New York Story, by Mercurio

A short introduction

This is a story written by Mercurio in spanish and translated in english by Srta.Pecas and Terry_for_ever. As you can understand all three girls are Candy-Candy fans. I first read the story at www.candyterry.com

I would like to thank the writer for sharing her inspiration, the translators for the beautiful work they have done and all the other Candy-fans who have helped me find this wonderful story.

I am sure you will all enjoy it


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“In this chaotic universe certainty only comes along once, it doesnʼt matter how many lives one is able to live.”

A New York Story
By Mercurio


Faith Sherman was the only daughter of a southern widow that in her best times had been married to a merchant man from Atlanta. Mr. Sherman had died when Faith was twelve years old, and since then mother and daughter had confronted life together. Making their way against wind and sea and leading a simple life in one of the suburbs in Dixie Land capital.
Even with all the pain that her fatherʼs death had caused her, little Faith had kept her vivacity and freshness that were her trademarks and made her so loved among her friends and all of those who met her. When someone needed a shoulder to cry on, a smile to brighten the darkest day or just an attentive listener, Faith was there to help.
At age sixteen the young woman had done some volunteer work at a public school for special need children and in that activity she had found her vocation. Since then her biggest dream had been to be able to dedicate herself to special education but her probabilities of continuing her studies after high school were slim due to the bad economic conditions of her family.
Ashley Sherman had been a prosperous merchant but after the birth of his daughter Faith, his wife Sarah had had many problems with her health and the medical bills had forced Sherman to acquire debts that he could never pay. By the time of his death in 1992, Sarah had had to sell the gas station that they owned and the summer house in order to be able to pay of her husbands debts. Without any other mean of support, Mrs. Sherman had started to work part time taking care of the elderly in a home and she received a pension from the government, being that her health didnʼt allow her to work more.
Faith helped Sarah however she could, taking on summer jobs and babysitting after school. But that kind of money was not enough to guarantee a college education for the young woman. In any case Faith had decided to get the best grades and take the most advanced and difficult courses that her school had offered in order to get a scholarship that would allow her to continue in order to reach her goal of Special Education.
Thatʼs how she lived her last year in school. Faith worked really hard dividing up her time between her studies, the children that she looked after, and the volunteer work. During the moments when she was free, she would keep herself busy trying to fix everyone elseʼs lives, even if they didnʼt ask for it. She was a professional busybody, but she had so much charisma that people easily forgave her intrusions.

But Faith Sherman didnʼt have time for love, and not because of lack of suitors. Faith was not only charming; she also possessed an irreverent and fresh beauty. Tall and delicately curvy, of strong movements, she looked at the world from the burning light of her deep green eyes that shone like toe lakes in which emerald color fish swam.

To her great annoyance the young woman possessed an extraordinary fair skin that never tanned properly, but got covered in freckles if she stayed in the sun for a long time. Faith, who loved the outdoors, sports and the sea, always complained about her incapacity to have tanned skin. Her mother had consoled her telling her that in other times fair skin had been a beauty standard even thought in our times a tan was considered more beautiful. But this didnʼt really make her feel better.

She did however have a natural blush in her smooth cheeks and also in her well defined lips. As a special touch to her face, mixture of innocence and mischievousness a small short pointy nose sprinkled with some freckles finished the composition. Finally a long blond and intricately curled mane framed her, giving her almost an unreal touch to the girl.
Even though she had plenty of traits that would make her fit the European beauty standard, the young woman had not been very lucky in love. During the years that had taken her to become a woman, many guys had started to show interest in her, but Faith rarely accepted a date and it was only a few times in which she had gone out with guys her own age, never really making a relationship. For some reason, one that was unknown even to her, every guy that she had met wasnʼt able to awake in her more than friendly feelings.
- How was your date with Jeremy? – asked Daisy, her best friend from school, at one point.
- Donʼt even remind me – answered the blond annoyed – the guy was a total lout. He tried to hug me in the first 20 minutes of the movie, not once but three times and since I moved his arm away so many times after a half an hour he said that the movie was boring and that he wanted to leave to go home and feed his cat.
- Jerk! And what did you do? – asked Daisy curious.

- Well I said that I liked the movie so I stayed alone and he left.
- Faith! But how could you do that? – scolded the honey colored eyed girl.

- Easy, I stayed and cried a lot with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
- You are a lost cause. Are you never going to really be interested in anybody? Wouldnʼt you like to fall in love?
- Oh Daisy! – sighed the girl – I donʼt know if I should, I have so many plans and I donʼt think a romance would be the most convenient thing right now....besides...
- What? – asked Daisy intrigued by the strange light that glimmered for a second in the eyes of her friend.

- No, nothing. Pay no attention to me.
- You tell me right now, you know how curious I am – argued Daisy.
- Well... it just the same as always... today I felt like something is missing in my life... a piece of the puzzle that I canʼt seem to find... a face...
- A face? – Said Daisy – explain because Iʼm not understanding you.
- I donʼt know Daisy. Itʼs like each time I go through an unknown street, every time that I change schools, that I meet new people and new places, my eyes look for a particular face, eyes of a specific color a voice that I have never heard of but that I am sure I would recognize in an instant.
- Youʼve seen that face before? – asked Daisy.
- No Daisy! I donʼt even know what it would look like – answered Faith smiling.
- Then how would you recognize it? – replied Daisy a little annoyed.
- I donʼt know that either. I just know that when I find that face Iʼll know itʼs him. The man Iʼm waiting for.
- Good God Faith, youʼve read way too many romance novels!
Thatʼs the way that the years went by and finally the moment came to see if Faithʼs hard work had been worth it. In the beginning of her last school year the girl had started to conduct an exhaustive search to select the University that would fit her budget and the scholarship that she was getting.
Faith sent out for applications to a variety of schools in all parts of the country, hoping that one in Georgia would accept her, being that she didnʼt want to live too far away from her mother, whose health was not too good. But the young woman didnʼt get what she wished for, and the only acceptance letter came from a University in New York, in the city.
The young woman felt very disappointed with this situation, because the concern and love she felt for her mother was telling her that she shouldnʼt accept that opportunity. It would, possibly, be better to wait until next year to try again. But Sarah Sherman, who was a loving mother, pushed her daughter with all her strength to pursue her dream, and her insistence convinced the young woman to accept. So the next fall, Faith left Georgia and moved to the Big Apple with intentions to begin her dream... and find her destiny.
Things werenʼt easy in the beginning. New Yorkers were wary and making new friends was difficult. Life at the campus was hard and the getting used to the rhythm of the grand metropolis was none too pleasant for this daughter of the south. But Faith, holding on to her inexhaustible enthusiasm was able to break the ice and beat out nostalgia. At the end of her first year she had already made a circle of friends that worried about the pretty southerner that always had a smile on her lips and an encouraging word for everyone, even though she was dying of sadness inside from being far away from her mother.
One of her first friends she had made was a Hispanic girl, whose parents had moved to the U.S when Michelle was only 15 years old. The positive chemistry between Faith and Michelle had been instant. Both girls had been in line to pay for some books at the bookstore and Faith who was very distracted reading had bumped into Michelle making her drop all of the poetry books that she was about to purchase.
- I see you like Emily Dickinson – had commented Faith after apologizing.
- I adore her – replied Michelle with a huge smile – Iʼm studying Literature.
- I like poetry also, but Iʼm studying Special Education at NYU. Iʼm Faith, Faith Sherman.
- Iʼm Michelle Valencia, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
After the incident the girls had locked themselves in an animated conversation and by the time they left the store they were already friends. The ties that were born in that moment would last forever.

Michelle Valencia was the daughter of an important diplomat that worked for the Peruvian Embassy, and her mother was a traditional housewife. Settled in Washington D.C the Valenciaʼs had reluctantly let Michelle go. But the girl was very independent and strong willed so they couldnʼt convince her to stay in the state to continue with her education.
It didnʼt take long for Faith and Michelle to become inseparable, and one day during their second year of college, the Peruvian girl made her friend a proposition.
- You know something Faith; Iʼm planning to move outside of campus.
- Really Michie? Why? Donʼt you like living in the dorms? – asked the southern girl with a sweet accent.
- No, itʼs not that. Itʼs just that a friend of my Dadʼs is the owner of a building in Broadway and has an apartment for rent at a very good price. It almost a whole floor and he said I could remodel it if I want.
- That sounds great. Youʼll have all the room you need, right? And itʼs not too far away from campus.
- Thatʼs right – replied Michelle – but i donʼt really want to live by myself.
- Why donʼt you ask someone to share it with you then? - Said Faith distractedly while she ate the hamburger that she had in her hands.
- Well... I had thought that maybe a certain southerner might want to live with me.
- Are you crazy Michie? I couldnʼt afford it.
- But whoʼs saying you would have to pay? – asked Michelle with her bright dark eyes.
- Because I pay for what I consume, thatʼs why – answered the blond simply.
- Well, in that case you could cooperate by cooking.
- You would be willing to eat what I cook, Michie? – Faith joked.
- If you have survived for a year with your cooking, why couldnʼt I?
- Hmmm... I donʼt know Michie.
- Think about it Faith, living outside of campus would make it easier to find a part time job or hourly and then you wouldnʼt feel so limited and maybe you could even send some money to you mom.
The blond didnʼt answered right then, but within two weeks they were visiting the apartment that was the whole floor of an old building. The afternoon that Michelle took Faith to the place for the first time the young woman felt as if a needle pierced her heart.

