{"id":22572,"date":"2025-06-10T11:14:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T15:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/?p=22572"},"modified":"2025-06-10T17:15:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:15:38","slug":"mario-vargas-llosa-a-visitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lecturia.org\/en\/short-stories\/mario-vargas-llosa-a-visitor\/22572\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario Vargas Llosa: A Visitor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Synopsis:<\/strong> “A Visitor”<\/em> (Un visitante) is a short story by Mario Vargas Llosa, published in 1959 in the book Los jefes<\/em>. It tells the story of the unexpected arrival of a man nicknamed The jamaican at a lonely farmhouse where Do\u00f1a Merceditas, an older woman, lives on the edge of the jungle. Although the visitor initially appears friendly, he soon reveals a hidden agenda: he is on the trail of Numa, a former accomplice. Through a series of tense and enigmatic interactions between the protagonists, Vargas Llosa develops a plot of betrayal and revenge, in which the characters’ pasts and their complex relationships are crucial to bringing to life a suspenseful narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"Mario<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A Visitor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Mario Vargas Llosa
(Full story)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sands lap the front of the inn and come to an end there: from the hole serving as a door or from among the reeds, the view slides over a white, languid surface until it meets the sky. Behind the inn, the land is hard and rugged, and less than a mile away begin the burnished, closely ranged hills, each taller than the preceding one, their peaks piercing the clouds like needles or axes. To the left, the narrow, winding wood stretches along the border of the sand and grows without a break until it disappears between two hills, far beyond the inn: underbrush, wild plants and a dry, rampant grass that hides everything\u2014the uneven terrain, the snakes, the tiny swamps. But the wood is only a hint of the forest, a foretaste: it stops at the end of a ravine, at the foot of a massive hill beyond which the real forest begins. And Do\u00f1a Merceditas knows it: once, years ago, she climbed to the top of that mountain and with astonished eyes gazed through the large patches of cloud floating beneath her feet at the green platform stretching far and wide without a clearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Do\u00f1a Merceditas dozes, lying across two sacks. A little farther away, the goat pokes his nose in the sand, stubbornly chews a splinter of wood or bleats in the cool afternoon air. Suddenly, it pricks up its ears and freezes. The woman half opens her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s up, Cuera?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The animal pulls on the cord tying it to the stake. The woman laboriously stands up. Some fifty yards away, the man is silhouetted sharply against the horizon, his shadow preceding him across the sand. The woman shades her forehead with one hand. She looks around quickly; then she stands motionless. The man is very close; he is tall, emaciated, quite dark, with curly hair and mocking eyes. His faded shirt flutters outside his flannel pants, which are rolled up to his knees. His legs look like two black pegs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood afternoon, Do\u00f1a Merceditas.\u201d His voice is melodious and sarcastic. The woman has turned pale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d she murmurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou recognize me, right? Well, good for you. If you\u2019d be so kind, I\u2019d like something to eat. And drink. I\u2019m really thirsty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s beer and fruit inside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas. You\u2019re very kind. Like always. Will you join me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat for?\u201d The woman looks at him distrustfully. She is fat and well along in years, but with smooth skin. She is barefoot. \u201cYou know the place already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh!\u201d the man says in a cordial way. \u201cI don\u2019t like to eat alone. Makes me sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The woman hesitates for a moment. Then she walks toward the inn, dragging her feet in the sand. She goes in. She opens a bottle of beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, thanks a lot, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas. But I prefer milk. Since you\u2019ve opened that bottle, why don\u2019t you drink it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cC\u2019mon, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas, don\u2019t be like that. Drink to my health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man\u2019s face goes sour. \u201cAre you deaf? I told you to drink that bottle. Cheers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The woman raises the bottle with both hands and drinks slowly in small sips. On the dirty, scratched counter a bottle of milk glitters. With a swipe of his hand, the man scares off the flies circling around it, raises the bottle and takes a long drink. His lips are covered with a muzzle of cream, which his tongue, seconds later, noisily wipes away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh!