Naked and without a sword | Writing Contest Finish the Tale Story #16 [EN/ES]

Just as the hero raised their sword in triumph, their pants betrayed them by falling down in front of the entire kingdom. The squire rushed to his aid, but in mid-sprint, his trousers also played a trick on him, and the poor fellow swallowed more dust as he fell to the ground than a beetle at work in the desert.

Everyone began to laugh out loud. There were even those who laughed without knowing why, but since laughter is contagious, they went along in unison. Some laughed with embarrassment, revealing their battered teeth; others, without any shame, raised their voices to hear themselves after having gone so many days without laughing because of the hunger that had affected the kingdom following the invasion of the cherubs from the north.

Every inhabitant of the kingdom thought they had won the battle. Of course, the cherubs, by flying away the night before, made them believe that what they had projected was a defeat and everything in the kingdom would return to normal, that normality in which some work and others do nothing but eat and drink at the expense of those who don't drink and barely eat, but work. Such is life in the kingdoms, as the history scrolls tell us.

Thus, although a few minutes of uncontrollable laughter passed, the euphoria didn't last long. Suddenly, the laughter began to subside, and everyone began to look at something strange. Their hands began to blur, like dust does when you lift it off the ground.

One by one, each member of the kingdom disappeared. Only the hero remained, naked and without a sword.

Justo cuando el héroe levantó su espada triunfante, sus pantalones lo traicionaron al caer frente a todo el reino. El escudero se apresuró a asistirlo pero en plena carrera, sus pantalones también le jugaron una mala pasada y el pobre tragó más polvo, al caer al suelo, que un escarabajo en plena faena laboral en el desierto.

Todos comenzaron a reír a carcajadas. Incluso había quien reía sin saber por qué, pero comoquiera que la risa es contagiosa, ahí iban, a coro. Unos, riendo con pena de mostrar sus dientes maltrechos; otros, sin vergüenza alguna alzaban la voz para escucharse a sí mismos luego de haber estado tantos días sin reír a causa del hambre que afectaba al reino tras la invasión de los querubines del norte.

Cada habitante del reino pensó que habían ganado la batalla. Por supuesto, los querubines, al irse volando la noche anterior, les hicieron creer que era una derrota lo que proyectaban y todo en el reino volvería a la normalidad, esa normalidad en la que unos trabajan y otros no hacen nada más que comer y beber a costa de aquellos que no beben y apenas comen, pero trabajan. Así es la vida en los reinos, cuentan los pergaminos de historia.

Así, aunque pasaron algunos minutos de risas incontenibles, no por mucho tiempo duró la euforia. De pronto las risas comenzaron a bajar su volumen y todos comenzaron a mirar algo extraño. Sus manos comenzaban a difuminarse, como le sucede al polvo cuando lo levantas del suelo.

Fueron desapareciendo uno a uno cada integrante del reino. Solo quedó el héroe, desnudo y sin espada.