- Whatʼs wrong Faith? – asked Michie.
- I donʼt know, itʼs like...Iʼve been here before... itʼs a strange sensation... like...
- Like what?
- Sadness – was the only answer out Faith.

- Come on; donʼt start again with your weird stories of faces in the multitude!
And with that comment the case was closed and the girls proceeded to look around the place. It was dirty and needed some repairs, but Michelleʼs father was willing to indulge his daughter, so the girls were soon picking out furniture and some paint for the walls.
Even though money was no issue for Michelle, Faith knew better the value of it, as so she convinced her friend to hire friends to help them with the apartment instead of professionals. Itʼll be fun that way and we can save up to have a party later – had been Faithʼs tempting offer. So one day a group of college students from Literature, Psychology, Education and Social work all came to the apartment to fix the floor for the new tenants.

During the three days that the repairs lasted something curious happened. While Faith was dusting a wall in one of the two bedrooms so it could be painted, she noticed that the wall was hollow. With her fist she started to knock on it and then really intrigued, she called one of her friends.
Soon enough the wall had been knocked down, because what Faith wanted was law to her friends. When the dust had settled she was able to look in from the hole that had been opened. The guys noticed that it was a room that had been closed off. Astoundingly the room was fully furnished, and they realized it was a study.

By the style of the furniture you could think that they dated from the thirties or fortyʼs. There was a desk of simple lines, a chair and a couple of little tables with some decorations on them, and a huge bookshelf. When Michie went near the bookshelf, she took the sheet that was covering it off, and dusted some of the volumes that were there. She couldnʼt help to squeal of happiness when she realized that this find was a complete collection of poetry and theatrical plays.
Faith, to the contrary felt really attracted to the desk, where even though time had past everything was still in order. Everything was organized dutifully, and nothing was out of place. The young woman passed her fingers over the dusty top and a vision came to her mind.
A young man with chestnut color hair and whose face she couldnʼt see was running down the stairs, as if he desperately wanted to catch someone. Suddenly Faith felt that the young man was holding her by her waist.
- Faith! Faith! Are you back from dreamland? - Asked Michie.
- Eh?
- You kind of left. Go get the duster so we can clean this treasure room we found.
And thatʼs what they called it, Treasure room.
With their friends' help they searched the treasure room thoroughly. Michie and Faith were surprised and intrigued with this unexpected discovery. Like two little girls opening presents on Christmas Eve they inspected the objects over the tables and desk and ended up doing an inventory.
- A Shakespeare bust.
- A framed map of England.
- A paperweight in the shape of a pyramid.
- A bronze statue of a galloping horse.
- A lamp that still worked.

- A porcelain jug.
- A pendulum clock that had stopped at 11:30
- Ink.
- Quill.

- A quill knife.
- A black folder with some white sheets of paper.
They had eagerly searched for clues that could give them an idea has to who had been the owner of these items. And something that would let them know why this room had been closed of with all these things in it. But they couldnʼt find much. The first page of every book was marked with the initials T.G.G and under the paperweight there was a date July 2nd, 1923.
After the search Michie got tired of playing detective and simply assumed that she could be the happy new owner of that wonderful book collection, and that Faith and her now had a study. They just needed to update the place so they could install a computer in the room, and a get cable connection for the internet, add one more book shelf and everything would be perfect.
- Youʼre not going to tell the owner what we found? – asked a shocked Faith as she played with the paperweight.

- Yes of course, but I donʼt think he needs to know a lot of details.
- But that would be telling half the truth. Besides some of these things could have some value as antiques.

- And whoʼs stealing them? – Asked Michie playing innocent – weʼll use them for the next two years and when we get done with college weʼll return them to the owner. Though you seem to have liked that paperweight a lot, so you have my permission to keep it, I donʼt think our landlord will go broke for an item he doesnʼt even know he owns.
- Oh Michie! – Faith said giving up, at the same time that she looked at the date at the base of the pyramid that she had in her hands.

Aaron Truman had been born in the middle of a prestigious family. His father, Gregory Truman was a wealthy and prestigious lawyer that was the head of one of the most important law firm in Boston. His mother, Lucinda Aston, before being Mrs. Truman, was a recognized journalist. They had been married for fifteen years. Their relationship had been very passionate in the beginning, but soon the difference in ideas and their multiple social engagements had driven them apart, so they had both decided to have a friendly divorce.
The breakup between his parents, thought civilized had affected a young Aaron, who at the time was twelve years old. The ex – Mrs. Truman had found love again quickly and that had bothered him so, that he had decided to go live with his father. Since Lucinda was very liberal and wanted for her son to be a free spirit she didnʼt oppose his decision.
But this didnʼt help Aaron and his fatherʼs relationship, who was always too busy. This way the young man kept feeding his resentment against his parents and closed himself off, turning only to what gave him comfort reading and drawing.
The definite rupture between Aaron and his father came a few years later, when the young man announced that he wanted to study art, specially painting and design. Mr. Truman didnʼt believe that a man of his standing could dedicate himself to the arts. Those artists are all unproductive parasites, communists and agitators. He used to tell his son and the idea that he wanted to become one of them was not pleasant, so he was against it.
By her part, Lucinda, seeing an opportunity to reestablish her relationship with her son, supported him. This way if the separation between the Trumanʼs had been a civilized and peaceful one before, the real war didnʼt start until six years after their divorce when Aaron applied to the School of Arts Tisch, of NYU. Financially supported by his mother, he no longer needed his father. This caused for Gregory to break ties with his son who left the house in the middle of the night taking with him only his portfolio of drawings and his motorcycle, and have a fall out with Lucinda.

Gregory would never forget the strength and determination that was reflected his sonʼs face at that time. His eyes glistened like blue green wild fire while he put on his black leather jacket and put on his helmet over his shoulder length chestnut colored hair. When the roaring engine of his Harley Davidson was ready to go the young man had looked back once towards one of the window. That was the only room without a light on in the whole mansion, and Aaron knew that from the darkness his father was watching. Revving up the engine of the bike, the young man turned around and left. His father wouldnʼt see him again for a very long time.
Why had the arrogant and bitter Aaron accepted his motherʼs help? Well, in truth he would have like to make his way on his own, but had he not, his goals would have been impossible to achieve. During his high school years, Aaron had been forced to study in a Presbyterian school, whose rules were very strict and the traditional education suffocating. Way too smart and restless to adapt to that environment Aaron hadnʼt gotten the best grades, in part because he frequently missed class, and was content with just making the passing grade, that was for him was only too easy. It wasnʼt until a few months before graduating, when he decided to study art, that he had lamented not being more disciplined and less willful. Had he had good grades he could have gotten a good scholarship. But with his performance at his high school, even with money it would be hard to get into his chosen school. So Aaron had to swallow his pride and turn to his mother for help in order to continue with his studies.
Even after Aaron unwillingness, the circumstances ended up breaking the ice with his mother, and little by little Lucinda and his son got close again. That way the young man left for New York where he started to study, for the first time with genuine interest in the courses he was taking. But soon his abilities started to surpass the contents of his subjects and Truman got a fame for being the student that with no effort got the best grades of his classes in drawing, theory of color, and painting.

Lucindaʼs father died towards the end of Aaron's first year in college, leaving a sum of money for his grandchild. Without thinking about it the young man used that little inheritance to get a small apartment in Manhattan that he soon turned into a living studio. Causing among his classmates some jealousy, since they had to live in the dorms, without much space for either their art or their weekend dates. Ironically, Aaron didnʼt use those privileges like some his classmates would have.

