En las labores de la hacienda trabajaban decenas de peones quienes a diario se dedicaban a la recolección de café. Allí solo estaban para ganar el sustento para vivir. Las condiciones no eran óptimas para el trabajador. Particularmente, la comida era poca y desbalanceada. La mayoría de ellos se encontraban débiles por el exceso de trabajo, a veces sentían desvanecerse bajo la carga de frutos rojos que trasladarían hasta los patios destinados al procesamiento.

Roberto, un peón de la hacienda, robusto con la juventud a flor de piel, se destacaba entre sus compañeros. Era alegre, dicharachero y virtuoso.

Un día, mientras tomaba su almuerzo su mirada se cruzó con la de una hermosa chica. Ella era rubia y encantadora. Él de inmediato quedó prendado de su belleza. A partir de ese día solo se preocupaba por que la hora del mediodía llegase rápido. Era la esperanza de verla nuevamente y hasta poder cruzar algunas palabras con ella.

Días después el tan anhelado momento llegó. Ella estaba en la sala que daba a la cocina. Perfectamente desde el ventanal podía observarla sin limitaciones, era como un aliento que le daba vida.

-Mira Roberto, deja de mirarla, que si te llega a descubrir el patrón te echa- sentenció un viejo peón que lo observaba. Roberto estaba tan distraído que ni oyó las palabras de su amigo, se sentía como en el paraíso, alejado de la realidad.

Ya era la hora de volver al trabajo, sería una tarde muy atareada. Aquellos frutos de color rojo intenso, se deslizaban entre sus dedos como enormes gotas de sangre. Sus pensamientos ni por un solo instante se desligaban de la imagen del lozano rostro de aquella hermosa muchacha.

Esther, la hija de los patrones, que apenas contaba con dieciséis años, también se había enamorado, pero ninguno tenía la posibilidad de declararle su amor al otro.

Era un amor imposible. Cada vez que la veía sentía que sus entrañas se destrozaban por dentro. Era la sensación de la erupción de un volcán que repentinamente lo destrozaría con su lava ardiente. Cada instante era una eternidad, ya no soportaría ni un día más. Cómo deseaba estar junto a ella.

Roberto se levantó repentinamente de su hamaca, salió al corredor para tomar un poco de aire. Luego se dirigió al tanque de afuera para lavar su cara. El reflejo en el agua cristalina le pareció tan desconocido. Su rostro ya no era el mismo. Lucía demacrado y muy delgado, sus ojos ya no tenían el brillo de antes, por el contrario, parecían esconderse bajo un par de párpados caídos. ¿Cuántos años habrían pasado? Había enloquecido perdiendo la noción del tiempo. Su vida ya no era nada, no lo podía ser. Lo único que le mantenía vivo era el profundo recuerdo de la bella Esther.

Dozens of laborers worked on the hacienda, who daily dedicated themselves to the harvesting of coffee. They were there only to earn a living. The conditions were not optimal for the workers. In particular, food was scarce and unbalanced. Most of them were weak from overwork, sometimes they felt faint under the load of red fruits that they would carry to the processing yards.

Roberto, a farm laborer, robust and youthful, stood out among his companions. He was cheerful, talkative and virtuous.

One day, while taking his lunch, his gaze met that of a beautiful girl. She was blonde and charming. He immediately fell in love with her beauty. From that day on he only worried that the noon hour would come quickly. It was the hope to see her again and even to be able to cross a few words with her.

A few days later the longed-for moment arrived. She was in the living room facing the kitchen. Perfectly from the window I could observe her without limitations, it was like a breath that gave her life.

-Look Roberto, stop looking at her, if the boss discovers you, he'll throw you out," said an old farmhand who was watching him. Roberto was so distracted that he did not even hear his friend's words, he felt like in paradise, far from reality.

It was time to go back to work, it would be a very busy afternoon. Those deep red fruits slipped through his fingers like huge drops of blood. Not even for a single moment did his thoughts stray from the image of that beautiful girl's fresh face.

Esther, the bosses' daughter, who was barely sixteen years old, had also fallen in love, but neither had the possibility of declaring their love to the other.

It was an impossible love. Every time he saw her he felt his insides shatter inside. It was the sensation of the eruption of a volcano that would suddenly tear him apart with its fiery lava. Every moment was an eternity, he could not stand another day. How he longed to be with her.

Roberto suddenly got up from his hammock, went out into the corridor to get some air. Then he went to the tank outside to wash his face. The reflection in the crystal clear water seemed so unfamiliar. His face was no longer the same. He looked haggard and very thin, his eyes no longer had the sparkle of before, on the contrary, they seemed to hide under a pair of drooping eyelids. How many years had passed? He had gone mad, losing track of time. His life was nothing anymore, it couldn't be. The only thing that kept him alive was the profound memory of the beautiful Esther.