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Lyes of a 8lue uog"

Cabrlel Carcla Mrquez !"#$%&'$"() $%+%,-+.&',/

1hen she looked aL me. l LhoughL LhaL she was looklng aL me for Lhe flrsL Llme. 8uL Lhen, when she
Lurned around behlnd Lhe lamp and l kepL feellng her sllppery and olly look ln back of me, over my
shoulder, l undersLood LhaL lL was l who was looklng aL her for Lhe flrsL Llme. l llL a clgareLLe. l Look a
drag on Lhe harsh, sLrong smoke, before splnnlng ln Lhe chalr, balanclng on one of Lhe rear legs. AfLer
LhaL l saw her Lhere, as lf she'd been sLandlng beslde Lhe lamp looklng aL me every nlghL. lor a few
brlef mlnuLes LhaL's all we dld: look aL each oLher. l looked from Lhe chalr, balanclng on one of Lhe
rear legs. She sLood, wlLh a long and quleL hand on Lhe lamp, looklng aL me. l saw her eyellds llghLed
up as on every nlghL. lL was Lhen LhaL l remembered Lhe usual Lhlng, when l sald Lo her: "Lyes of a
blue dog." WlLhouL Laklng her hand off Lhe lamp she sald Lo me: "1haL. We'll never forgeL LhaL." She
lefL Lhe orblL, slghlng: "Lyes of a blue dog. l've wrlLLen lL everywhere."

l saw her walk over Lo Lhe dresslng Lable. l waLched her appear ln Lhe clrcular glass of Lhe mlrror
looklng aL me now aL Lhe end of a back and forLh of maLhemaLlcal llghL. l waLched her keep on
looklng aL me wlLh her greaL hoL-coal eyes: looklng aL me whlle she opened Lhe llLLle box covered
wlLh plnk moLher of pearl. l saw her powder her nose. When she flnlshed, she closed Lhe box, sLood
up agaln, and walked over Lo Lhe lamp once more, saylng: "l'm afrald LhaL someone ls dreamlng
abouL Lhls room and reveallng my secreLs." And over Lhe flame she held Lhe same long and Lremulous
hand LhaL she had been warmlng before slLLlng down aL Lhe mlrror. And she sald: "?ou don'L feel Lhe
cold." And l sald Lo her: "SomeLlmes." And she sald Lo me: "?ou musL feel lL now." And Lhen l
undersLood why l couldn'L have been alone ln Lhe seaL. lL was Lhe cold LhaL had been glvlng me Lhe
cerLalnLy of my sollLude. "now l feel lL," l sald. "And lL's sLrange because Lhe nlghL ls quleL. Maybe Lhe
sheeL fell off." She dldn'L answer. Agaln she began Lo move Loward Lhe mlrror and l Lurned agaln ln
Lhe chalr, keeplng my back Lo her. WlLhouL seelng her, l knew whaL she was dolng. l knew LhaL she
was slLLlng ln fronL of Lhe mlrror agaln, seelng my back, whlch had had Llme Lo reach Lhe depLhs of
Lhe mlrror and be caughL by her look, whlch had also had [usL enough Llme Lo reach Lhe depLhs and
reLurn--before Lhe hand had Llme Lo sLarL Lhe second Lurn--unLll her llps were anolnLed now wlLh
crlmson, from Lhe flrsL Lurn of her hand ln fronL of Lhe mlrror. l saw, opposlLe me, Lhe smooLh wall,
whlch was llke anoLher bllnd mlrror ln whlch l couldn'L see her-- slLLlng behlnd me--buL could lmaglne
her where she probably was as lf a mlrror had been hung ln place of Lhe wall. "l see you," l Lold her.
And on Lhe wall l saw whaL was as lf she had ralsed her eyes and had seen me wlLh my back Lurned
Loward her from Lhe chalr, ln Lhe depLhs of Lhe mlrror, my face Lurned Loward Lhe wall. 1hen l saw
her lower he eyes agaln and remaln wlLh her eyes always on her brasslere, noL Lalklng. And l sald Lo
her agaln: "l see you." And she ralsed her eyes from her brasslere agaln. "1haL's lmposslble," she sald.
l asked her why. And she, wlLh her eyes quleL and on her brasslere agaln: "8ecause your face ls
Lurned Loward Lhe wall." 1hen l spun Lhe chalr around. l had Lhe clgareLLe clenched ln my mouLh.
When l sLayed faclng Lhe mlrror she was back by Lhe lamp. now she had her hands open over Lhe
flame, llke Lhe Lwo wlngs of a hen, LoasLlng herself, and wlLh her face shaded by her own flngers. "l
Lhlnk l'm golng Lo caLch cold," she sald. "1hls musL be a clLy of lce." She Lurned her face Lo proflle and
her skln, from copper Lo red, suddenly became sad. "uo someLhlng abouL lL," she sald. And she began
Lo geL undressed, lLem by lLem, sLarLlng aL Lhe Lop wlLh Lhe brasslere. l Lold her: "l'm golng Lo Lurn
back Lo Lhe wall." She sald: "no. ln any case, you'll see me Lhe way you dld when your back was
Lurned." And no sooner had she sald lL Lhan she was almosL compleLely undressed, wlLh Lhe flame
llcklng her long copper skln. "l've always wanLed Lo see you llke LhaL, wlLh Lhe skln of your belly full of

