I placed the shiny red shape in the exact center of the table. Martín looked at it dubiously. "That's the strangest cherry I've ever seen. Whoever made it needs to get their printer calibrated ... [+]
She had mentioned this park being her favourite, yet she is still not here, and the agonising pain in my heart keeps on hurting. Where could she be?
I was 18 when I came to this country, with a few hundred francs and a dream: to support my family, and to be someone they could be proud of. A path shared by many but only completed by a few, for it requires sacrifice. Only a disciplined man who has the perfect control of his emotions shall achieve his dreams, or so they said.
At first, I tried to find love by impressing people. I followed the rules of the "experts in flirting" of my generation, but it never worked for me. I was not the most charismatic guy around. So, after 3 years of trying to find love, when the world decided to not love me back, I decided to shun it from my life forever. I decided to sacrifice my happiness for the so-called success. My work was a priority; love would come knocking at my door later. I must be serious and support my family; I thought of sadness and loneliness as mere obstacles. Even though I was suffering, I tried to ignore it. That is when life played its golden trick.
Just when I started to become stricter on myself, she entered my life. She had a smile which made my heart skip a beat the first time I saw her. However, being the "soldier" I was at the time, I quickly gained control of my heart, to avoid developing any feelings for her.
Riddle me this, dear reader: Do friends talk to each other nonstop? Do they spend every day with each other? Yes, for sure. Now, do they spend a whole night lying besides each other, under the sea of stars, talking about life and about different philosophical ideas? And afterwards, do they share a blanket between themselves and discuss love until the birds start chirping and the sun rises with its beautiful pink - golden aura? I do not think so. Or maybe, we were really good friends.
The many discussions we had made me realise that she was a free bird trying to make her own life, while this world was trying to cage her. Her family forced her to work in their family restaurant. But she was strong, and she wanted to become someone by herself. And that never stopped her from being an optimistic person; she always made people smile.
I was religious, but her kindness and her charm coupled with her enthralling beauty had enslaved my heart and my mind more than the "Fear of god" itself. Was she sent by the Gods? Is this a test?
The denial was strong. Even when she sang with her angelic voice, and I accompanied her with my guitar during our duet music sessions, I censored my heart. I had a lot to lose; I could not fall in love.
However, my heart controlled me in the shadows. I negotiated with my boss to work in the same shift as her. I decided to walk her to her home every time after our late-night work shifts. We continued to share each other our lives. After 6 months of "platonic" friendship, my heart could not take it anymore.
That is when life decided to play its second golden trick. She did not come to work one evening, and I started worrying. I looked outside the window every minute, awaiting a shadow, a glimpse of her. In the heavy cold rains of November, I yearned for the ray of sunshine which made my life less miserable.
One of her friends came running to where we work. My mind started running, did something bad happen to her?
She had to urgently return to her family. She received a letter explaining that her father was sick, and she had to help manage her family's restaurant. I asked if she was coming back - she did not say anything, yet her reaction to the question replied perfectly: the woman I cherished is never coming back here.
I was overwhelmed with grief. She was gone, and I was helpless. My mind stopped working, trying to find a solution but failing every time. For the first time I felt like I had something more important than my work. Life had given a cold shivering man the long-awaited warm blanket, and then it decided to snatch the blanket away.
I had to tell her that I loved her.
My heart took control of my rational mind: I had 60 francs in my wallet, and the train ticket costed me 45. I decided to play all my cards; I could not see her suffer with her father being sick. On a more personal level, I was ready to sacrifice everything I have if there is even the slightest chance of her presence in my life.
I quit my job, borrowed some money from her friend, and left for the station. I did not know how to contact her, but I wanted to go to an unknown city 6 hours away, with 20 francs in my pocket, after quitting my only job and all my friends, because I loved her, and I wanted to spend my life with her.
I do not have her house landline, and I surely do not know where she lives exactly. How will I find her? My heart however, found an old memory of us hiding deep in my mind's library: we were near the riverbed, listening to the flow of water, calm and gentle. The moment was serene and peaceful, and it reminded her of her favourite park near her neighbourhood. The park with a lake, and an ice cream shop called "Les pépites glacées". Bingo!
Frantically, I asked around for this park, and eventually an old lady helped me out: she gave me the exact location of this park and how to reach there.
And here I am, in this park. No job, completely poor, but a small sliver of hope. It has been 36 hours; the bench in front of the ice cream shop is not a perfect bed, but it does the job. The bread is not filling my stomach, but I am not dying of hunger. I look around every time, searching for her beautiful brown hair and her cute face. How should I find a job here? Where should I live? All these questions will be answered once I tell her everything.
The lake is filled with ducks quacking, and I see families with their children smiling and laughing. Three generations of a family are now in front of me: an old lady with her young daughter who just had a baby girl. Life is beautiful, I think, and we humans are stupid little animals living in an infinitesimal slit of time, burdened with the feeling of love and longing for social bonds. How stupid am I to leave everything behind? Yet, I do not feel stupid. I feel satisfied.
My eyes are suddenly alert: they spot from afar a woman with brown hair, same length as hers. I look closely - those long eyelashes, cute little cheeks, the diamond like shape of her beautiful face. It is her. She has come to her favourite park.
As she approaches the ice cream parlour, she notices me. Her eyes start to widen; she has a huge smile. She comes running towards me and hugs me tightly, crying and whispering my name.
"What are you doing here, stupid?", she asks while having tears in her eyes.
I explain to her that I cannot take it anymore. I muster up some courage, for it was now or never. And even after practicing this exact moment in my mind for a thousand times, like any other cringey romantic story, I stutter on the "three-magical" words.
She looks at me directly in my eyes; and as a smile appears in her teary face, followed by a quick laugh, she leaps in for a kiss.
Time stops, no one else exists now. It is only me and her, alone, like two shadows dancing the waltz amongst the bright stars and the purple blue sky.
My mind goes berserk, and my whole body feels warm. This stupid little animal longing for a social bond just found a way to be rich; I found my soulmate.