Unchanging expressions

She only had one dress in her wardrobe and must have been a relevant reason to wear it. Elisa entered the restaurant y sat down in the first empty table close to the door. She didn´t try to find him. He was always late. She looked at her reflection over the TV surface. Some hair broke out of her braid as it did on her youth. She felt proud of being free from the tight ponytail she was getting used to in the last months.

Elisa ordered a green tea after checking that he didn´t warn about his delay too. Filled half of the cup and held it between her hands feeling its warm. She looked back to the TV surface: the make-up was thin but was so obvious for her. Elisa tried to avoid it her entire life but the wrinkles made more frequently the use of those products. Didn´t have problems to recognize her age, it was that in the face of him...

She felt his perfume before see him. It was curious how, after such a long time, he was still using the same scent. He ordered tea and sat down in front of her.

-What do you want, Manuel? - she asked directly with a serious gesture.

Elisa waited for his answer trying to collect all her patience. His eyes were examined her as never she saw him doing it. She didn´t want to pay attention to his clothes, more formal than he was used to but not too much, he changed his tracksuit to tight trousers and a t-shirt without decoration.

-I´m glad you came - he mentioned while serving the tea and left it standing in the cup.

-What do you want? - Elisa repeated.

-I have a job here. Probably indefinite contract in a few months. I don´t want to move from city to city again.

She kept her expression as if that notice didn´t mean anything.

-I thought that maybe... we could try again - he was straight for the first time in his life.

Elisa started to laugh as if that was the funniest joke she had listened in years. However, she realized how difficult it was before for him to express his feelings with her.

-To play we are falling in love? Again?

-We weren´t too bad - Manuel answered immediately.

-This is ridiculous.

She stood up. Preferred heels when meeting him, she could cut back the height difference with him. Elisa chose flats at that time.

-Wait a second! - he requested while catching her hand.

She didn´t turn around. Breath slowly feeling her heart speeding up.

-Asking for a new opportunity would be unfair, isn´t it?

-Yes, definitely. We are far away from our third time´s charm.

-Do you remember how everything started? Before you declared your love, you told me to be honest and not to avoid your glances if I didn´t feel the same or wanted to try to discover it. Now you are tearing away your eyes from me.

Elisa twisted slightly.

-I don´t understand why you want to continue with this madness - she referred looking at his eyes.

-But you are still talking with me.

The tea was going to get cold as always happened at the beginning of their relationship. They were going to stretch out that discussion with reprovals and apologizes. At the end, they were going to interlace their fingers shyly as if the skin of each one was new to each other. The grey hair demonstrated their maturity. Sometimes the foolishness took control of that game over their experience. Maybe, only maybe, that time was the charm one.

Dreams

I dream of white, black and golden roses,

with a moon talking with me.

I dream I´m catching by your kisses,

banished words.

I dream I´m the daybreak of a thousand memories

living in your eyes.

I dream of a girl who is a butterfly.

I dream I´m going down on a flat slope

and I give a hug to the time.

              I dream of a never-ending smile.

                 I dream I´m making dreams.

13-06-2017

Writing exercise connected with Nicanor Parra´s poem "Sueños".

The coffee shop

The coffee was disgusting and expensive. Moreover, he needed to use headphones to concentrate on something else than the shouts of certain clients. However, if he took time to drink it, it wasn´t because each sip turned out to be a stabbing pain in his stomach. It was his time to make contact with life´s meaning.

He had talked for a while with the waiters just to be polite. He knew some clients but avoid any kind of conversation. Even the impersonality, once monthly he felt the responsibility to spend an evening there and see the world go by: someone arrived, sat down and played as if didn´t know it table mate; there were businessmen, serious but enough humans to sympathize with a poor client; he loved the grandparents and their grandchildren, telling off and allowing them at the same time; he was impressed with the young people capability to continue talking by the mobile when that person was in front of them; he ignored the lonely people like him, different stories he denied to know because each one deserve a quiet time; some families went away while others appeared ready to get him involved into their lives.