\u201d he says, licking again. \u201cThat milk really was good, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas. Goat\u2019s milk, isn\u2019t it? I liked it a lot. Have you finished that bottle yet? Why don\u2019t you open up another? Cheers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The woman obeys without protest; the man devours two bananas and an orange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cListen, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas, don\u2019t go so fast. The beer\u2019s running down your neck. It\u2019s going to get your dress wet. Don\u2019t waste things that way. Open up another bottle and drink to Numa. Cheers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man goes on repeating \u201cCheers!\u201d until there are four empty bottles on the counter. The woman\u2019s eyes are glassy; she belches, spits, sits down on a sack of fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy God!\u201d says the man. \u201cSome woman! You\u2019re a regular drunk, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas. Excuse me for telling you so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to be sorry for what you\u2019re doing to a poor old lady. You\u2019ll see, Jamaican, you\u2019ll see.\u201d Her tongue is a little thick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally?\u201d the man says, bored. \u201cBy the way, what time\u2019s Numa coming?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNuma?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, you\u2019re really awful, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas, when you don\u2019t want to understand something. What time\u2019s he coming?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a filthy nigger, Jamaican. Numa\u2019s going to kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t talk that way, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas!\u201d He yawns. \u201cAll right, I think we\u2019ve still got a while yet. Definitely until nighttime. We\u2019re going to take a little nap, that okay with you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He gets up and goes out. He heads toward the goat. The animal looks at him suspiciously. He unties it. He goes back to the inn, swinging the cord like a propeller and whistling; the woman is gone. The lazy, lewd calmness of his gestures disappears immediately. Swearing, he runs around the place in great leaps. Then he heads toward the wood, followed by the goat. The animal finds the woman behind a tree and begins to lick her. The Jamaican laughs, seeing the angry looks the woman flings at the goat. He makes a simple gesture and Do\u00f1a Merceditas heads toward the inn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou really are an awful woman, yessiree. What notions you\u2019ve got!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He ties her feet and hands. Then he picks her up easily and deposits her on the counter. He stands there looking at her wickedly and, suddenly, starts tickling the broad, wrinkled soles of her feet. The woman writhes with laughter; her face shows her desperation. The counter is narrow and with her shaking Do\u00f1a Merceditas nears the edge; finally, she rolls heavily onto the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat an awful woman, yessiree!\u201d he repeats. \u201cYou pretend to faint and you\u2019re spying on me out of one eye. There\u2019s no curing you, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its head thrust into the room, the goat stares at the woman attentively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 
The neighing of the horses cuts through the end of the afternoon: it is already growing dark. Se\u00f1ora Merceditas raises her head and listens, her eyes wide open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s them,\u201d says the Jamaican. He jumps up. The horses keep neighing and pawing. From the door of the inn, the man shouts angrily:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou gone nuts, Lieutenant? You gone nuts?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of a rocky bend in the hill the lieutenant appears: he is short and thick-set; he is wearing riding boots and his face is sweaty. He looks around warily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou nuts?\u201d repeats the Jamaican. \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter with you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t raise your voice at me, nigger,\u201d says the lieutenant. \u201cWe just got here. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, what\u2019s going on? Order your men to take their horses away. Don\u2019t you know your job?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lieutenant turns red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not free yet, nigger,\u201d he says. \u201cShow some respect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHide the horses and cut their tongues out if you like. Just so they\u2019re not heard. And wait there. I\u2019ll give you the signal.\u201d The Jamaican uncurls his mouth and the smile sketched on his face is insolent. \u201cDon\u2019t you see that now you\u2019ve got to follow my orders?