He had had a couple of light relationships, but mostly out of curiosity than anything else, and he used to say he was sorry for wasting his time. His friends thought he was crazy for not using his apartment to its full potential. He had money available by way of his mother and he was notably attractive but the young man preferred to keep his capricious and mostly indifferent attitude. It was as if every new girl he meet confirmed his theory that he didnʼt care much for love and love didnʼt care for him either. At least thatʼs what he used to say.
But this young man kept in secret a type of obsession that he carried since childhood. He couldnʼt remember exactly how or when it had started but it been going on for years, suffering the same recurring dream that bothered him a couple of times a month and sometimes even more than once a week. He couldnʼt say it was a night mare, but for the most part he was left with an annoying sensation, like emptiness, frustration and deep sadness that he couldnʼt explain.
When he was a child, the dream used to start in a room with old furniture, where a ten year old Aaron was sitting by himself at the edge of a bed while he read a book whose title he could never read. There was a knock on the door and he would go see who it was but there was nobody. Then Aaron would run through hallway yelling to see if there was somebody there, to then get to the door that went outside of that place that smelled of cloister and reclusion.
At the moment he went out of that dark building, the ambient changed. There was sun like a summer morning and you could see the nervous flight of the dragonflies over a green valley that smelled of fresh herbs, like after a morning shower. Aaron then would hear a voice that called him with a name that
wasnʼt his and that he could never remember after the dream. But in the dream, Aaron knew that the voice was calling him, and he would turn around searching for her until he found a girl of about one or two years younger than him in the distance, but he could barely see her. She had golden hair and was smiling to him from a distance to then turn around and run into the woods nearby.
Aaron then felt the need to run after her, as if he had found a lost friend from long ago, but the girl was much faster than he was and he could never catch up to her before the dream was over. When that happened, the boy would then wake up in the middle of the night and without having the time in mind, would turn on the light of his bedroom and grabbing paper and pencil would draw that little girl whose face he could barely make out. That way with the passing of the years, Aaron made a strange collection of drawings of blond girls whose face only contained a smile.
At the same time that the boy had grown the girl from the dream had changed as well. While he was becoming a man, she was growing into a woman and with time she was allowing him to get closer, and her face that had been covered by a fog before could be seen clearly now. That way Aaron could draw her in more detail. Her blond hair was rebelliously curly, her eyes green like emeralds, a short and pointy nose, and a wide and sincere smile on her lips, which with the years became very troubling to the boy, and a very pale skin, with a few sprinkled freckles across her nose that moved when she smiled at him.
While his artistic talent developed more and more, his drawings became astoundingly real, and then they turned into painted portraits of a young woman that always had a peach color dress on. Without even noticing the woman from his dreams had him completely fascinated, and the attraction that he felt for her could not be compared to any other that Aaron had felt for a real woman.
In the last year the dream had become more intriguing and even painful. The young woman still smiled in the beginning, but when he started to run after her he could notice that she was crying. Then she would turn towards him and he could see her face covered with tears just before the dream ended. The young man would then wake up crying bitterly as well, and in those times he was thankful for not having a roommate. He would look for his drawing materials frantically to sketch a new composition.
The days passed and the months and another year came to an end. Michie and Faith were still busy with the school workload, and between the strong emotions of the final exams, the weekend parties, the agitated love life of the Peruvian girl and Faithʼs never ending to do list, who never tired of meddling in other peopleʼs lives. Though she always had the best intentions of trying to fix things, they didnʼt always work out for the best.

Michie and Faith had already gotten used to the “treasure room” that had turned into both girlʼs study, and where they spent a lot of time preparing for their classes and school work. Even though with time a familiarity with your surroundings happens, Faith still felt a strange fascination towards the room and everything that was in it. But she couldnʼt find the reason for the weird feeling that she got whenever she was in the room, especially if she was alone.
On top of that, since the first day that had gone into the closed off study, for an unknown reason and in sui géneris conditions, the young blond had started to suffer from a kind of out of body experiences. Those weird moments were the soul seems to leave the body behind to then submerge itself in old dear memories, dreams, hopes, and hidden sadness. The funny thing was that Faith didnʼt feel like herself in those moments, and she lived for a few seconds through the images that she could only see in her head, and that she
couldnʼt understand.
The scene of the young man running down a flight of stairs keep repeating again and again, always leaving her with a deep sensation of melancholy that strangled her chest as if she had forever lost someone very important and dear. After she came back from those episodes the young woman spent a few days very depressed and only got better thanks to her strong willpower and that never ending energy that moved her to help others more than herself. Michie noticed that in more than one occasion her friendʼs sadness, but she thought that it was because she missed her mother. So she just tried to keep her company and insist in going out to have fun, so that the dark mental clouds that worried Faith could be lifted.
But that dark sky only got darker, and her visions were now happening more often, and always with the same result. Finally one night, things took an unexpected turn.

Michie had gone out with a law student that she had just met at a party, and Faith had stayed at home to finish up a paper for one of her classes. The apartment was totally silent, and you could only hear the pinging of the rain on the window and the clicking of the keyboard where Faith was furiously typing.
It was then that it happened. Lightning illuminated the whole apartment, more so than the little lamp that Faith was using, and right after that, the room turned pitch black. The girl was lamenting for the hundredth time that she didnʼt have an external power source that would allow her to keep working even with the blackout.
The girl got up from the desk where she had been working, same one that had been there when they found the treasure room. She was about to get to the kitchen in search of a candle, when the electricity came back. She ran to the computer to investigate how much of the paper she had been able to save.

To her great happiness she hadnʼt lost one line, but the good news fell second when the astonished eyes of the girl got to the end of the page and realized that by mysterious or crazy that it seemed there was a new line written, better yet a few words that she hadnʼt typed.
Rubbing her eyes she reread the monitor screen, without being able to accept what was so evident. There in front of her, in the same font that she was using, you could clearly read.
“The hidden bottom of the second drawer”
Faith thought that she was about to go crazy, and in a last effort to regain her sanity she erased the message that seem like a bad joke played by Michie, but since the girl wasnʼt in the room it was impossible for her to have done it.
The blond shook her head trying to clear her mind and with shaky fingers tried to keep writing. But after a little while her fingers
werenʼt responding anymore. It seemed like her eyes were fixed on the second drawer of the desk, and without being able to help herself the girl opened it and took all of its contents out, with an inexplicable anxiety.
“The hidden bottom of the second drawer”
She kept repeating to herself while she took pencils, paper clips, erasers and other objects until the drawer was empty.
“The hidden bottom of the second drawer”
With shaky hands she touched the bottom of the drawer until the tip of her fingers felt a groove in one of the sides. She pressed her index finger and the piece of wood moved easily aside, to leave the way open to the dusty contents of the hidden bottom.
Hidden maybe by many years, there laid a leather book with big pages. The girl took it in her hands and then the vision of another set of bigger hands, writing furiously over the pages of that book came to mind. Her vision ended and she felt really anxious, she cleaned the dust off with a rag they had to clean the monitor screen. Immediately Faith opened the book and she realized that it was more of a notepad that in the first page had a handwritten poem that read:
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let airplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message She is Dead, Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic police men wear black cotton gloves. She was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good. (*)The girl recognized the poem, remembering it from her literature class in high school, but never before had it sounded so desolate and sad. Suddenly it was as if the pond of her most anguishing and bitter feelings had opened to let run all her other hidden sadness, even those that she ignored she had kept locked in her soul. The tears came to her eyes and she would have liked to leave the room, and throw that strange book into the fire, just the touch of it was making her feel an inexplicable and irrational sate of grief, but on the contrary a bizarre force made her keep reading what was written in the following pages.In the second page, with the same decisive letter, there was a date written: July 2nd, 1923.

Faith then felt her heart turn in her chest. Compulsively she looked for the paperweight in the shape of a pyramid that she had kept since the day they had found the room. As soon as she found the object, the girl realized that in effect both dates at the base of the paperweight and the book were the same.


Almost without breathing the girl turned her eyes to the book again and continued reading the content written under that date, while her soul, and even in its ethereal form seem to break slowly at the same time she read those words that together formed a text that she couldnʼt withdraw from.

“In this chaotic universe certainty only comes along once, it doesnʼt matter how many lives one is able to live. My certainty came to me early and it was so absolute, so irrefutable so imperative that never from that night on, was I able to deny it. This force has been with me always, as the only complete and pure truththat I have lived. Today, that my belief is confident that the rest of my existence will be an never ending grief, I begin this journal for the simple need to tell someone or something the endless melancholy that overcomes me.

“Sometime I loved and I was loved, but today thatʼs no more than a sweet memory from a far away past. Today all I have left is loneliness and perennial pain to have lost forever the one that still lives in my heart. Today, I travel back from the prison of my soul, I saw what my eyes never thought would see, a coffin covered in white flowers that descended slowly, taking her away forever, ripping her from this world that never deserved her and was never able to give her what she deserved.

“A thousand deaths I would have been able to bear in her place, a thousand bullets I would have wanted to pierce my body not hers, a thousand joyʼs I would have liked to give her, but none of those wishes I could ever see granted. Today is already too late, and I feel old when I am only twenty six years old.

“I canʼt stand it anymore. I know that I am damned, but I donʼt understand why this punishment, that everything that I touch turns to dust, unhappiness and uneasiness. Could maybe Honor be a sin? At this point I donʼt even know what to think, or say... All I know is that sheʼs dead and nothing matters anymore. But I have to keep going, because life is now the punishment that I deserve, because itʼs worse than death itself.

“Today we buried her body, her soul I am sure is already in a happier place, but still my heart burns of sorrow because she, like Auden would say, was my North, my South, my East and my West, my day of work, my day of rest, my afternoon, my midnight, my word and my song has forever left this world. I am not sure how I am still breathing.”

When she got to that line the green eyes of the girl opened fully the faucet of her tears, and she threw the book away and ran to her room. Faith threw herself on the bed crying without stopping, and thatʼs how she kept crying until the night turned to morning, and Michie came home from her date finding her roommate in a sea of tears.