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deep plLs, as lf you'd been beaLen." And before l reallzed LhaL my words had become clumsy aL Lhe
slghL of her nakedness she became moLlonless, warmlng herself on Lhe globe of Lhe lamp, and she
sald: "SomeLlmes l Lhlnk l'm made of meLal." She was sllenL for an lnsLanL. 1he poslLlon of her hands
over Lhe flame varled sllghLly. l sald: "SomeLlmes ln oLher dreams, l've LhoughL you were only a llLLle
bronze sLaLue ln Lhe corner of some museum. Maybe LhaL's why you're cold." And she sald:
"SomeLlmes, when l sleep on my hearL, l can feel my body growlng hollow and my skln ls llke plaLe.
1hen, when Lhe blood beaLs lnslde me, lL's as lf someone were calllng by knocklng on my sLomach and
l can feel my own copper sound ln Lhe bed. lL's llke- -whaL do you call lL--lamlnaLed meLal." She drew
closer Lo Lhe lamp. "l would have llked Lo hear you," l sald. And she sald: "lf we flnd each oLher
someLlme, puL your ear Lo my rlbs when l sleep on Lhe lefL slde and you'll hear me echolng. l've
always wanLed you Lo do lL someLlme." l heard her breaLhe heavlly as she Lalked. And she sald LhaL
for years she'd done noLhlng dlfferenL. Per llfe had been dedlcaLed Lo flndlng me ln reallLy, Lhrough
LhaL ldenLlfylng phrase: "Lyes of a blue dog." And she wenL along Lhe sLreeL saylng lL aloud, as a way
of Lelllng Lhe only person who could have undersLood her:

"l'm Lhe one who comes lnLo your dreams every nlghL and Lells you: 'Lyes of a blue dog.'" And she
sald LhaL she wenL lnLo resLauranLs and before orderlng sald Lo Lhe walLers: "Lyes of a blue dog." 8uL
Lhe walLers bowed reverenLly, wlLhouL rememberlng ever havlng sald LhaL ln Lhelr dreams. 1hen she
would wrlLe on Lhe napklns and scraLch on Lhe varnlsh of Lhe Lables wlLh a knlfe: "Lyes of a blue dog."
And on Lhe sLeamed-up wlndows of hoLels, sLaLlons, all publlc bulldlngs, she would wrlLe wlLh her
foreflnger: "Lyes of a blue dog." She sald LhaL once she wenL lnLo a drugsLore and noLlced Lhe same
smell LhaL she had smelled ln her room one nlghL afLer havlng dreamed abouL me. "Pe musL be near,"
she LhoughL, seelng Lhe clean, new Llles of Lhe drugsLore. 1hen she wenL over Lo Lhe clerk and sald Lo
hlm: "l always dream abouL a man who says Lo me: 'Lyes of a blue dog.'" And she sald Lhe clerk had
looked aL her eyes and Lold her: "As a maLLer of facL, mlss, you do have eyes llke LhaL." And she sald
Lo hlm: "l have Lo flnd Lhe man who Lold me Lhose very words ln my dreams." And Lhe clerk sLarLed Lo
laugh and moved Lo Lhe oLher end of Lhe counLer. She kepL on seelng Lhe clean Llle and smelllng Lhe
odor. And she opened her purse and on Lhe Llles wlLh her crlmson llpsLlck, she wroLe ln red leLLers:
"Lyes of a blue dog." 1he clerk came back from where he had been. Pe Lold her: Madam, you have
dlrLled Lhe Llles." Pe gave her a damp cloLh, saylng: "Clean lL up." And she sald, sLlll by Lhe lamp, LhaL
she had spenL Lhe whole afLernoon on all fours, washlng Lhe Llles and saylng: "Lyes of a blue dog,"
unLll people gaLhered aL Lhe door and sald she was crazy.

