When it was Marcos’ turn, a guard pulled him up from his kneeling position. The medic, who had a striking similarity to Charles Laughton, said, “This is to make you relax. The trip to the new camp will be long. Now take a deep breath.”

The wind was getting stronger, debris was hitting the elevator cage with vicious rage, and the jarring sound of metal produced by the contorting tower structure completed the scatological scene. It was the end of the world.

While he was falling, fireworks were exploding in the darkened Montevideo’s sky. He could still hear Marcos inside his head saying, “A new year, a new life. Let’s get out of this.”

As I explained to you before, some patients who have been in a coma for some time have recovered after just a few cycles of neural stimulation. However, this is not an exact science and our procedure is still in an experimental phase.

The winner of the World Cup would be the team who has the last man standing after a total fistfight, according to FIFA’s new rule. The fight must start immediately after the last penalty kick.

“You see, Saint Roque, before being canonized by popular demand, was attending the sick in Italy. It was during the bubonic plague in medieval times. Eventually, he fell ill too, so he left to live in the woods, afraid of passing the malady to others. He could have starved to death if not for a dog that regularly brought him bread to eat.”

“A dog?”

“Yes, a dog.” Marcos said as a child sharing an epiphany.