- But whatʼs wrong Faith? – said the girl with her brown eyes wide in surprise at the same time that she hugged her friend.

- Oh Michie – answered the girl with a broken voice – something horrible happened. She died, and he... he was very sad, as if he had died on the inside.

- She, he? – Asked Michie confused – Good God Faith, explain! Who are you talking about?

- The young man from my visions, Michie, the one from the book, from the room – said Faith still visibly shaken, only confusing her friend more.


- Faith, wait, what book, what room, and what visions are you talking about?

The young blond took her hands to her forehead realizing that her friend couldnʼt understand anything unless she explained everything that had happened calmly. So even in her emotional state, she gathered her strength to clear this situation. That way she told her friend for the first time about the visions of that young man with chestnut colored hair, whose face she couldnʼt see and the way she had found the journal at the hidden bottom drawer of the desk.

Michie was very surprised with her whole tale, but after the first shock her skepticism forced her to find some sense to the events that Faith narrated.

- Hold on a second Faith – said her friend handing her a tissue – Who told you that the young guy from your... hallucinations, is the same man that wrote that journal and that lived in this apartment, in what seems to be the twenties?

- Well... I – mumbled Faith, without being able to find a coherent answer – I think thatʼs the way that it is... everything fits...besides thatʼs the way that I... – she stopped.


- You what Faith? – Michie insisted looking straight into her friendʼs eyes.

- That I feel it – was the only thing that the girl was able to say, almost in a whisper.

Michie gave her a look with some soft reproach, asking herself if it was possible that the exhaustion of the final exams could be perturbing her to the point of making her feel and say inherences. After all Faith, always worked double than everybody to keep her scholarship.

- Look, letʼs do something – said finally the brunette – You are going to drink some tea that Iʼm going to make for you, the same way that my grandmother in Peru used to, and with that you should be able to sleep really well. Tomorrow youʼll go to the library to finish that paper away from that weird room. And then weʼll see what to do with that mysterious book that hurt you so much.

Faith who felt so tired as if she had been rowing right along side of Ben-Hur couldnʼt do more that obey Michie, to drink the tea and go to sleep. Though the last one she wasnʼt able to do as well as she would have liked. The image of the same young man kept coming to her dreams.

A few days went by before Faith and Michie would venture out to investigate the hardbound book that had been left in a corner of the room. And even after all of Michieʼs protest, Faith picked up the book in her hands again, and started to read aloud for her roommate. That way, feeling her friends company, made it easier to continue the lecture that so bothered her.

Thatʼs how the girls found out that in effect, who had written that journal filled with desolate paragraphs, had been the owner of that apartment in the beginning of the XX century. Seems like it had been a cultured man, not just by the fact of his vast book collection, but also in his writing, that was both impeccable in its wording and poetic in its composition, thing that Michie greatly appreciated.

In those pages the man hinted that he had dedicated himself to some artistic activity, that wasnʼt too clear to the girls, but that had no doubt to do with theater because of his repetitive mention of rehearsals, premier nights, journalistic critics, and things of the sort. Not withstanding, the girls couldnʼt figure out or be one hundred percent sure if the author of the book had been a playwright, a director or an actor, because he spoke about his work so vaguely.

He apparently was married, because he frequently spoke about his “wife” that seem to always be sick or maybe she had been incapacitated, since the man mentioned that a nurse lived with them to take care of her. Curiously, those mentions were very brief and contrasted tremendously with the times that the writer spoke about “her”, a woman whose name he never wrote, but that both Michie and Faith could understand was someone other than his wife. Another woman that he seemed to love almost obsessively, and that had been buried on July 2nd of 1923, date in which he had begun the journal.

The man hadnʼt written in the journal everyday. It seemed to be a space for him to pour out his sorrow and where he indiscriminately mixed the past and the present. In that disorganized way Michie and Faith were trying to understand how that man had meet, being still very young, a girl that he had fallen madly in love with but whom he had had to separate from for reasons that he never clearly explained but that had to do with the “wife”.
The journal continued talking about some daily home scenes and about the woman whom he lived with, and who he seems to have a sincere caring feeling for much like a brother would. Reading further ahead they realized that the author and his wife had tried to have children with no success, and even their efforts to adopt were denied because of his “wifeʼs impediment” – he explained – making it clearer that the artistʼs woman had suffered from some type of physical inability.

But those were minor problems of a soul that seem to be missing a half, that seems to be dead, moving lifeless in every line that was written and where not even for a moment seemed to miss a deep longing for “her”.

Michie and Faith took days and days to read the journal and even after the first one pragmatism, the Peruvian girl also ended up crying in more than one occasion as the story that took hundred of pages was unraveling.

“The artist” – thatʼs how they named him – had gotten married very young, it seems like at age twenty one and moved more so for a feeling of loyalty rather than love, which he said in various occasion he had to sacrifice because of “duty”.

He had separated from ʽher” to marry that other woman that became his wife and that loved him deeply, but without ever being able to take the place of the absent woman. “Her” had died, in what seemed like violent circumstances that he never made clear, a few years after his wedding.

After separating from “her” the artist mentioned that he had only seen her once more. The afternoon that Faith and Michie read the passage they felt that the root of their tears would dry up forever. “At my return to Chicago I couldnʼt control the horrible nervousness that invaded my chest since I set foot on that station in which I waited in vain one morning. My heart was breaking just to know that she might still live in the city and that in that moment I was maybe breathing her same air. I surprised myself searching for her face in the crowd of the street while the car moved among the only public places that I let myself be seen in those days. But my eyes werenʼt able to find those unforgettable green eyes and I wasnʼt sure if I should feel disappointed or relieved, because I was very conscious that a meeting would be even more painful than pleasant. And even with that certainty, as that interminable week went by, my soul was being consumed by the growing obsession to see her, see her even if only for a moment, hidden, without her noticing my presence. But my job and that damn multitude of journalist, fans and curious people that surrounded the hotel where we were staying didnʼt allow me to do anything.

Finally our engagement in Chicago ended, and since it was the last stop for the tour the day of last performance marked the beginning of my vacations as soon as the last curtain fell. All my coworkers decided to travel to New York to meet with their families and start their break, maybe even travel somewhere out of the country or something like that. I had promised my wife that when I returned I would take her to California so she could she the Pacific Ocean, idea that she liked very much. I wanted to grant her that one wish, because I felt somewhat guilty for how tense our relationship had been in the last year. So I took the train to go back home along with my coworkers, but my heart refused to leave Chicago so soon, and without having completed what it so longed for.
As soon as we got to the first station on our way back, I couldnʼt help it anymore since that first impulse had become stronger than my reason, and without thinking I begged Robert to take care of my luggage and explain to my wife that I would get there in a day or two later. I used the excuse that I had forgotten something at the hotel that was very important for me and I didnʼt want to leave it behind, and I would try to get it back myself. I knew it was a bad excuse and maybe my wife would suspect something, but all of a sudden I didnʼt care about anything else. That way I took the first train back to Chicago and stricken with an irrational urgency I went to her old address, hoping that maybe the landlord could tell me of her whereabouts.

To my great happiness in that moment and my great pain the next, the landlord knew where she was. She didnʼt live in Chicago anymore but at the orphanage, and that changed things a lot. If I wanted to see her it would be difficult for me to do so without her realizing it, besides I would have to travel to Indiana and veer a bit of my way back to New York. But at the time I wasnʼt willing to desist in my attempt to see her, so I took the train in La Porte, towards a place that I hadnʼt been since my adolescence.

Why all of those crazy attempts? Why risk my already shaky relationship with my unfortunate wife? Why try to meet “her” if maybe she wouldnʼt want to see me? Those were the questions that were going on in my head, and the ones that my heart could only answer that it would be to see her eyes, those eyes she denied me to see for the last time the night she left. I also wanted to see her smile and make personally sure that she was happy, after all this time. I wanted, I must admit, to see turned into a woman and take with me that memory to make it part of my dreams, last stronghold of fleeting happiness that I had left in this somber existence. Now, even after the selfish glory that this meeting would give me, I havenʼt stopped regretting having let my impulses take over me.

I rented a car as soon as I got to town, leaving my gold watch on hold, and with that old model T I went towards the orphanage. When I was at least a half a mile away, I left the car in a nearby farm and keep going on foot, hoping to maybe be able to get there and not be seen, so I could watch her without her knowing.

It was about five in the afternoon when I got there, and for my good fortune the kids had gone outside to play. I watched them for a while from a nearby hill, breathing in the fresh fragrant air of that place that she loved so much. A little later the elderly director of the orphanage came out and with her the woman that I longed to see, even if it was in the distance. At the time I couldnʼt find a better word to describe her that was beautiful, as beautiful as always and maybe more than I remembered. More beautiful still in her ignorance of her own beauty because I was sure, that just like before, she still didnʼt know how beautiful she was and how devastating her looks could be for a man.

