting. He never seemed to understand me anyway.
In his wake, I was left with silence, idleness and a growing revelation. I tried to occupy myself with helping the mother - idle hands are the work of the devil - but she didn't care for my aid. There was no moment of epiphany but by the time the winter rains had ceased, it was clear in my mind. I had no purpose. God had set no path for me to follow.
I left as soon as I was well enough. I had no wish to stay in that hellish village. Throwing myself into the air was the first thing I had ever done for myself.
I was no longer an angel.