now, when she flnlshed speaklng, l remalned ln Lhe corner, slLLlng, rocklng ln Lhe chalr. "Lvery day l
Lry Lo remember Lhe phrase wlLh whlch l am Lo flnd you," l sald. "now l don'L Lhlnk l'll forgeL lL
Lomorrow. SLlll, l've always sald Lhe same Lhlng and when l wake up l've always forgoLLen whaL Lhe
words l can flnd you wlLh are." And she sald: "?ou lnvenLed Lhem yourself on Lhe flrsL day." And l sald
Lo her: "l lnvenLed Lhem because l saw your eyes of ash. 8uL l never remember Lhe nexL mornlng."
And she, wlLh clenched flsLs, beslde Lhe lamp, breaLhed deeply: "lf you could aL leasL remember now
whaL clLy l've been wrlLlng lL ln."

Per LlghLened LeeLh gleamed over Lhe flame. "l'd llke Lo Louch you now," l sald. She ralsed Lhe face
LhaL had been looklng aL Lhe llghL, she ralsed her look, burnlng, roasLlng, Loo, [usL llke her, llke her
hands, and l felL LhaL she saw me, ln Lhe corner where l was slLLlng, rocklng ln Lhe chalr. "?ou'd never
Lold me LhaL," she sald. "l Lell you now and lL's Lhe LruLh," l sald. >lrom Lhe oLher slde of Lhe lamp she
asked for a clgareLLe. 1he buLL had dlsappeared beLween my flngers. l'd forgoLLen l was smoklng. She

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sald: "l don'L know why l can'L remember where l wroLe lL." And l sald Lo her: "lor Lhe same reason
LhaL Lomorrow l won'L be able Lo remember Lhe words." And she sald sadly: "no. lL's [usL LhaL
someLlmes l Lhlnk LhaL l've dreamed LhaL Loo." l sLood up and walked Loward Lhe lamp. She was a
llLLle beyond, and l kepL on walklng wlLh Lhe clgareLLes and maLches ln my hand, whlch would noL go
beyond Lhe lamp. l held Lhe clgareLLe ouL Lo her. She squeezed lL beLween her llps and leaned over Lo
reach Lhe flame before l had Llme Lo llghL Lhe maLch. "ln some clLy ln Lhe world, on all Lhe walls, Lhose
words have Lo appear ln wrlLlng: 'Lyes of a blue dog," l sald. "lf l remembered Lhem Lomorrow l could
flnd you." She ralsed her head agaln and now Lhe llghLed coal was beLween her llps. "Lyes of a blue
dog," she slghed, remembered, wlLh Lhe clgareLLe drooplng over her chln and one eye half closed.
1he she sucked ln Lhe smoke wlLh Lhe clgareLLe beLween her flngers and exclalmed: "1hls ls
someLhlng else now. l'm warmlng up." And she sald lL wlLh her volce a llLLle lukewarm and fleeLlng, as
lf she hadn'L really sald lL, buL as lf she had wrlLLen lL on a plece of paper and had broughL Lhe paper
close Lo Lhe flame whlle l read: "l'm warmlng," and she had conLlnued wlLh Lhe paper beLween her
Lhumb and foreflnger, Lurnlng lL around as lL was belng consumed and l had [usL read ". . . up," before
Lhe paper was compleLely consumed and dropped all wrlnkled Lo Lhe floor, dlmlnlshed, converLed
lnLo llghL ash dusL. "1haL's beLLer," l sald. "SomeLlmes lL frlghLens me Lo see you LhaL way. 1rembllng
beslde a lamp."

We had been seelng each oLher for several years. SomeLlmes, when we were already LogeLher,
somebody would drop a spoon ouLslde and we would wake up. LlLLle by llLLle we'd been comlng Lo
undersLand LhaL our frlendshlp was subordlnaLed Lo Lhlngs, Lo Lhe slmplesL of happenlngs. Cur
meeLlngs always ended LhaL way, wlLh Lhe fall of a spoon early ln Lhe mornlng.

now, nexL Lo Lhe lamp, she was looklng aL me. l remembered LhaL she had also looked aL me ln LhaL
way ln Lhe pasL, from LhaL remoLe dream where l made Lhe chalr spln on lLs back legs and remalned
faclng a sLrange woman wlLh ashen eyes. lL was ln LhaL dream LhaL l asked her for Lhe flrsL Llme: "Who
are you?" And she sald Lo me: "l don'L remember." l sald Lo her: "8uL l Lhlnk we've seen each oLher
before." And she sald, lndlfferenLly: "l Lhlnk l dreamed abouL you once, abouL Lhls same room." And l
Lold her: "1haL's lL. l'm beglnnlng Lo remember now." And she sald: "Pow sLrange. lL's cerLaln LhaL
we've meL ln oLher dreams."