I watched her for a long time while she played with the kids and for I moment I couldnʼt help to think about the children that we could have had together and that I would have loved with all my heart, had life not been so unkind. I was so immersed in my bittersweet thoughts that I didnʼt even noticed when the kids started to play running up the hill. When I saw a group running towards me, I tried to hide in some nearby bushes and I donʼt know in what moment I completely lost my sanity and instead of leaving when I still could, I stayed there while her and the kids climbed to the top.

A little while after, the game had moved at the shadow of a centenary tree and I lost myself in the happiness of having her even closer and prove that deep down that woman in her twenty five years was still a mischievous girl capable of excitement and laughter with the simplest things of life. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didnʼt noticed the presence of an animal that looked at me with mistrust, until it was too late and that big dog was already biting my pant leg, growling with fury at the same time that a pair of emerald colored eyes looked at me astonished.

In the end, the dog had smelled my presence and started to bark and then he had caught me, it didnʼt take long for the kids to notice and for her to come close to the bushes and find me. After that the half mumbled explanations and forced greetings happened. The happiness that I had seen in her face while she played with the kids, not knowing I was there, disappeared in an instant to give place to a visibly nervous young woman that didnʼt quite know what to say. I felt deeply guilty for being the cause of her discomfort and a little sad to think that maybe my presence was unpleasant. Maybe she resented me and I really couldnʼt blame her for that...but I couldnʼt imagine that she could hold such a feeling for anyone, even if it was a miserable like me.


After the first hellos I gave her the poor excuse that I had gone to visit her, as if we didnʼt have an unwritten rule to never see one another again. Maybe forced by the situation she invited me in to the house, even thought I would have liked to have left running in that instant, I knew that given the circumstances I had to play along. So I had to spend the next two hours chatting with the two ladies that were in charge of the orphanage, while my mind tried to engrave in my memory the image of that young woman wrapped in a peach colored dress that kept quiet most of the time, unlike her habit of always talking too much. Could it be that she had changed so much, or maybe that she didnʼt want to talk to me? I donʼt know if my looks denounced me in front of both ladies, because the truth was that I couldnʼt take my eyes off that blushed face, and of her curly blond hair that she was wearing loose on her back. If before I had thought that my heart could no longer feel anything, it was enough to see her to understand that only her presence could put me in such an emotional state that made me feel as if my heart could burst in my chest.

The nun that seemed to be the more perceptive one of the two ladies must have read in my face what the words had to keep. In the middle of the conversation and after noticing that we were all avoiding the subject, the nun didnʼt hesitate to ask me bluntly:


“And your wife, if she in good health?”


I didnʼt have a choice but to answer as naturally as I could, to then move the conversation in a different direction. But even in my efforts, the good woman had fulfilled her purpose to make me realize that whatever my intentions with that unexpected visit could be, neither of us, especially me, could forget about my wifeʼs existence, and the ties that bound me to her. Once more I cursed my destiny, especially when I noticed that a shadow had covered that beautiful face that I loved so much, and still love with the same intensity. Could it be that she still hurt from our separation, maybe as much as me? I couldnʼt help but wonder without knowing if that doubt was a reason for happiness or sadness.


The other lady understood the muted intentions of her colleague and then taking the initiative she continued by commenting about how fast time goes by and how quickly children grow.

- I only have to look at you and this girl – said the elderly – seems like yesterday that you were just a couple of youngsters and too see you now, you a successful man and head of a family, and her that will soon get married.

In that moment my eyes searched for hers and found them. In them I could see that it was the truth. She was about to get married, I felt so stupid! Dying in life for someone that was about to become another manʼs wife, and whom I couldnʼt reproach anything being that I was already married to another woman, destiny that I had chosen myself. But the chain of my misfortune that afternoon didnʼt end there. For the conversation that was mostly directed by the two women, I found out that the fiancée in question was none other that the man that sometime had saved my life, and whom I still considered my friend.

Like never before I could notice my jealous and selfish nature. My first internal reaction was feeling anger and then resentment towards the man that would enjoy what I hadnʼt been able to keep, and towards her whose eyes seemed to tell me in silence that she still felt something for me, while she was planning a wedding to give her life to another man, a man that wasnʼt me. But soon my anger turned on me, knowing clearly and well that while that good friend of mine could offer her stability and a sincere love, I had given my word to another woman. How could I feel anything that wasnʼt happiness to know that she would finally be happy? Wasnʼt that what I wanted the most, for her to be happy? Who better to do it then, when I knew very well that he was one of the most honorable and good people that I have ever meet? Still, I couldnʼt help but feel saddened to know that in the end we would be doubly separated for the rest of our lives.

The conversation continued in different subjects, but I canʼt remember anything else that I said. I was so perturbed by all the emotions that I was going through. When night fell I excused myself by saying that I had to walk a distance to where I had left my car, and the elderly woman had the bad idea of suggesting for her to take me to the nearby farm in the car that they used. The last thing I needed was to be alone with her. But it seemed like the ladies wanted to give us the opportunity to say our last goodbye, after reminding us of our obligations all the while of our chat, that we had compromises and loyalties to which we couldnʼt turn our backs on.

Visibly tense she was forced to take me and I wasnʼt surprised to see the car they had as means of transportation, knowing who her fiancée was. I said goodbye to the ladies and we left on our short trip, both of feeling extremely nervous. I can still remember word by word the conversation we had in the car.

- Iʼm happy you came to visit – she said breaking the uncomfortable silence and I could see that her words were sincere.

- I, to tell you the truth, didnʼt have plans to come all the way here. It was a spur of the moment thing –I confessed.

- I understand. But it was nice to see you anyway – she answered without taking her eyes of the road.

Then silence again, and for a few minutes I contemplated the question that was burning my soul. I knew very well that I shouldnʼt ask, I had already done enough crazy stuff in a day, but I was still missing the most insane one of all, and maybe the most unforgettable.


- I had no idea about your wedding with Albert – I said without having the strength to look at her.

- Well – she said and I could tell her voice was shaking – we were always very close to one another...and things...happened little by little. He asked me to marry him a couple of months ago, and I said yes. Thatʼs all.

- Youʼll now be the wife of a millionaire – I said trying to lighten the mood – I still canʼt believe that heʼs the heir to the Andreyʼs.

- How did you find out Albertʼs true identity? – She asked me, following the same line of conversation to less dangerous places.

- From the papers, a while back – I answered, proving much to my demise that I still couldnʼt stop thinking about the same thing – I suppose your life will change a lot now.

- Only in part – she said with some sadness in her tone, that she could have hidden from anyone but not me. – He has promised me that heʼll allow me to keep my distance from social engagements. You know that Iʼve never felt very good in that world.

- Miss freckles will keep being rebellious even if she is a great lady, I suppose – I commented letting a small laugh out remembering the past. At least that, neither my wife nor her fiancée could ever take away from us.

- Same as certain actor that I know – she laughed for the first time in the whole afternoon and a warmth suddenly invaded my soul. Her smile still had the same comforting effect.

- I guess youʼre right, deep down weʼll always be the same crazy youngsters, even though... – I hesitated and preferred to remain silent.

- Even though what? – She asked and sometimes I think she shouldnʼt have made that question.

I knew well that I should have kept quiet, or made up a response, but after going through so many emotions in the previous hours my heart couldnʼt take it anymore and suffered an attack of sudden honesty.

- Even though the soul now carries so many unforgettable griefs – I said looking at her straight and she slammed on the brakes harshly and without saying a word got out of the car. I followed her without thinking about anything else that in the tears that could come out of her eyes.

- Why did you come here? – She said when she felt me behind her – Donʼt you realize that your wife could find out and could misinterpret things?

- I... – I stuttered ashamed – Iʼm conscious of what I did is wrong, but being so close...I couldn't resist the temptation of seeing you. I didnʼt even plan for you to see me. I would have been content just watching you, but your dog changed my plans.

She laughed between her tears and turned around to face me. She was even more beautiful with those tears that confessed the affection that her mouth didnʼt dare to accept. One more time I should have kept silent, but the wheel of my passion was turning with a life of its own, without allowing me to think about what I was doing.


-Tell me, please – I begged her getting closer – tell me you love him like you sometimes loved me.

- Why do you want to hear that? - she defied me – In any case it should be me if you have been able to love her, if youʼre happy like you promised me you would be.

- Then I would have to answer that Iʼm very bad at keeping promises – I confessed only a step away from her – If you were to ask me about my feelings for her, then I would tell you that I feel esteem, gratitude and consideration...but passionate and absolute love like the one I felt for you...like the one I feel for you...Damn my luck!... Iʼll never be able to profess to her. I have tried for a long time with no results – and in telling her my sad truth I couldnʼt help the tears that came to my eyes. She was the only woman in front of whom I have cried.

- Oh God! – Was all she could say, hiding her face in her hands and turning around again – I never wanted to make you unhappy. God knows that I never wanted that! – She sobbed and I couldnʼt help taking her shoulders in my hands and resting my forehead in her golden head.

