The XI edition of the Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero Short Story Contest, which received more than 150 stories, already has winners. Guillermo Taviel De Andrade has won the first prize of the contest, which this year was dedicated to the Tourist Centers, with a story entitled "Cycles". The winner will be able to enjoy a weekend for two people at the Hotel Natura Palace, a 4-star plus establishment.
The jury of the contest has decided to award the second prize to the short story "The Escape" by Ana Belén Solís Ariza, who has won a dinner for two at the Castillo de San José. And finally, Elena Bethencourt, with the story "Work and magic of the creator", has won the third prize, consisting of one of the unusual experiences for two people from the Art, Culture and Tourism Centers of the Cabildo.
In addition to the winners, the jury has selected seven finalists, who are "The Atlantic Lizard" by Ana Belén Solís Ariza, "From the water" by Diana Hunter, "Tickles" by Aury Torres Álvarez, "Mischief" by Bernabé's granddaughter, "The sitting woman" by Reyes María Concepción Betancor, "Untitled" by Eduardo Morant and "Catastrophe" by Juanlira.
Winning Stories
Cycles
When we were finally called to enter, I glanced at the exit where the people who had already made the visit were emerging and there was a face that looked familiar to me, but I didn't know from what. I wanted to tell you something, but I didn't. Then we toured the Cave and I didn't think about it again. Colors, lava, sediments. Pirates, concerts and a secret. We made a spectacular trip to another world, just a few meters underground. And as I left I looked towards the entrance; someone was watching me in the distance. That someone was me, coming in again.
The Escape
He was short of breath, but not of desire. His trembling steps were not alone, they were accompanied by other more lively ones that guided him in that cheeky adventure that he did not regret.
From the watchtower of the Mirador del Río he could see the beach where they had met sixty years ago. He was fishing, she was walking. The knot in his stomach that was rising to his chest forced him to sit down. He didn't have the strength to open the urn, so his little escape companion did. -Say goodbye to grandma before we get caught.
Work and magic of the creator
We arrived at the Mirador del Río before it opened. To our surprise, although the sky was clear, La Graciosa could not be seen. After a while, numerous boats arrived loaded to the exact place where the island should be. They placed the sand, the houses, the pier, the waves, volcanoes and even some seagulls. At ten o'clock the Mirador opened and offered its impeccable white on blue image so popular. When days later we stayed overnight in La Graciosa, we observed how at nightfall, the same boats captained by César collected Lanzarote and were lost in the sea.
The Atlantic Lizard
On hot days like today I like to get out of my hiding place, surf among the waves of ancient lava, jump from stone to stone and, above all, watch them. Mine are afraid of them, but I am passionate about watching them. So bipedal, so bald, so surprised. Traveling in that metallic contraption that shows them my house, my Mountains of Fire. They are told that in Timanfaya someone planted a fig tree and no fruit came out because life cannot come out of the fire. When I hear it, I always laugh and feel special. Because I am alive, here among the extinguished flames.
From the water
Blanca fled from the monster towards the jameo while the trade wind reared up. She didn't want to look at the features of the known beast again. The humid wind whispered in her ear and pushed her through the opening of the jameo. 14 On the shore of the inner lake, with her skin torn by the rocks, she felt the monster's breath on the back of her neck. Blanca refused to see how he extended his claws. She closed her eyes and threw herself into the water. She fell to the bottom in hundreds of white and blind pieces that the monster could not reach.
Tickles
On the last day of the trip, we visited the Jameos. I had torn feelings. Joy for enjoying his presence. Sadness for the near farewell. We would no longer be companions, we were going to study different careers. I stood contemplating the albino crabs and whispered to one: you are like him, special and blind. You run away without letting yourself be loved. Absent-minded, I put a hand on the shore of that lagoon. I felt some tickles in the palm, the tiny crustacean danced in it. I felt the tickles of some lips kissing my neck. I saw the reflection of his face; he smiled, tickling the water.
Mischief
My grandfather told me a hundred times. I imagined the place, the faces of his cousins, the childish laughter after the mischief... And finally the day arrived. We flew back to his roots. He looked like a
chinijo the day before Reyes, as if returning to that magical place would turn back the clock discounting fifty years from his marker. He searched with his gaze for the exact point in a sky of sleeping lava. A ray of light was his accomplice. -There! Whenever I visit Jameos, I see my grandfather at 10 years old, falling into the water through the hole in the roof.
The sitting woman
She smiled for the photo. Her hands on the table grabbed her hat and, sitting in the green chair, she looked at the camera. The lens captured her grizzled hair tangled by the trade wind, her floral blouse, the black skirt to her knees did not cover her swollen legs or her feet sheltered in flat, comfortable and simple shoes. Why wear high heels working the land? Next to it, a camel chair and, on the white wall, farming utensils in that monument to the peasant... to the man... and to the woman who also works the land.
Untitled
He looked tiny next to her. That huge shadow didn't stop looking at him, watching him facelessly as it approached him. He squeezed the pointed stone so hard that blood ran down his hand. He couldn't see it, because there was no light, except the one projected by the silhouette, but he noticed how it ran hot through his thin and trembling fingers. Fear was already in control of all his actions and in the Cueva de los Verdes it was never a good decision to run no matter how much fear took it. Erect, wanting to appear tall and burly, he waited for his arrival. And it arrived.
Catastrophe
When I regained consciousness, the door was open... and the whole store was destroyed... as if a condemned sirocco had entered by mistake and then didn't know how to find the exit, bouncing off the walls, the lamps, the porcelain pieces, the tiny cacti, the olivine beads, all the "Souvenirs from Lanzarote"... before going back out where it had entered... I crawled as best I could, on all fours and, as I passed in front of a mirror, I discovered the real culprit of the catastrophe... An old and deranged dromedary tired of waiting for retirement...