She Look Lwo drags on Lhe clgareLLe. l was sLlll sLandlng, faclng Lhe lamp, when suddenly l kepL
looklng aL her. l looked her up and down and she was sLlll copper, no longer hard and cold meLal, buL
yellow, sofL, malleable copper. "l'd llke Lo Louch you," l sald agaln. And she sald: "?ou'll ruln
everyLhlng." l sald: "lL doesn'L maLLer now. All we have Lo do ls Lurn Lhe plllow ln order Lo meeL
agaln." And l held my hand ouL over Lhe lamp. She dldn'L move. "?ou'll ruln everyLhlng," she sald
agaln before l could Louch her. "Maybe, lf you come around behlnd Lhe lamp, we'd wake up
frlghLened ln who knows whaL parL of Lhe world." 8uL l lnslsLed: "lL doesn'L maLLer." And she sald: "lf
we Lurned over Lhe plllow, we'd meeL agaln. 8uL when you wake up you'll have forgoLLen." l began Lo
move Loward Lhe corner. She sLayed behlnd, warmlng her hands over Lhe flame. And l sLlll wasn'L
beslde Lhe chalr when l heard her say behlnd me: "When l wake up aL mldnlghL, l keep Lurnlng ln bed,
wlLh Lhe frlnge of Lhe plllow burnlng my knee, and repeaLlng unLll dawn: 'Lyes of a blue dog.'"

1hen l remalned wlLh my face Loward Lhe wall. "lL's already dawnlng," l sald wlLhouL looklng aL her.
"When lL sLruck Lwo l was awake and LhaL was a long Llme back." l wenL Lo Lhe door. When l had Lhe
knob ln my hand, l heard her volce agaln, Lhe same, lnvarlable. "uon'L open LhaL door," she sald. "1he

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hallway ls full of dlfflculL dreams." And l asked her: "Pow do you know?" And she Lold me: "8ecause l
was Lhere a momenL ago and l had Lo come back when l dlscovered l was sleeplng on my hearL." l had
Lhe door half opened. l moved lL a llLLle and a cold, Lhln breeze broughL me Lhe fresh smell of
vegeLable earLh, damp flelds. She spoke agaln. l gave Lhe Lurn, sLlll movlng Lhe door, mounLed on
sllenL hlnges, and l Lold her: "l don'L Lhlnk Lhere's any hallway ouLslde here. l'm geLLlng Lhe smell of
counLry." And she, a llLLle dlsLanL, Lold me: "l know LhaL beLLer Lhan you. WhaL's happenlng ls LhaL
Lhere's a woman ouLslde dreamlng abouL Lhe counLry." She crossed her arms over Lhe flame. She
conLlnued speaklng: "lL's LhaL woman who always wanLed Lo have a house ln Lhe counLry and was
never able Lo leave Lhe clLy." l remembered havlng seen Lhe woman ln some prevlous dream, buL l
knew, wlLh Lhe door a[ar now, LhaL wlLhln half an hour l would have Lo go down for breakfasL. And l
sald: "ln any case, l have Lo leave here ln order Lo wake up."

CuLslde Lhe wlnd fluLLered for an lnsLanL, Lhen remalned quleL, and Lhe breaLhlng of someone
sleeplng who had [usL Lurned over ln bed could be heard. 1he wlnd from Lhe flelds had ceased. 1here
were no more smells. "1omorrow l'll recognlze you from LhaL," l sald. "l'll recognlze you when on Lhe
sLreeL l see a woman wrlLlng 'Lyes of a blue dog' on Lhe walls." And she, wlLh a sad smlle--whlch was
already a smlle of surrender Lo Lhe lmposslble, Lhe unreachable--sald: "?eL you won'L remember
anyLhlng durlng Lhe day." And she puL her hands back over Lhe lamp, her feaLures darkened by a
blLLer cloud. "?ou're Lhe only man who doesn'L remember anyLhlng of whaL he's dreamed afLer he
wakes up."