- You havenʼt. Iʼve only gotten the best moment of my life from you – I whispered in her ear trying to console her, forgetting about my own pain and the jealousy that tormented me. – Thatʼs why I came to see you, even if my visit wasnʼt proper. I needed at least one more memory. Forgive me for coming and upsetting the peace that you live in!

She stayed still and quiet for a moment while my soul gained new life from the soft contact of our bodies, that even in its slight and apparently harmless way, invaded me with a heat that I had missed for a long time, but which effect in me I feared with all my being.

- At least tell me that youʼll be happy with him – I begged her – tell me you love him the same or more than me, so I can leave in peace, even if deep down my soul breaks again.

She turned around and threw herself into my arms crying uncontrollably to then tell me between sobs.


- I canʼt do it! I would like to be able to lie to you but I canʼt. I tried once to write you a letter to tell you that everything was forgotten, but I didnʼt even have the courage to send it. How can I tell you now that Iʼm in love with the man that will become my husband, when it is not the case?

Without knowing how to deal with the mixed feelings that were exploding in me, I simply limited myself to hug her hard, forgetting for an instant of who we were, repeating her name again and again, name that now I donʼt have the courage to write down, because to see it written in this paper would be just as painful as to hear her voice again. A voice that Iʼll never be able to hear.

- I love him – she kept telling me – but not like he needs me to. Because that intense love that takes over your soul getting to the core of your being, that love that takes over your will, I only feel for you. But it canʼt be, you know it canʼt be. At least I think I can make him happy and I pray for him never to find out about this love that I still keep for you, same way that she must never know about this moment – she told me and the tears didnʼt stop falling form our eyes.

- But, my love – I called her with no restraints, desperate to see her suffer that way – Why are you marrying him then? I... I know what itʼs like to live next to someone for whom you just feel affection, not love. Donʼt you condemn yourself to the same hell that I live in. You must be happy, you... – I took a breath feeling how my heart was breaking again to know the pain that the words I was about to say would cause me – You have to...have to wait to find a man...you can truly love – tears ran over my face burning my skin like chunks of coal, and the anxiety was strangling my chest – a man that makes you forget about me forever, that can rip me from you heart, even if jealousy kills me.


- Thatʼs not possible! – She sobbed in my arms – You wonʼt be erased, you wonʼt leave my mind! The day that you leave my heart will be when it doesnʼt beat anymore. Canʼt you understand? But...I want to get married, maybe you donʼt understand...


I looked at her confused and she lifted her face giving me the saddest green eyes I have ever seen.

- I donʼt want to end up alone – she finally told me with the same sadness in her eyes – I want to have children, a family, the same that I never had. Could you maybe understand that?

I still donʼt know how my soul survived those words that were thrown in my face, our bitter truth. What she wanted most in life I could have given it to her...and in the end I couldnʼt do it. I've hated myself more since that day.

- God! God! – I answered with a deep voice because of the pain – What mistake did our ancestors make that we have to pay for like this? Why this love thatʼs so pure and good, so intense that neither time nor distance can break, has turned into a sin? Why canʼt you be my woman, when deep down you are the wife of my heart? Why are you forbidden for me?

After all those confessions and having her so close to me I couldnʼt help the impulse to kiss her, a desire that had been sharply torturing me all afternoon since I saw her from far away. For my joy and great sorrow, I could prove that she wanted it as well, because for the first and only time in our lives she responded to my kisses without holding her passion back.

I understand that what we did was wrong, that we shouldnʼt have allowed ourselves that freedom, but now that the years have passed, that memory still vibrates inside me as one of the few glowing memories in my life. Never had my lips touched a womanʼs lips with the intensity and total devotion as I kissed her. Never had I been able to feel anything that compares to that moment when my mouth found hers and the moisture of the kiss invaded my senses, along with that sweet flavor, like wildflowers. I like to think that with that kiss we stayed more united than what we could have been to our spouses, even after years of my conjugal life.

But, the pleasure was deceitful because after a while of that intimate exchange in which my mouth drank from hers, the body realized that once again that it would always be incomplete, without being able to ever fulfill the love that the soul held and before that certainty a huge bitterness took over both of us. But our consciences didnʼt let us forget all notion of our obligations, especially since the ladies from the orphanage had reminded us so subtly. So we ended up breaking the last kiss and saying goodbye.

- I think you should go before we regret even more what we are doing – she told me still crying and with her face beautifully blushed by the passionate exchange that we had just experienced.

- Yes – I mumbled without knowing what else to say. I turned my face to try and see the lights from the farm where I had left the car – I think I can walk there; the place is only a few meters away.

- Fine – she replied turning her eyes.

I turned around, without knowing what else to say or do, incapable to say goodbye. With my body and heart numb, I walked a short distance when I realized that she was calling me and running towards me.

- Wait – she said agitated when she was close to me again – You have to know something.

- Itʼs not necessary that you say anything else – I explained trying to make her understand that it had been too many confessions for one day.

- If you came all the way here, and we dared to open our hearts – she said enouncing every word slowly that still resonates in my memory – then, you must know that I love you: yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. My heart just told me that we wonʼt see each other again for the rest of our lives; at least not alive.

- Donʼt...say that... – I tried to interrupt because her certainty hurt me more than her words.

- I know it, this will be the last time – she told me holding my hand – But I assure you, that every second of all the days that I have left to live, my heart will beat with yours, as one. I canʼt offer you more than that, my soulʼs fidelity.

- And I assure you – I answered her understanding in an instant that her words would be prophetic – to respond with the same loyalty. Youʼll always be the woman of my life. If there were other lives, even if I had to be separated from you again and go through this immeasurable pain one or a thousand times, I would choose to love you all over again.

- Goodbye – she told me holding back a sob and letting go of my hand.

- Goodbye my love – I answered her while I watched her go with long dress waving in the night wind. She got back in the car and disappeared forever from my life in the darkness of the night.

I would have liked to chase after her and run away together turning our backs to the destiny that had separated us. But how could I dare go back on my word, and drag her-- she who was the most pure thing of my existence, to a shameful life, to steal away from her the chance of an unwavering life next to a man whom we couldnʼt betray, not only for being her fiancée, but for also being the only friend Iʼve ever had, to muddy up our names and tarnish our souls? I knew that I couldnʼt even allow myself to speak of something like that, so we let go of each other again, losing one another, but understanding that far from our obligations, our hearts would forever hold the feelings to which there were no laws. Feelings that at least we had been able to confess to one another, thanks to my craziness, the one I also regret because I know how much it made her suffer, but I am thankful for that only opportunity to say to each other those words that mean everything: “I love you”.

When Michie got to that point, because she was reading aloud to Faith, she stopped to see that her friend couldnʼt hear her anymore, because the of the cries that were coming from her chest with such deep pain, that it was as if someone would have told her about a horrible event like a dear oneʼs death. Michie hugged her friend, crying with her in silence while she was thinking that maybe it would be best to not keep reading the journal that troubled her friend so much.

Daily life many times forces us to leave aside the spiritual side of things to pay more attention to the earthly preoccupations. That way Faith, who was still very perturbed with the finding of the journal of the “artist” had to remove herself a little from that to deal with a more urgent problem.

She had looked for a part time job with no luck. She had tried a few but had ended up leaving them because they would always interfere with her practice, the ones she had already started since she was in her third year of college. So, much to her dismay, she kept saving every penny of her scholarship, having to borrow from Michie in more than one occasion.

One day her roommate came home with a flyer that she shoved in her face at the same time that she smiled brightly for having found just the job that Faith needed. Something temporary that could be more or less regular and flexible.

It was an announcement for the Painting department of NYU that needed models for a painting class. They were looking for girls with certain characteristics and features that Faith seemed to fit.

- A model? – Asked the blond girl scrunching her nose with her little freckles – You are crazy Michie! If you think that I will be getting naked for the students of the art department, you totally lost it!

- Good God, Faith! – Said Michie totally exasperated – Who said anything about being nude! Many times the only thing those people want is a hand or a foot or maybe just a blob that doesnʼt move and they can see how the light hits it. They pay more than ten dollars an hour, and thatʼs good money.

- And how do you know this? – asked Faith still unsure.

- Because I have a friend in my history class that does the same. This guy has told me that you go into the office of the department you sign up in some type of waiting list, and you fill a few forms where you decide what type of work you are willing o do. If you donʼt want to do nudes then donʼt check that box on that option, and there you go. Theyʼll never call you for that, just to pose like Snow White, if thatʼs what you want.

- Ha ha ha – laughed Faith mockingly – VERY FUNNY! Well donʼt think youʼre going to convince me with your jokes.

But Faith ended up doing what Michie had suggested, and when a few weeks had gone by and she had almost forgotten about her signing up for it, she got a phone call. They were finally calling her to pose, and a little scared she went to professor Fullatʼs class that only wanted the students to draw her hands. So the students took a lot of pictures of her hands and that was it. Faith had started to work for the department since then, once or twice a week, and the little money she made, she sent to her mother back in Atlanta. Michie had insisted that the money she owed her, she could pay back later, when she was done with school and had a good job.