The good mood came back to his body and all his problems found a solution in a natural way. He went outside renovated, yes, but it seemed he was avoiding her own happy end. It was difficult to leave and was determined to continue with his routine: do as if life was in its place and didn´t feel impacted by that. He started to be tired of that situation. But he only knew to see happiness in other´s lives. Sometimes that was enough.

The beginnings are History

Let´s travel to the past. It´s the second of September of two thousand nineteen. An extraordinary adventure must start with a notable beginning.

Experience. This year could be defined in many ways, but no one includes the word 'boring'. My arrival was a topic to talk about. For some people, it can be a stupid thing. For me, it was just the summary of the story that was to come.

I couldn´t sleep. I wasn´t nervous. The previous days were really intense and beautiful. The farewell... I remember those ones without any goodbye. My flight was at six in the morning. However, we didn´t take off before eight. There was a technical issue not serious but the professionals didn´t know where it came from, so on it was difficult to solve. I had my bus ticket bought and printed, to take two hours after my landing, the same time the flight was delayed. I run to take my suitcase and I run with my suitcase. I don´t know if it was my lucky day or it was something that needed to happen: I was on time to catch it.

After more than four hours sitting on the plane, I had another three. Anyhow, it was long minutes looking at the landscape I already knew but with new eyes. I planned to write, among other things this post which arrives late but at the perfect moment. The learning started at that point. Stop, enjoy the present.

The memories of that day... the sky was clear, a blue day, one of those similar to the childhood happy summers. Impressions? The roundabouts are gigantic and have some small adverts with texts like 'weekend after bank holiday'... English people... nothing else to say. Some images come to my mind... shoes (black boots to concrete) perfectly placed in the middle of the road to take a picture for a crime book. Oh, it was a warm day, the sheep were together under a tree shadow. The benches showed off just painted as if the weather didn´t go to ruin it...

Hidden shoes

Charlotte was running into the house searching through all boxes and cupboards. She even checked under the beds challenging her patient.

-Shoe, beautiful one, do you mind to come here right now? Common, please, go away from your hidden place and I promise that... I´ll wash my feet every day. Little shoe, give me a sign, just only one - she was shouting testing that it wasn´t also below the sofa.

-Ja, she can´t believe her own words, it´s not possible to do her feet not smelly. I´m so sorry but today I´m deaf - a shrill voice mentioned in the living room.

-Hey, she´s calling me. Could you help me? My lace is putting on the heater and Charlotte needs me now.

-No way! Beautiful Shoe it´s me! Look my skin. What about the heel. It´s... perfect.

-Yes... that´s... true. But I´m also Shoe. She really likes me.

-Good for you but I´M MORE IMPORTANT for her. She gets you dirty on the mountain while I visit the city. You should think carefully about the meaning of 'affection`.

-But... leave me alone!

-Of course, I will! You shouldn´t be called like me. Shoe is a name for glamorous ones and not... you´ll be okay hiding between the curtains. I´m coming!

The leyend of the sea

They said her closest relation with the sea it was due to her zodiac sign, that the moon and sea were part of her personality because of the start´s influence. Her mood followed the tide´s pace and even her skin seemed to turn into scales.

Whitney could spend longs seasons far from the ocean, but when she came back, her entire body found the harmony which sometimes wasn´t lost. No one understood that and she didn´t try to explain.

However, that summer she made a decision which surprised everyone. Whitney was going to move to a small mountain village four hours far from the nearest sea. She thought to live with the bicycle as the only way of transportation and keep into the province´s limits. She didn´t want to have visits neither come back to civilization in a couple of years. Her determination was shocking because she was a sociable person who explained every step, except on that occasion.

The time passed away without knowing anything about her life and one day the world changed. Scientific told about climate change but Whitney´s friends knew she was behind the event. The land opened and was covered by salad water at the same place where she moved on, an area covered just the limits of the province.

