The Waiting (La Espera) - one of my absolute favorite Borges tales, a stunning tale frequently overlooked even by the author's avid fans.
We're in the northwest part of Buenos Aires where a man calling himself Villari waits in his hotel room, fearing someone from his past will arrive on the scene to murder him. Borges never provides more than a flash of backstory (Villari's prior contact with the underworld) as to why this is so -much from beginning to end remains enveloped in mystery and shadows. Villari thinks the days and hours of waiting will be endless, unless, that is, he reads about the death of Alejando Villari in the morning newspaper. "It was also possible that Villari had already died and in that case this life was a dream." More drama in this four-page tale and then we reach the conclusion where Villari is in his bed sleeping. What happens next and next blurs the line between...for Jorge Luis Borges to tell.
The Waiting is part of Borges' Labyrinths and can also be read online under The Aleph with the title The Wait: https://posthegemony.files.wordpress....
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