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lieutenant hesitates for a few seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod help you if he doesn\u2019t come,\u201d he says. And, turning his head, he orders: \u201cSergeant Lituma, hide the horses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, sir, Lieutenant,\u201d says someone from behind the hill. The sound of hoofs is heard. Then silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood for you,\u201d says the Jamaican. \u201cYou got to follow orders. Very good, General. Bravo, Commander. Congratulations, Captain. Don\u2019t move from that spot. I\u2019ll let you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lieutenant shows him his fist and disappears among the rocks. The Jamaican goes into the inn. The woman\u2019s eyes are filled with hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDouble-crosser,\u201d she mumbles. \u201cYou\u2019ve come with the police. Damn you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat manners, my God, what bad manners you\u2019ve got, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas! I didn\u2019t come with the police. I came alone. I met the lieutenant here. That should be obvious to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNuma\u2019s not coming,\u201d says the woman. \u201cAnd the police will cart you off to jail again. And when you get out, Numa will kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got hard feelings, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas, no doubt about it. The things you predict for me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDouble-crosser,\u201d repeats the woman; she has managed to sit up and stays very stiff. \u201cDo you think Numa\u2019s stupid?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStupid? Not at all. He\u2019s a real fox. But don\u2019t give up, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe isn\u2019t coming. He\u2019s not like you\u2014he\u2019s got friends. They\u2019ll warn him the police are here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink so? I don\u2019t. They won\u2019t have time. The police have come from around the other side, from behind the hills. I crossed the sand alone. In every town I asked, \u2018Is Se\u00f1ora Merceditas still at the inn? They just let me out and I\u2019m going to wring her neck.\u2019 At least twenty people must\u2019ve run to tell Numa. Still think he won\u2019t come? My God, what a face you\u2019ve put on, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf anything happens to Numa,\u201d stammers the woman hoarsely, \u201cyou\u2019re going to regret it for the rest of your life, Jamaican.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shrugs. He lights up a cigarette and begins to whistle. Then he goes up to the counter, takes the oil lamp and lights it. He hangs it on the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s getting dark,\u201d he says. \u201cCome over here, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas. I want Numa to see you sitting in the doorway, waiting for him. Oh! That\u2019s right. You can\u2019t move. Excuse me, I\u2019m so forgetful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He bends over and lifts her in his arms. He puts her down in the sand in front of the inn. The light from the lamp falls on the woman and softens the skin on her face: she looks younger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you doing this, Jamaican?\u201d By now the voice of Do\u00f1a Merceditas is weak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d asks the Jamaican. \u201cYou haven\u2019t been in jail, have you, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas? Day after day goes by and you haven\u2019t got anything to do. Let me tell you, you really get bored in there. And you\u2019re hungry a lot. Listen, I forgot about one detail. You can\u2019t have your mouth hanging open. You can\u2019t start shouting when Numa comes. Besides, you might swallow a fly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He laughs. He looks around the room and finds a rag. With it he bandages half of Do\u00f1a Merceditas\u2019s face. Amused, he examines her for a long while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me tell you, you look really funny that way, Se\u00f1ora Merceditas. I just don\u2019t know what you look like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


In the darkness at the back of the inn, the Jamaican rises up like a serpent: elastically and noiselessly. He remains bent over, his hands resting on the counter. Two yards in front of him in the circle of light the woman is rigid, her face pushed forward as if she were sniffing the air: she too has heard. It was a slight but very distinct sound, coming from the left, standing out above the crickets\u2019 singing. It bursts out again, longer: the branches in the wood crackle and break. Something is approaching the inn. \u201cHe\u2019s not alone,\u201d whispers the Jamaican. \u201cThere\u2019re several of them.\u201d He reaches into his pocket, pulls out the whistle and places it between his lips. He waits, not moving. The woman stirs and the Jamaican curses between his teeth. He sees her squirm in place and jerk her head left and right, trying to free herself from the gag. The noise has stopped: is he already on the sand, which muffles his footsteps? The woman has her face turned toward the left and her eyes, like a squashed iguana\u2019s, bulge from their sockets. \u201cShe\u2019s seen them,\u201d the Jamaican mutters. He places the tip of his tongue on the whistle: the metal is sharp. Do\u00f1a Merceditas goes on twisting her head and groans in anguish. The goat bleats and the Jamaican crouches down. Seconds later he sees a shadow descending over the woman and a naked arm stretching toward the gag. He blows with all his might at the same time that he jumps on the newcomer. The whistle fills the night like a fire and is lost amid the curses exploding right and left, followed by hurried footsteps. The two men have fallen on the woman. The lieutenant is fast: when the Jamaican stands up, one of his hands seizes Numa by the hair and the other holds the revolver to his temple. Four guards with rifles surround them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRun!\u201d shouts the Jamaican to the guards. \u201cThe others are in the wood. Quick! They\u2019re going to get away. Quick!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKeep still!\u201d shouts the lieutenant. He does not take his eyes off Numa, who is trying, out of the corner of his eye, to find the revolver. He seems calm; his hands hang at his sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSergeant Lituma, tie him up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lituma puts his rifle on the ground and uncoils the rope he has at his waist. He ties Numa by his feet and then handcuffs him. The goat has come up and, smelling Numa\u2019s legs, begins to lick them gently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe horses, Sergeant Lituma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lieutenant sticks the revolver back in his holster and bends toward the woman. He takes off the gag and the ropes. Do\u00f1a Merceditas stands up and goes to Numa after kicking the goat out of the way. She strokes his forehead without saying anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s he done to you?\u201d asks Numa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing,\u201d says the woman. \u201cWant a cigarette?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLieutenant,\u201d insists the Jamaican. \u201cDo you realize the others are there in the woods, just a few yards away? Didn\u2019t you hear them? There must be at least three or four. What\u2019re you waiting for? To order a search for them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShut up, nigger,\u201d says the lieutenant, without looking at him. He strikes a match and lights the cigarette the woman has put in Numa\u2019s mouth. Numa begins to suck in long puffs; the cigarette is between his teeth and he blows the smoke out through his nose. \u201cI came looking for this guy. Nobody else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d says the Jamaican. \u201cSo much the worse if you don\u2019t know your job. I did mine. I\u2019m free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d says the lieutenant. \u201cYou\u2019re free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe horses, Lieutenant,\u201d says Lituma. He holds the reins of five animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPut him up on your horse, Lituma,\u201d says the lieutenant. \u201cHe\u2019ll go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sergeant and another guard take Numa and, after untying his feet, seat him on the horse. Lituma mounts behind him. The lieutenant moves toward the horses and takes up the reins of his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cListen, Lieutenant, who\u2019m I going with?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou?\u201d says the lieutenant, with one foot in the stirrup. \u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d says the Jamaican. \u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re free,\u201d says the lieutenant. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to come with us. You can go wherever you like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From their horses, Lituma and the other guards laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat kind of joke is this?\u201d asks the Jamaican. His voice is trembling. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to leave me here, are you, Lieutenant? You can hear the noises in the woods. I\u2019ve behaved myself. I did my part. You can\u2019t do this to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we ride fast, Sergeant Lituma,\u201d says the lieutenant, \u201cwe\u2019ll reach Piura by dawn. It\u2019s better to travel through the desert at night. The animals don\u2019t get so tired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLieutenant,\u201d shouts the Jamaican. He has grabbed the reins of the officer\u2019s horse and shakes them frantically. \u201cYou can\u2019t leave me here. You can\u2019t do such a spiteful thing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lieutenant lifts one foot out of the stirrup and kicks the Jamaican away, hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to gallop from time to time,\u201d says the lieutenant. \u201cThink it\u2019ll rain, Sergeant Lituma?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so, Lieutenant. Sky\u2019s clear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t leave without me!\u201d the Jamaican hollers at the top of his voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Se\u00f1ora Merceditas begins to laugh loudly, holding her stomach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get moving,\u201d says the lieutenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLieutenant!\u201d shouts the Jamaican. \u201cPlease, Lieutenant, please!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly the horses go off. The Jamaican watches them, dazed. The light from the lamp shines on his contorted face. Se\u00f1ora Merceditas continues to laugh thunderously. Suddenly she grows quiet. She cups her hands around her mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNuma!\u201d she shouts. \u201cI\u2019ll bring you fruit on Sundays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then she starts laughing again at the top of her lungs. Out of the wood comes the sound of snapping branches and dry leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE END<\/p>\n\n\n