The sun blazed like a fiery disc over the dusty horizon of San Ignacio, a forgotten town somewhere in the Mexican desert. The air trembled with heat, and the dry dirt streets crunched beneath the worn boots of the few who ventured to walk beneath that inferno.
In the center of town, in front of the La Serpiente tavern, stood Don Mauricio Salazar, the richest man in the region, a rancher with a weathered face and steely eyes. His wide-brimmed hat cast a shadow that seemed to swallow everything around it. Beside him, a skinny horse with a shaggy mane and a dull stare snorted weakly, tied to a post.
Don Mauricio, with a crooked smile, watched a homeless man dozing under a withered mesquite tree across the street. The man, known only as “El Flaco,” was a pathetic figure, wearing threadbare clothes, a scruffy beard, and a straw hat that barely protected him from the sun. No one knew where he came from, but everyone in San Ignacio knew him for his habit of wandering aimlessly, begging for a drink or a crust of bread.
Mauricio, bored and with a cruel temper, decided that that day the skinny guy would be his entertainment. “Hey, skinny guy!” Mauricio shouted, his voice echoing in the empty street. The homeless man looked up, blinking with tired eyes. “Come here, man, I have something for you.” Skinny man struggled to his feet, staggering slightly as he crossed the street.
The few patrons who were in the bar poked their heads out, curious. Mauricio pointed at the horse with a grandiloquent gesture. “This animal is yours now,” he said with a chuckle that didn’t hide his disdain. “A gift from me. Look at it. A horse for a man like you. You’re a gentleman now, eh?” The skinny man looked at the horse, then at Mauricio, confused.
The animal could barely stand, its ribs protruding beneath its skin like a leather-covered skeleton. The men in the bar burst into laughter, and Mauricio joined in, enjoying his own joke. The skinny man, however, said nothing. He took the horse’s reins with trembling hands, murmured a barely audible thank you, and shuffled off down the street.
That night, at his ranch, Mauricio couldn’t get the image of the skinny man out of his head. He had expected the vagabond to protest, to try to return the horse, or at least show some shame. But no. The skinny man had accepted the gift with a strange, almost unsettling dignity. Mauricio poured himself a shot of tequila, trying to drown out the pang of discomfort that tightened his chest.
He’s just a beggar, he told himself. A useless man with a useless horse. But sleep didn’t come easily that night. The next day, rumors spread like the wind through San Ignacio. The skinny man had been seen on the outskirts of town, caring for the horse as if it were a treasure. He had brushed it with an old rag, given it water from a puddle, and it was even said that he had shared his own food with the animal.
The men in the tavern laughed, but there was something about the story that was starting to bother Mauricio. He decided to go out and see for himself. Riding his black stallion, Mauricio found the skinny man in a clearing near the dry riverbed. The tramp was sitting next to the horse, which now looked a little less miserable.
He had given him a name, Rayo. Mauricio burst out laughing at that. Rayo said mockingly. That animal wouldn’t run even if he chased him. What are you doing, skinny? Do you think that horse is going to get you out of your misery? Skinny looked up, his eyes hollow but firm. A gift is a gift, Don Mauricio.
This horse is mine now, and I’ll take care of what’s mine. Mauricio frowned, annoyed by the response. He hadn’t expected that calm, that determination from a man everyone considered less than nothing. He turned and spurred his horse, but the skinny man’s words stuck in his mind like a rusty nail.
Days passed, and the story of the vagrant and his useless horse became the talk of the town. Some said the skinny man was crazy, others that he was a saint, but everyone noticed something. Rayo, the horse Mauricio had dismissed as useless, was beginning to change. His eyes had a new sparkle.
His stride grew firmer. The skinny man fed him with what little he could get, took him to the river to drink, and spoke to him as if the animal understood every word. Every time Mauricio heard the subject mentioned, he felt a mixture of irritation and curiosity that gnawed at him. One afternoon, while Mauricio was in the saloon, a cowboy arrived with news.
The skinny man had been seen riding at full speed across the plains, and the horse, although slow, ran with a grace no one expected. Mauricio threw his glass on the table and stormed off. How was that possible? That horse was a piece of junk, a joke. He mounted his stallion and went to find the skinny man.
He found him in an open field where Rayo was trotting with an energy that belied his appearance. The skinny man, sitting on a rock, watched him with a calm smile. Mauricio dismounted, his face red with rage. “What did you do with that animal?” he demanded. “That horse wasn’t worth anything, nothing.” The skinny man shrugged. “I just gave it a little care, Don Mauricio.”
Sometimes, what seems hopeless just needs someone to believe in it. The words hit Mauricio like a punch. For the first time, he felt something he couldn’t name: shame, regret. He turned around without saying anything and returned to his ranch, where the tequila was no longer enough to calm the turmoil in his mind.
Months passed, and the story of Flaco and Rayo became legend. The horse, once a source of ridicule, was now admired in San Ignacio. Flaco had trained him patiently, and although he would never be a thoroughbred, Rayo had a strength and spirit that surprised everyone. He even participated in a local race, where he didn’t win, but finished with his head held high as spectators applauded the vagabond who had done the impossible.
Mauricio, for his part, couldn’t stand the situation. Every mention of the skinny man and his horse was like a spy on his pride. He had wanted to humiliate him, but instead the vagabond had turned his cruel joke into a triumph. One night, drunk and consumed by rage, Mauricio made a decision. If he couldn’t bear the presence of the skinny man and his horse, he would make them disappear.
Under a full moon, Mauricio and two of his armed men rode toward Flaco’s camp. They found him sleeping next to Rayo, with a campfire almost out. Mauricio unloaded his revolver, which gleamed in the silver light. “Get up, Flaco!” he shouted, kicking the ground near the tramp. Flaco opened his eyes, but didn’t move.
He looked at Mauricio with a calmness that infuriated him even more. “That horse is an insult,” Mauricio roared. “I mocked you, and you turned it into a mockery for me. This ends now.” The skinny man slowly stood up, standing between Mauricio and Rayo. “Don Mauricio, you gave me this horse. If it’s a mockery, it’s yours, not mine.” Mauricio raised his revolver, but something in the skinny man’s gaze stopped him.
It wasn’t fear or a plea. It was a calm strength, a certainty Mauricio couldn’t understand. He lowered his weapon, trembling, and for the first time in his life felt he’d lost something more than a joke. “Get out of San Ignacio,” Mauricio muttered. “Take your damn horse and don’t come back.” The skinny man didn’t respond. By dawn, he and Rayo had disappeared from the town.
Some said they went north, others that they crossed the mountains. But in San Ignacio, the story of the skinny man and his horse was never forgotten. Mauricio, for his part, was never the same. The man who had once laughed at a vagrant now lived tormented by the echo of his own cruelty and the memory of a horse that, against all odds, had found its place in the world. Oh.
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