Atarian

The lightbulb that hangs on a wire from my bedroom ceiling never turns on, but my fingers travel towards the switch next to the door all the same. Every time I enter or leave, they move as they learned to do at father’s house. I’ve been flipping the switch for two weeks, but everything remains dark: night entered my room long ago, and it’s still there, just as I am, attentive, waiting.

At the end of life, when standing at death’s door, we are the reflection of our past. Amidst conflicts over inheritance, power and money, Leandro and Juan find themselves exposed to the elements, trying to find refuge in the twilight of a last love.

Leandro, the last owner of a farmhouse in Hernani, is forced into the nursing home in Sandiusterri by his daughter Maite, who claims he suffers mental alienation. Her true motive, however, is to inherit the farmhouse. From his new home, Leandro is helped by Juan, a cruel man with hidden and ruthless intentions.

In their interweaving stories, the two old men will meet Paula, a young woman who is entering the adult world, leaving her childhood behind and dreaming of her first love.

Together, the three voices tell the story of souls frozen in the cold, who knock at the doors of others seeking refuge in love, the only way to shut out the night.

Read the first chapter.