Una historia para verano parte uno - traducción

Tengo Que Decirte Una Cosa – I Have to Tell You Something

Capítulo Uno, Parte Uno – Chapter One, Part One

El reloj de la mesita (don’t forget that in Spanish, you can add ‘ita’ or ‘ito’ to pretty much any word to create a diminutive; either because it is, literally, smaller or as a term of affection – eg abuelito for grandfather. Mesa is table, mesita is a small table) marca las cinco de la mañana. Las persianas están cerradas, el gato duerme tranquilo a los pies de la cama y no se escucha ningún sonido.

The clock on the small table says 5am. The blinds are closed, the cat sleeps quietly at the foot of the bed and no sound is heard.

¿Por qué entonces Miguel se ha despertado de golpe, con el corazón acelerado y esa sensación de vacío en el estómago? In Spanish, you don’t say ‘my heart’ or ‘his stomach’ you say ‘the heart’… ‘the stomach’. This is the same with all body parts. It’s usually clear from the sentence who it belongs to: eg: me duele el estómago.

Why then has Miguel suddenly woken with a start, his heart racing and that feeling of emptiness in his stomach?

De repente, lo recuerda. Hoy es el día. ¡El día en que Amaya se va a vivir a Argentina! Aunque Miguel ya lo sabe desde hace meses, aunque los dos lo han hablado cientos de veces, aunque la relación ya está terminada … hay algo que se ha olvidado decirle a su ex-novia (this term is used and [as in English] can be shortened: ‘mi ex’). Algo importante que ella debe saber antes de salir de su vida, de su país y de su continente para siempre.

At once, he remembers. Today is the day. The day Amaya will go to live in Argentina! Although Miguel has known for months, although the two have spoken hundreds of times, although the relationship is already ended ... there is something he has forgotten to say to his ex-girlfriend. Something important that she has to know before leaving her life, her country and her continent forever.

Rápidamente, Miguel toma su móvil y teclea un mensaje en el WhatsApp:

Quickly, Miguel takes his mobile and types a message on WhatsApp:

“Voy camino del aeropuerto. Tengo que decirte una cosa antes de que te vayas. Es importante.”

"I'm on my way to the airport. I have to tell you something before you leave. It is important."

En la conversación de WhatsApp, las dos flechitas que aparecen junto al mensaje se mantienen de color gris. Eso quiere decir que Amaya aún no ha visto el mensaje. Probablemente estará de camino al aeropuerto. Miguel se levanta de un salto (this is one reason why the Spanish talk quickly – there are more words to get in! You can’t say ‘jumps up’ as we would, you say gets up with a jump) y corre a la ducha.

In the WhatsApp conversation, the two little arrows (we have two ticks, perhaps the author has never used WhatsApp) that appear next to the message remain grey. That means that Amaya has not seen the message yet. She will probably be on her way to the airport. Miguel jumps up and runs to the shower.

Hace ya más de seis meses que Miguel y Amaya no están juntos. Cuando Amaya le contó a Miguel que había aceptado ese puesto en la empresa IBM en Argentina, a él le dio la impresión de que ella quería poner tierra de por medio entre ellos dos (literal translation is “put some land between the two of them”. In shorthand, it means “get away” or “break away”). Pero tampoco puede culparla. Él sabe que ambos necesitan al menos un océano de distancia entre los dos para poder estar tranquilos y no interferirse mutuamente en su vidas.

It's been more than six months since Miguel and Amaya were together. When Amaya told Miguel that she had accepted that position with IBM in Argentina, he was given the impression that she wanted to get away. But he cannot blame her either. He knows they both need at least an ocean of distance between the two to be able to be at peace and not interfere with each other’s lives.