From Filipiñana:
From “Just Lather, That’s All” by Hernando Téllez in Contemporary Latin American Short Stories (Ed. Pat McNees Mancini):
Murderer or hero? My destiny depends on the edge of this blade. I can turn my hand a bit more press a little harder on the razor, and sink it in. The skin would give way like silk, like rubber. There is nothing more tender than human skin and the blood is always there, ready to pour forth.
But I don’t want to be a murderer. You came to me for a shave. And I perform my work honorably . . . I don’t want blood on my hands. Just lather, that’s all. You are an executioner and I am only a barber. Each person has his own place in the scheme of things.
Previous “Juxtaposition” posts can be found here.