The questions followed one another into the remembrance of those eyes which called the sea. The answers were lost into that blue expanse.

Distance

Close

to the lies

and the dead hours.

Far

the words,

the thought´s forgetfulness.

Echo,

resonance,

unreal present

with which chance is playing.

Milestone

in charge of eating

the dream´s time.

The nearness

of the barriers

with which you fall down.

And at midway

die into the memory,

come back into the looks.

Such a cute bird

He was mesmerized listening to the ocean´s bites. Even didn´t notice the moment when all his worries disappeared relaxing his muscles. Blank mind, the waves bathing his feet, the winter sun over his face and... inappropriate call ready to break his happiness.

-Hello darling. I hope you haven´t forgotten to pick up Mark at seven; he is in karate. And Julia finishes her French class at eight. Buy some bread. Ah, tomorrow is your sister´s birthday, think about her gift. I´m coming into my yoga class. See you later! I love you.

Without time to answer, Andrew hung up the call and, resigned, put his hand into the right trouser pocket. He was surprised and searched carefully in the jacket. Looked over the beach. He stirred the sand with his foot and checked again the coat. Andrew couldn´t understand that.

He came back to the car concentrate on the way he did before. Was unlucky. Was pretty sure about closing the car and keep the keys. Definitely, they weren´t there.

Andrew returned nervously to the beach. And so he made out: the keys were being guarded by an enormous seagull, in particular, the biggest in the hole area. He walked toward it slowly. Didn´t want to scare it.

He was just a few metres far when observed its beak going down till the key. And flew away. He observed it getting away like an idiot.

The mobile started ringing again in his pocket.

-I forgot to mention that you also need to pick up Luke, Mark´s friend. I promised his mother we would take him home. Bye!

The man ran through the beach as the soul that the devil carries. It was becoming dark. He didn´t want to check the watch, was concentrate on the seagull gliding over the water five metres far from the seashore. Andrew clenches his fists forgetting his new suit. It was time to take a bath.

30-01-2018

Encyclopaedic ignorant

He was fifteen when was offended for the first time with those two words. Of course, he never thought to have all the knowledge of the world, but he didn´t expect to feel that punch in the stomach being so young.

Now, he was looking into the eyes of that little boy feeling as lost as ever. He could have studied as many books as possible, he could have gone to most of the conference available, even all the hours investigating, he didn´t have an answer to what was happening with Mark´s body. And wasn´t able to treat him.

The child was watching him with admiration. He knew the truth all the time, even in that chance. Their parents were sighting and trying to not cry without success. Marcos smiled and hugged him, one of those hugs which seemed to touch the heart physically.

The family stopped believing in medicine and moved into a mountain´s village where live the last days of the boy.

The grey hair was taking up all his head between the consultations until his retirement. After that, he decided to travel around the country.

He was walking in a small mountain´s village when started listening to some heartbreaking screams. Following his instinct, he found a girl who just felt down from a tree and had a terrible injury in her leg. Even without his medical instrument, he tried to stop the blood. Then, carried the girl to her house and called immediately to emergencies.

At the moment when he appeared at the door, he realized that the girl´s father was Marcos. Before they took the girl to the ambulance, she hugged him, one of those hugs which stay forever taking root into the soul.

Why is just notes?

There are loves that are not possible to forget. The first time I came to study in Bournemouth, I felt in love with this coastal city in the south of England. I suppose is due to the sea. I know there are other reasons. I found a volunteer experience with young people in my worship place by chance. So I didn't hesitate to apply for it.

I have been living and volunteering in Bournemouth for five months now. Since that moment I wanted to start this section but is this exact moment, when everything is changing, that I really need to inaugurate it. I´ll be writing stories from the previous months while talking about new experiences. It won´t be the perfect speech, I'll leave empty stories, incomplete sentences, and disconnected remembrances, The need to open this chapter is beyond the memory work.