El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-02-22
BIELO
(By AIfons Maseras.)

66T OOK. look, Maria Rosa how
beautiful the white sea gul1s
look on the dark blue waves.
How transparent the air IS and how
clear the day"
In spite of the unaccustomed enthu-
siasm vibrating in these words, Maria
Rosa did not reply.
The sea was glittering like a silver
buckle under the caresses of the sun.
1t was midday and the sky, overheated
by the condensation of light, seemed
like a crystal dome on the point Of
breaking. Everything seemed motion
less, enchanted by the light and SPLEEN
dor. Above the piazza, resting on the
latticed beams slept the velTety
branches of the grapevine like gigantic
green and brown spiders and from the
distance came the balmy fragrance of
pines borne across the country Dy i'm
perceptible breeZes.
The young couple seemed to share
the immobility of all nature as they
rested their elbows on the edge Of the
piazza under the shady roof. Maria
PA sa seemed fascinated by the calm
immensely CT the blue sky and sea, so
full of life and mystery, while Jean
Baptiste idly gazed az the streaks Of
sunlight filTering through the Iea<y
rCGf The sound of a nearby bell
She turned her eyes toward another
part Of the horizon, toward the plains
dotted with green woods and the fan
tastic outlines of the mountains in the
distance, and stood lost in vague mem
cries Slowly as a cloud passing be-
fore the sun throws its shadow on the
earth, Maria Rosa's thoughts portrayed
on her beautiful features an expression
OF unknown tLa2r. Jean looked at
-sr,cr
side he took her hands and asked:
What is it, dear?''
But she closed her eyes. tried to
smile, and whispered: Nothing"
It was in. the miserable village that
lay before them that Maria Rosa hal
spent the first years of her youth.
What fate had led her there? And what
fate had again carried her off to the
gay city, when she was at the height
of her beauty? Ten years had passed
and everything seemed transformed.
She found the village small, the houses
ugly, the roads narrow and the trees
dwarfed. The sun alone seemed more
ardent than ever, and nature more
insolent Yet a desire to run
through the fields climb the dis
tant mountains. descend to the
beach and plunge into the waves
as she had done Wnon she was II years
old arose within her. jean Baptiste's
presence put an end to this desire and
she drew a deep sigh for the perfect
freedom she had enjoyed then.
OF her playmates at that time, she
could not recognize a single one. And
yet there was Bielo, of whom she could
never think without b1ushing without
confusion, as If by indulging in this
memory she was unfaithful to her
husband+surely she would know him
again by his green eyes and the scar
on his forehead--a mark of her child
ish passion.
None of the children of the village
had liked Bielo. the taciturn. The girls
near him. One day when she was
wildly romping through the streets,
Maria. Rosa threw a stone at him. When
the others saw that Bielo was wounded,
they all ran away, but Maria Rosa went
up TO her victim and begged his par
don so sweetly and gently that the
two children became great friends from
that day and spent nearly all their
hours of leisure together.
Once as they stood on the bank of
a roaring mountain torrent, Maria
Rosa had softly passed her hand across
the scar on the young mans forehead.
and with the blood hammering through
his veins an irresistible impulse made
him return the caress with a fervent
kiss.
Maria Rosa remembered that kiss
and was afraid whenever she thought