Fiction: The Walls Are Crumbling (Los muros se derrumban)[EN/ES]
Published on HivePostify by @rinconpoetico7 · Sun Aug 16 2026
English The Walls Are Crumbling
“Tom, don't forget to heat lunch.” Rudolf knocked on the bedroom door.
When he got no answer, he decided to go into his son’s room. The place was a bit of a mess, cluttered and untidy. Clothes were scattered everywhere, the computer was on, and the white sheets had slipped to one side of the bed.
Tom was lying face down on the bed, sleeping peacefully. It had been another night of wild partying. Rudolf gently shook the boy, hoping for a response. Tom turned his head and looked at his father, while the hangover pounded mercilessly in his head. Through a haze of blurry images, Tom’s blue eyes focused on his father—a stocky man with a prominent belly, a beard streaked with gray, and a bald spot that had taken over much of his head.
“What do you want, old man?” Tom frowned.
“Son, lunch is ready; you just have to heat it. I’m heading to work.”
“All right, I’ll heat the food. Now let me sleep.” Tom buried his head in the pillow again.
“I’ll see you tonight, son.” Rudolf put on a sad expression and left the room.
The day dawned with glorious sunshine; a splendid blue blanketed the sky, and the warmth welcomed passersby as they hurried back and forth, trying to get started on their daily routines. Vehicles moved like ants in an almost endless line, and the bustle was the song of the city waking up.
After a few hours, Rudolf arrived at work. His 20 years of experience in construction had earned him a reputation in the trade. He arrived at the building under construction, a massive concrete structure that was gradually taking shape. The exposed beams revealed the building’s skeleton, and the steel rebar looked like threads combing through the sky.
“Rudolf, the concrete for the beams on the 20th floor hasn’t arrived. The workers don’t know what to do,” Martin said to his friend.
“I’m going to call the architect to get the materials moving faster.” Rudolf pulled out his cell phone.
After a few minutes, the truck carrying the concrete arrived at the construction site. Rudolf went to the top floor of the building to supervise the progress of the construction. The men moved like ants, doing their work under the scorching sun.
“Rudolf, give me a hand, please.” Martin was assembling the beam’s framework. “Hold this rod, please.”
“No problem, Martin. Don’t use too many rods, or the beam will be too stiff.” Rudolf helped his friend assemble the beam.
Martin looked at his friend’s face, which reflected a deep sadness.
“What’s wrong, Rudolf? You don’t look well.” Martin continued tying the rods together with wire.
“It’s my son…” Rudolf lowered his head.
“I see. That boy’s a rebel—you need to be tougher on him; that’s how they learn their lesson.” Martin moved his hand as if to whip.
“I don’t think so. I imagine he’s just trying to come to terms with the separation.” Rudolf sighed.
“That Susana was shameless. Leaving them just to run off with a man. You should’ve told your son what his mother did.” Martin kept working.
“Tom loves his mother very much. I don’t know how he would’ve taken it.”
“So now you’re going to be the bad guy?”
The silence of their conversation was interrupted by the deafening noise of the workers going about their business.
“Let’s go get some coffee. It’s almost break time,” Rudolf urged his friend.
The men were making their way down the construction site when, suddenly, the structure began to sway violently from side to side.
“Oh my God, it’s an earthquake. Let’s get down fast.” Martin felt his heart pounding in his chest.
“Okay, go down. I’m going to make sure the workers evacuate calmly.” Rudolf headed back.
“You’re crazy, Rudolf; let’s get out of here!”
“Go! I’ll see you downstairs.”
Martin kept going down as the structure continued to shake violently. When Martin reached the bottom, the building collapsed. Screams of desperation and panic were deafening.
On the other side of town, Tom had managed to get out of the house, and from the street he looked out at the widespread devastation. People running, screams, wails, and panic filled the air. At that moment, Tom felt a heavy knot in his stomach and thought of his father; he ran toward the building.
After a few hours, Tom arrived at the building, exhausted, and what he saw made his heart stop for a moment. A mountain of rubble reflected in his blue eyes, and tears streamed down his cheeks.
Tom began asking the people clearing the rubble about his father. Martin heard the boy desperately asking for Rudolf and walked over to him.
“Hey, kid, are you Rudolf’s son?” Martin, covered in dust, asked Tom.
“Yes, yes, where’s my dad?” Tom asked desperately.
Martin looked sadly at the pile of rubble.
“Rudolf went back to evacuate the workers, and then the structure collapsed. I’m sorry, kid.” Martin placed his hand on Tom’s shoulder.
“No, it can’t be…” Tom ran toward the rubble and began clearing it away with his bare hands. “Dad, Dad, don’t die.” Tears streamed down his face as he kept clearing the rubble.
“Let me help you, kid. Let’s not give up hope of finding Rudolf.”
A day had passed, and they were finding nothing but bodies. The hope of finding Rudolf alive was fading fast; nevertheless, Tom continued clearing away the rubble from the collapsed walls, revealing a new reality to the boy's eyes.
“Here, have some water, Tom.” Martin motioned for the boy to sit down next to him.
“Thanks, but I don’t feel like eating or drinking—I just want to find him.” Tom sobbed.
“Rudolf would have been surprised to see you here. He thought you didn’t love him anymore.” Martin took a sip of water.
“Despite what happened, I still love him—I was just angry about what happened with my mom.” Tom squeezed the water bottle.
“It wasn’t Rudolf’s fault—it was your mother who abandoned you both for another man. Rudolf never wanted to tell you because he knew how much you love your mother.” Martin stared intently at Tom.
The boy began to cry and threw himself into Martin’s arms.
“I was a fool.”
“We hear someone who’s still alive.” The deep voice of one of the rescuers echoed throughout the area.
Tom and Martin ran to the ruins, where everyone was beginning to clear away the rubble.
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