Catalina!

This is something I wrote more than 40 years ago, in Spanish. At that time, people older than thirty looked like candidates for retirement. I am translating myself from memory since the original got lost when my mom passed away and somebody ‘organized’ her things. Hope you like it.
Anna Maria

The Angel of Death was getting impatient. He had been waiting for the Boss for almost an eternity hour now.
He had been told to be there early to receive the list of souls to be brought up that earthly day, but the Boss was taking His own sweet eternity time.

The Angel of Death couldn’t help but hear The Voice because the Boss was telling what He thought about poor Azazel’s conduct. That little devil was always getting in some trouble or other with Management, but this time he got in trouble with no other than the Boss.

The Angel of Death decided to pass the time polishing his scythe. He was doing just that when the Boss called him. He hovered to Him, kneeled, inclined his head and said he was ready to receive the list from His hands.

The Boss handed him a piece of paper and the Angel of Death was surprised to see it contained only one name: Catalina.
For a change, he was going to have a short day’s work, only one name and he was free to spend the rest of the day resting. Maybe he would go visit Hell and see what was new there. He was not allowed to visit Paradise. Another one of the Boss’s rules he didn’t understand.

He took his scythe and went looking for the soul he was to bring back with him: Catalina.

Catalina looked at the mirror and scrunched her nose at the image. She was not tall and although the high heels helped, they killed her back. Well, not much of a choice there. Her back will have to fend for itself.
She was a bit overweight too. Catalina had tried dieting, all sorts of diets. She would lose a few pounds but after a while she would start gaining weight again. She should do something with her hair, but what?!
Catalina knew there were shortcuts to looking better, but these came with a high price tag and she had to be careful with her money. She was past forty now and was careful with her savings, preparing herself for retirement.
Finally, she decided on the black dress, black high heels shoes and the white shawl. Something she would feel comfortable with when dancing salsa and if the dress showed a bit of leg while turning, well, it may be all for the better.
Catalina finished the last touches of her makeup, picked up her purse and went down to the parking space where her car was.
She drove out of the parking lot and headed for the club, she was looking forward to this particular night. She knew Ramon was going to be there and smiled to herself smugly.


All of a sudden the road disappeared, the car wasn’t there no more and she couldn’t see a thing but could feel the touch of cold arms carrying her. She let out a shout and went on screaming.

The Angel of Death stopped on his tracks, he couldn’t stand the woman’s screams, and he was getting disoriented.
He told her to shut up which resulted in Catalina screaming even more and demanding to know what was going on.
The Angel of Death explained he had been given the piece of paper with her name directly from the Boss and he was just doing his job.
Catalina told him he either stopped for a moment or she would start screaming, really screaming until he had to take her back where he took her from.
The Angel of Death was used to people wanting to bargain with him and some even tried to bribe him not to carry them further.
In the end they all understood the futility of the request after being explained they were going to meet the Boss himself and maybe they could convince Him to reverse the decision.
Catalina heard the explanation but kept screaming at the Angel of Death that it was a mistake, she was in her early forties and healthy so there was no reason for him to take her wherever he was planning to take her. She kept going at a rate not even the Angel of Death had encountered and at the top of her lungs.
He looked at her and decided this was the time to apply law B1, paragraph 3d which allowed the Angel of Death, in extreme cases, to grant the soul a bit more time. In his opinion, this was an extreme case. That woman was going to drive him nuts, literally, and he may end carrying her to the wrong place.
He told the woman to shut up and listen to him carefully, he was granting her a bit more time. Catalina smiled and threw her arms around his cold neck saying ‘thank you’ time and time again.
Since there were rules to lawB1, paragraph 3d, he had to explain to the woman and ask her to what purpose she wanted the extra time. Catalina came up with a list longer than eternity and the Angel of Death stopped her in midway. He offered one year and that started the bargaining process with Catalina asking for twenty. In the end, it was agreed the Angel of Death would come back to pick her up in ten years, counting from now and to the minute and second.

All of a sudden, Catalina was back in her car driving to the club and looking forward to meet Ramon and dancing salsa until the wee hours of the morning. Maybe Ramon will go a bit further than that, hopefully.



Next day, after showering and dressing and with a cup of coffee in her hand, she remembered the Angel of Death and their conversation.
She took stock of the situation and sat down with a pen and paper to make a list of ‘to do’ things for the next ten years. These had to be planned carefully.
Catalina realized now she could spend more money on herself. There was not going to be a retirement, a pension, no need for money when you don’t work and earn a paycheck.
That was one of the good things. The bad thing was that anyway she looked at it there were ‘only’ ten years. She could only think of making them the best ten years of her life.

Catalina called in sick and instead of work she started researching plastic surgeons. She made some appointments and wrote down each one carefully in her diary.
Next, she called the hairdresser of her dreams. He was the one doing the fancy and beautiful heads of the movie stars who frequented the salon. She made an appointment.
The price tag was enormous but with only ten years to look forward to, who cares?

During the following months Catalina underwent a complete transformation thanks to the plastic surgeons and hairdresser.
She looked at least ten years younger, slim and lithe, her hair was the envy of her friends and it helped attract more than one man. Ramon was relegated to second place, now she had more important and good looking men showing an interest in her.
One man in particular was showing signs of wanting to buy a ring, Miguel was getting serious and Catalina liked the idea of spending the next nine years with him.
They had spoken earlier on the phone and Miguel was going to wait for her at their favorite restaurant.
She was running a bit late and didn’t want to keep Miguel waiting. She decided on the blue dress. She remembered the many times she had tried but could not wear it before, now the dress fitted perfectly.
Catalina looked at her reflection in the mirror. She liked what she saw.

Catalina finished the last touches of her makeup, picked up her purse and went down to the parking space where her car was.
She drove out of the parking lot and headed for the restaurant, she was looking forward to this particular night.

All of a sudden the road disappeared, the car wasn’t there no more and she couldn’t see a thing but could feel the touch of cold arms carrying her. She let out a shout and went on screaming.
The Angel of Death stopped on his tracks, he couldn’t stand the woman’s screams, and he was getting disoriented.

Catalina recognized him and started calling him a liar and a cheat, he had given her ten years and she had only used up one of them. She still had nine years to go.
The Angel of Death was surprised at what he heard from the soul’s lips. He was not allowed to cheat or lie. The Boss would not allow that so he was stripped from both traits.


He tried to explain that to the screaming woman but she was not listening, she was calling him all sorts of names besides liar and cheat. She was demanding her nine years and as far as he could recall he had not seen this soul before and most certainly not granted the nine years she was claiming he did.

The Angel of Death held her by both arms firmly and asked her to stop screaming and explain herself.
Catalina asked him why he was going back on his word, he had granted her ten years, only one had passed and why was he taking her away now?
The Angel of Death asked her when and what were the circumstances he took her last time, he was sure this was the first time he had taken her and the mistake was hers.
Catalina stopped screaming and started reminding the Angel of Death of their conversation a year before that. She reminded him of law B1 paragraph 3d and once more she explained only one year had passed, he still had to wait for nine more.

The Angel of Death left the soul standing where it was, took a couple of steps backwards so he could see her better. Catalina stood still. The Angel of Death took one more look at her and exclaimed:
“Wow, I didn’t recognize you!!”

Anna Maria