Trees

Cheito worked his way up the limbs of the almendro tree. The tree stood on the lot between the Seaside Towers apartment building and the beach, and overlooked the cemetary next door. The tree was fruiting and small green almond pods covered the limbs. He went high and higher and stopped when he was even with his family's fourth story apartment. He saw his mother open the sliding glass doors on the balcony, step out and start searching, probably for him. She spotted him hanging on to the swaying branches of the tree. He saw an angry look come to her face, and heard her angry voice over the sound of the breakers and the breeze: "Cheito! Carajo! Bajate del contrayao arbol antes de que te escocotes!" He scrambled down immediately, hung on the lowest limbs and dropped the last eight feet to the ground. Doña Gloria hadn't told him to come home, and it was not yet dinner time, so Cheito ran to the playground to look for his friends. 

Jose M. Caldas, April 2, 2014.