Por Nadia Rivera Marrero
I am here in my apartment with my childhood friend Tony. He was picked up from the airport by me a few hours ago. We are catching up on what has happened in our lives in the past 12 years. I tell him about my experience moving from Sicily to New Jersey, and the culture shock me and my family had witnessed when we first arrived here. In return, Tony tells me about staying with his parents until he went abroad for university. He reveals he went to a prestigious university in Paris and I congratulate him. Hmm, that is strange. I thought he would be in Calabria or go as far as Madrid. Then I ask Tony if he could bring water for us and he gladly accepts. I see his arms while he pours water into two cups, and notice that he no longer has a scar in his hand. In
one second, Tony gets a little nervous but then assures me that he finally bought a good scar cream for it. Huh, I was there when he got that scar. He was quite proud of it. I nod quietly. A few minutes later, Tony starts craving for a frozen treat. He asks me what I have in my freezer. Feeling suspicious, I only tell him there are three pints of gelato and that he can serve himself a small bowl. I carefully watch him as he opens up the freezer and picks a pint. Chocolate hazelnut… Tony asks me which drawer I keep the scooper. He hears silence. I sneak up behind him and knock him out cold. He lays on the floor while I pick up the pint. You are not Tony. He has a nut allergy.
¿Qué dijo el jurado?
Este microcuento se destaca por su capacidad de generar tensión a través de la subversión de las expectativas del lector. Su carácter lúdico, unido a su uso de convenciones del género detectivesco, nos lleva a un ambiente igualmente reconocible y tenebroso. El uso eficaz de la primera persona invita al lector a conectar con el narrador y a hacer suya la transición de la alegría a la duda de este personaje. Adicionalmente, la trama nos invita a cuestionar nuestros vínculos íntimos, haciéndonos reflexionar sobre si realmente podemos llegar a conocer genuina y completamente a un amigo.
Por la combinación de humor y misterio, la habilidad para crear un ambiente psicológico complejo y la caracterización creativa de los personajes, el jurado otorga el segundo lugar al microcuento Hazelnut de la autoría de Nadia Rivera Marrero.
Jurado: Dra. Ana-Loreanne Colón, Dra. Naida García Crespo, Profa. Yasmarie Hernández González y Prof. Emmanuelle Soto Ríos
Este texto resultó ganador del segundo lugar en la categoría Microcuento del Cuarto Certamen Literario (2026) del Centro de Idiomas y Educación General de la Universidad del Sagrado Corazón.
© imagen: freepik.com
[meta]lenguaje 
Deja un comentario