Page 134 - Orwell, George - Nineteen eighty-four -bilingüe [pdf]

George Orwell 1 9 8 4 133

Obviously the kind of encounter that had happened Desde luego, la clase de encuentro de aquella
this morning could not be repeated. If she had mañana no podía repetirse. Si ella hubiera
worked in the Records Department it might have trabajado en el Departamento de Registro, habría
been comparatively simple, but he had only a very sido muy sencillo, pero Winston tenía una idea
dim idea whereabouts in the building the Fiction muy remota de dónde estaba el Departamento de
Department lay, and he had no pretext for going Novela en el edificio del Ministerio y no tenía
there. If he had known where she lived, and at what pretexto alguno para ir allí. Si hubiera sabido
time she left work, he could have contrived to meet dónde vivía y a qué hora salía del trabajo, se las
her somewhere on her way home; but to try to follow habría arreglado para hacerse el encontradizo; pero
her home was not safe, because it would mean no era prudente seguirla a casa ya que esto suponía
loitering about outside the Ministry, which was esperarla delante del Ministerio a la salida, lo cual
bound to be noticed. As for sending a letter through llamaría la atención indefectiblemente. En cuanto a
the mails, it was out of the question. By a routine that mandar una carta por correo, sería una locura. Ni
was not even secret, all letters were opened in transit. siquiera se ocultaba que todas las cartas se abrían,
Actually, few people ever wrote letters. For the por lo cual casi nadie escribía ya cartas. Para los
messages that it was occasionally necessary to send, mensajes que se necesitaba mandar, había tarjetas
there were printed postcards with long lists of impresas con largas listas de frases y se escogía la
phrases, and you struck out the ones that were más adecuada borrando las demás. En todo caso,
inapplicable. In any case he did not know the girl's no sólo ignoraba la dirección de la muchacha, sino
name, let alone her address. Finally he decided that incluso su nombre. Finalmente, decidió que el sitio
the safest place was the canteen. If he could get her más seguro era la cantina. Si pudiera ocupar una
at a table by herself, somewhere in the middle of the mesa junto a la de ella hacia la mitad del local, no
room, not too near the telescreens, and with a demasiado cerca de la telepantalla y con el
sufficient buzz of conversation all round—if these zumbido de las conversaciones alrededor, le
conditions endured for, say, thirty seconds, it might bastaba con treinta segundos para ponerse de
be possible to exchange a few words. acuerdo con ella.

For a week after this, life was like a restless dream. Durante una semana después, la vida fue para
On the next day she did not appear in the canteen Winston como una pesadilla. Al día siguiente, la
until he was leaving it, the whistle having already joven no apareció por la cantina hasta el momento
blown. Presumably she had been changed on to a en que él se marchaba cuando ya había sonado la
later shift. They passed each other without a glance. sirena. Seguramente, la habían cambiado a otro
On the day after that she was in the canteen at the turno. Se cruzaron sin mirarse. Al día siguiente,
usual time, but with three other girls and estuvo ella en la cantina a la hora de costumbre,
immediately under a telescreen. Then for three pero con otras tres chicas y debajo de una
dreadful days she did not appear at all. His whole telepantalla. Pasaron tres días insoportables para
mind and body seemed to be afflicted with an Winston, en que no la vio en la cantina. Tanto su
unbearable sensitivity, a sort of transparency, which espíritu como su cuerpo habían adquirido una
made every movement, every sound, every contact, hipersensibilidad que casi le imposibilitaba para
every word that he had to speak or listen to, an hablar y moverse. Incluso en sueños no podía
agony. Even in sleep he could not altogether escape librarse por completo de aquella imagen. Durante
from her image. He did not touch the diary during aquellos días no abrió su Diario. El único alivio lo
those days. If there was any relief, it was in his work, encontraba en el trabajo; entonces conseguía
in which he could sometimes forget himself for ten olvidarla durante diez minutos seguidos. No tenía
minutes at a stretch. He had absolutely no clue as to ni la menor idea de lo que pudiera haberle ocurrido
what had happened to her. There was no enquiry he y no había que pensar en hacer una investigación.
could make. She might have been vaporized, she Quizá. la hubieran vaporizado, quizá se hubiera
might have committed suicide, she might have been suicidado o, a lo mejor, la habían trasladado al otro
transferred to the other end of Oceania: worst and extremo de Oceanía. La posibilidad a la vez mejor
likeliest of all, she might simply have changed her y peor de todas era que la joven, sencillamente,