SmokeLong Quarterly

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The Law

Story by Edgar Omar Avilés (Read author interview) September 16, 2005

God was ready to strike the man who was about to shoot the tiger who was about to pounce on the hawk who was about to thrust its beak into the weasel who was about to kill the snake who was about to swallow the rat who was about to hunt the lizard who was about to eat the tarantula who was about to pinch the ant who was about to poison the louse who was about to bite the leaf.

God was ready to strike the man down, but overcome by fear, turned back.

Dios se disponía a fulminar a ese hombre que estaba por dispararle al tigre que estaba por saltar sobre el halcón que estaba por clavar su pico en la comadreja que estaba por matar a la culebra que estaba por deglutir a la rata que estaba por cazar a la lagartija que estaba por comerse a la tarántula que estaba por atenazar a la hormiga que estaba por envenenar al pulgón que estaba por morder la hoja.

Dios se disponía a fulminar a ese hombre pero, lleno de pánico, volteó hacia atrás.

About the Author

Edgar Omar Avilés was born in Morelia, Michoacán, México, on May 22, 1980. He studied Hispanic literature at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. His stories have appeared in literary journals and anthologies, including Los Mejores Cuentos Mexicanos 2004 (Joaquín Mortiz) and Novísimos Cuentos de la República Mexicana (Tierra Adentro, 2005).

About the Artist

A native of Ohio, Marty D. Ison lives with his wife transplanted in the sands of the Gulf of Mexico. He studied fine arts at Saint Petersburg College. In addition to the visual arts, he writes poetry, short stories, and novels. See more of Ison’s work here.

About the Translator

Toshiya Kamei holds an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Arkansas. His translations include Liliana Blum’s The Curse of Eve and Other Stories (2008), Naoko Awa’s The Fox’s Window and Other Stories (2010), Espido Freire’s Irlanda (2011), and Selfa Chew’s Silent Herons (2012). Other translations have appeared in The Global Game (2008), Sudden Fiction Latino (2010), and My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me (2010).

This story appeared in Issue Ten of SmokeLong Quarterly.

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