That way posing became a habit for Faith, that even though was of a restless nature, learned how to stay still for long periods of time, in order to be able to send her mother some money. The job simply stated was easy and well paid so she did it gladly. But one day things changed dramatically.

Faith had been called to pose for an advanced class a morning in March. As usual she got in touch with the professor in charge before the class and this one told her what to do, when and where. It would involve sketches to distinguish the difference between shadows with different lighting set ups. So this would require someone with some experience at being still for a while.

Following the instructions the professor had given her, the girl got there at the time scheduled that morning and waited in the hallway while she waited for the instructions to be given to the students. A few minutes later the voice ended the lecture and the mumbling of different voices could be heard at the same time that the door opened.


- Ms. Sherman, good morning, Iʼm sorry to have made you wait, please come in – said the professor, who was a man in his fifties or sixties a little disheveled but with a nice smile that made her comfortable.

- Thank you professor Anderson – she answered going into the classroom and at the time she did she felt a weird tug as if something was letting her know that something important was about to happen.

The place was really big and was full of cabinets, lamps like in a photography studio, umbrellas and other random things to reflect light. There was also a panoramic window that let in the morning sun in the whole studio. The blond followed the short man to the center of the room and he started to address the class.

While the professor Anderson filled the air with his voice, Faith looked around at her audience. The students looked at her attentively from behind their drawing horses, at the same time that they listen to the directions from their instructor. She had already seen that scene many times since she had started posing, thatʼs why she couldnʼt understand why she felt so agitated all of a sudden. The young girl could hear the beating of her heart so loudly on her chest, that for a moment she thought it would jump out of her mouth.

It was then that an unexplainable anxiety took over her, that the young girl turned her eyes to one of the corners of the room realizing how while all the students were paying attention to the professor one of then seemed to be ding something else. Faith could distinguish what was keeping him so occupied, because he was hidden behind his drawing horse, and she couldnʼt see his face.

- Ms. Sherman, are you listening? – asked professor Anderson for the second time, since she obviously had hear him the first one.

- Yes?... Mmm...sorry profesor... Could you repeat again what you just said? – asked the girl a little jumpy.

- Please sit down – the man smiled and the girl followed him letting him fix her pose.

What was that? – thought Faith at the same time she followed his indications – For a brief moment she had been overwhelmed with another one of her strange visions, but curiously this one had been different. She saw herself walking in the darkness in the middle of a thick fog and in the distance she thought she could hear a shipʼs siren. She turned around like looking for something...or someone.
Thatʼs when the professor had called her and her vision had gone away as fast as it had come.

The girls fixed her hair the way that the professor asked her to, and contented herself to a long and boring half an hour, she tried to forget what she had seen in her vision, and shake off that restlessness that wouldnʼt leave her alone.

On the other side of the classroom the students started to work and the mysterious occupant of the drawing horse to the left of the room finished fixing his charcoals, activity in which he had been occupied the whole time that the professor had explained the assignment. When the young man lifted his head to see the model in turn, a little annoyance painted on his lips that held a cigarette with laziness, he could feel with an astonishing clarity how the hinges of his soul opened widely. The hit was such that the young man let his cigarette fall from his lips to the ground and for a moment that seems to last a century, he couldnʼt do anything else that to look at the woman that was in front of him, as if he was seeing a ghost.

- Aaron, Aaron – a voice called him from the drawing horse next to him – Hey man! Canʼt you hear me?

- Eh? – He answered to the voice still absent minded and his head swirling around.

- Let me borrow your knife to sharpen this pencil – the other boy demanded curious to the vacant expression in his classmateʼs face.

Aaron took the knife he had in his hand and handed it to his friend without coming out of the trance that he was in. Thatʼs when Raymond noticed the reason for his silence, was none other that the presence of the young model, given how insistently he looked at her.


- Pretty blond, uh? – whispered Raymond mischievously and thought that he had never seen his friend so impressed by a woman.

- I... I donʼt know what you mean – he mumbled back forcing himself to look away.

- Come on! Donʼt fake it – insisted his friend.

- Mr. Dilthey, would you mind stopping with the chat and concentrate on your work? – called the professorʼs voice and Raymond immediately forgot to tease his friend to start on his work.

Imitating his classmate Aaron started to do the same, but on the first couple of strokes his hands were shaking.

“It canʼt be” – he thought while his heart threatened to get out of its place – “itʼs exactly alike, every detail, every line of her face, her hair, her size, the color of her eyes!”

Meanwhile Faith wasnʼt any more relaxed because the session had started. All to the contrary, she kept feeling inexplicably anxious and even though she was trying her hardest not to look to the left corner of the room, it seemed to be stronger than her will and she was forced to move her eyes in that direction. Thatʼs when it happened. Carefully as to not move a muscle, the girl turned her pupils and in that moment her eyes found each other with a pair of blue ones that seemed even more intense than the blue shirt that the owner was wearing. All the bells of the heart seemed to go off inside her with the contact of that intense gaze, and as if the meeting had burned her, instinctively she turned her eyes away. Faith remembered that the students had as a rule to not look at the model in the eyes, especially if they had to be nude. The young blond had never posed for a nude, but she had still noticed that none of the students looked her in the eyes.

- I probably just got self-conscious because he was looking at me directly, and Iʼm not used to it – she said to herself trying to justify her reaction when she ran away from the young manʼs gaze. Strange reaction for her since she used to look at people in the eyes all the time.

A few minutes went by, and without being able to control herself she turned her eyes again in the same direction and to her great shame the young man from the left corner looked at her directly. He had stopped hiding behind the drawing horse and she could see him clearly. It took only a second for her to notice his delicately features and the outline of his lips in which she thought she saw a mocking smile slightly drawn. Again a thump in her heart and another vision went through her mind. In that fast blur she thought she could see the same mocking smile amidst the fog, at the time that a shipʼs siren kept going in a silent night.


- Enough! – yelled the girl leaving the chair where she was sitting and surprising her audience with such an unusual outburst.

- Something the matter Ms. Sherman? – asked the professor alarmed for her violent reaction.

- Iʼm...sorry, professor – she excused herself embarrassed – but itʼs not my fault...Thereʼs a student thatʼs taking me out of my concentration by looking at me in the eyes.


- Really? – Said the professor bothered by the idea – Everyone here knows thatʼs unethical. Tell me who it is.

- Itʼs not necessary – the young man with the blue eyes interrupted with some audacity in his tone – it was me, but I wouldnʼt have if the Miss here present had stopped moving like uncured gelatin.

- Me move? - Answered Faith with indignation – Thatʼs a cheap excuse!

- But itʼs the truth – answered Aaron making a show of his mischievous words.


- Well, well – the professor mediated – letʼs try to keep the peace. Mr. Truman, please do us the favor of going back to your station and keep working, and you Miss, try to concentrate again.

“Concentrate!” Thought Faith while she tried to obey the professor, “How am I going to concentrate now?” For a moment she thought she had seen this man in her dreams. Good God! Now I believe Michie when she says Iʼm missing a screw! Why did this guy make me so nervous?... Uncured gelatin! How fresh! This is all his fault for doing something that he shouldnʼt have.” She finished to calm her conscience down, because she had look at him also.

The session lasted a few minutes longer and the young girl restrained herself from looking again in the direction of that Truman guy, but she kept feeling that her skin was burning under his gaze, the one that she could feel on herself as if it was a touch. Thatʼs how a few more minutes went by, but even though Faith tried to think about something else, she couldnʼt stop feeling uncomfortable, above all when she was sure that the color of her cheeks was increasing against her will.

- Professor Anderson = said a voice coming from the left corner of the room.

- What now, Mr. Truman? – asked the professor annoyed.

- Iʼm sorry that my work wonʼt be what you would expect from me this time – the young man explained aloud, making sure that everyone could hear him.

- Whyʼs that, may I ask?

- Well I canʼt concentrate with a model that keeps moving every second. Iʼm very sorry, but an artist canʼt work like that – the man complained sneakily.

- Moving? Where do you get that from? – yelled the model that obviously had hear Truman.

- Ms. Sherman, stay in your position. And you Mr. Truman you owe an apology to her, Iʼm sure she hasnʼt moved.

Faith looked at the young man again out of the corner of her eye, trying to hold back a triumphant laugh as the professor was taking her side.

- An apology? – Said Aaron with arrogance – Of course not! If everything is her fault!

- Well you...you hooligan! Answered the model getting up from her chair, being that no on in the room was working anyway, they were all paying attention to this peculiar argument.

- Mr. Truman! Miss Sherman! – The professor said confused by the turn that the situation was taking.

- Donʼt bother Professor Anderson – answered the young man without changing his snobbish tone – I wonʼt bother you anymore. If I canʼt concentrate because of this inexperienced modelʼs fault that doesnʼt know how to do her job, but the rest of the class seems to be doing fine, then Iʼll simply leave for the day.

