Martina’s Smile
Translated by Katrina Hassan The first time Arnold beat Martina was their first night together. She’d left home with him because her family wanted to send her to her aunt Dominga’s in the capital. Her parents wanted to get rid of the lazy good for nothing guy that kept lurking around their daughter. Martina’s dad nicknamed Arnold “The Jobless Good For Nothing.” Her mom grew up herding cows and making tortillas for the whole family and told Martina she wasn’t to marry until she finished studying. Martina’s mother had always herded cows and fed the workers in the valley where…