- That wonʼt be necessary; Iʼll be the one to leave! – said the young girl guessing that even if the young man left the room, then she wouldnʼt be able to hold it together to keep posing as if nothing had happened – Excuse me, Professor Anderson, but I donʼt think I can keep working today.

And saying this last thing the girl grabbed her bag and left the room slamming the door. But the surprises hadnʼt stopped there that morning. As soon as the young girl disappeared behind the door, Aaron went running after her without taking into consideration the confused expression on Professor Andersonʼs face, the shocked faces of his classmates, and his friend Raymondʼs naughty smile. Silence reign in the classroom for a few seconds, until Raymond broke it with a loud whistle.

- Well! Thatʼs what I call badly repressed sexual tension - he said playfully and his comment relaxed the atmosphere and started the laughter of his classmates.

- Hey freckles! Where are you going so fast? Didnʼt you forget to do something important before running away like a scared rabbit? – called the young man from the middle of the hallway.

- What did you call me? – asked the girl stopping immediately.

- Mmmmmm...Letʼs see....Ah yes...it was something like Freckles. Yes, freckles, it suitʼs you, no? – He smiled.

- My name is Sherman, Faith Sherman – the young woman replied even more annoyed.

- Nice name, but I think I like 'freckles' better. You must have noticed that you have a pretty good collection of them on your face, right?

To the sarcastic comment Faith rolled her eyes as a sign on annoyance. She was about to answer with a threat but something inside her told her it was best to ignore the irritating person and leave the place as soon as possible, so she limited herself to turn around and keep walking.

- Hey! Now youʼre going to give me the silent treatment, freckles? –Asked Aaron enjoying her reaction, and following behind her a short distance away – thatʼs not the best way to start our relationship, especially when you just met the man of your dreams.

- Look...you, whatever your name is.

- Truman, dear, my name is Aaron Truman and you better learn it well, because itʼs going to be an important name – he said arching his eyebrow.

- Look...Thurman...or whatever – said Faith with her sharpest tone - engrave this in your head from this moment. In this world thereʼs a you and a me, but a “WE” doesnʼt and will never exist, and there will never be something like “OUR RELATIONSHIP”, understood?

And with these last words the young woman turned around and kept walking until she disappeared behind a door and Aaron watched her go.

- God! Sheʼs exactly like the girl that appears in my dreams – the young man thought without coming out of his astonishment – But good heavens, what a character!

- God! What a lout!... – said Faith when she was going towards the parking lot – but heʼs got pretty eyes…blue… No...Green?...


Another day followed another one, like all the days in the history of the world. But after that occasion things werenʼt the same for Faith Sherman. It seemed that her brisk and unfriendly meeting with Aaron Truman had marked her life with an unexplainable anxiety that, for as weird as it sounded, had also unchained a total euphoria of visions that chased her.

If before they seemed as real as strange, the weirdness of her “hallucinations”, like her amount increased since the. Sometimes the scene in the fog intermixed again with the annoying laughter of Professor Andersonʼs student, and sometimes the scene at the stairs repeated again and one more, a third vision had started to bother her.

She could see herself, younger; maybe age 14 or 15, in a field dressed with an old dress. She could hear music far away, and someone was calling her with a name that wasnʼt hers. When she turned to look the vision went away.

- I definitely think you should go see a doctor – sentenced Michie while she ate her food at the cafeteria.

- You think? – asked Faith, with an absent look.

- Of course! Look at yourself! You barely sleep, and eat like a bird. And weʼre talking about “glutton” you here; itʼs got to be something!

- What do I tell the doctor when he asks me whatʼs wrong?


- That, appetite loss, insomnia...maybe heʼll tell you that you have anemia...or maybe you have cuties.

- Michie!

- What, Iʼm just speculating! Eating what you cook, anything can be expected.

- Oh Michie, you have no remedy! You never take anything seriously – complained Faith resting her face on one of her hands, and she would have kept complaining about her friend lack of seriousness when all of a sudden the voice of a third interrupted the conversation.

- Well, well well! Ms. Freckles in person – said the voice and the blond felt how the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stoop up when she hear that mocking tone – Isnʼt this a curious coincidence? So you took your freckles out to take some sun?

- And you think you have a right to dark humor? Donʼt you? – She answered sarcastically not turning back to see Aaron Truman, that was standing right next to her table – God! Earth swallow me right now! – Thought Faith – “Not a new encounter with this lout! And not with Michie as a witness!”

- Arenʼt you going to introduce me to your friend Faith? – asked Michie excited to see that the intruder was good looking.

- Aaron Truman, Miss – he was quick to say, grabbing a nearby chair before Faith could argue.

- Iʼm Michelle Valencia, but everyone calls me Michie – she introduced the brunette lightly.


- “What insolence!” – Thought Faith without being able to believe her eyes – God, what have I done to deserve this?!

- You study at NYU also? – asked Michie to the young man, noticing immediately her friendʼs discomfort and the insistence that Aaron looked at her with.

- Yeah, Iʼm studying design and painting – answered the young man enthusiastically but without taking his eyes of Faithʼs blushed face.


– “Youʼre mad, freckles, and you look beautiful!” – He couldnʼt help thinking at the same time that he kept talking to Michie.

- I didnʼt know that Faith had friends in the Art department – commented Michie more and more intrigued by her friendʼs reaction.

- I donʼt! – Finally said the blond with anger in her tone – Thurman here, is a student of one of the classes Iʼve modeled for, nothing else.

- Truman, freckles, the name is Truman, but you can call me Mr. Aaron Truman.

- Youʼre a comedian, arenʼt you? – Asked Faith giving him a hateful look while she suddenly stood up – Come on Michie! Youʼre done right? – She said talking to her friend.

- Well, I was thinking about dessert...


- Well, Iʼm not hungry anymore, maybe itʼs because of the unpleasant environment of this place – Faith said sarcastically – Letʼs go I still have to go to the library!

- Heaves freckles, so you study too, besides posing like uncured gelatin! – said Truman without missing his chance at another tease.

- Of course I study! Unlike others that seem like they donʼt have much to do – she replied quickly to then turn to the brunette that was getting up slowly – Letʼs go Michie!


- But we have to get the check! – said the girl.

- Well pay at the register! – mumbled Faith turning around to not face Aaron and with no intention of saying goodbye.


- Bye freckles! Weʼll meet again – said the young man and the girl couldnʼt help the temptation of turning around to look at him, at the same time he was winking at her. The girl turned around once more regretting her last move and left the restaurant as if someone was chasing her, with Michie following behind her utterly entertained by her friend reaction.

- What a cute guy, that one Faith! – said Michie when they were both far away from the restaurant – Just as I like them, tall, with silky long hair, with presence....What a guy!

- Gosh Michie! You only need a broomstick with pants to get all excited – said Faith.

- Nonsense! He is a collectible item...and those eyes!... blue?...no... green?

- Theyʼre blue – corrected Faith with conviction, forgetting about herm bad mood – with some green tones that you can see better under the light, and they create an illusion of being iridescent – she went into detail at the same time that her tone changed.

- Well, you seem to have noticed more than you would like to admit – Michie warned mischievously.


- What nonsense are you saying! Aaron Truman is the most intolerable person that Iʼve ever met.

- But it seems he likes you.

- Michie, like Iʼve said you have no remedy.

Whatʼs wrong with you Faith?- she asked herself the blond one rainy Autumn afternoon, while she tried to concentrate in a report that she had to turn in to one of her professors. It didnʼt matter how much she tried to avoid it, but every time she finished one or tow lines, the same annoying thought came to her head.

Faith couldnʼt understand how it was possible to have so many casual encounters with the same person in the vastness of N.Y city. But even thought she thought it was weird, in the course of a few months, Aaron Truman had been at the same place as her in various shops, in Central Park, in the cafeteria, in more then one antique shop that she liked to go to in Greenwich Village, at the theater, in more than one restaurant, and even the subway.

- I can see him in my soup! – She said aloud and when she finished her sentence she felt a sense of déjà vu that overwhelmed her for the hundredth time, as if she was repeating a phrase said a long long time a go. But that was just one of the weird things out of the multiple that happened around Truman – Heʼs a lout and an arrogant! She said making a face, while she pressed the enter key on the keyboard strongly – but...- she added after a breath – I have to admit that he has...he has... charm – she thought and a light smile drew in her face when she remembered Michieʼs words.

- Are you blind Faith? That guy is so good looking that it makes me want to cry just to see him!

- Nah! I can say that heʼs alright, but thatʼs it – she had mumbled as her answer.

- Well then youʼre even blinder than a gopher – had been Michieʼs reply – What would I give for him to look for me as he does for you – said the brunette throwing herself lightly on the bed while she played with a stuffed toy.


- Look for me? Aaron? – Had asked Faith confused – You are crazy! All he can do when we see each other is bother me...besides they have only been coincidences.

- You really are blinder than a gopher – said Michie mockingly – Do you know how many people live in Manhattan? Do you have any idea how many could the possibilities be to run into the same person at random again? Nah! That guy is looking for you. He must like you.

- Youʼre crazy! – Faith had replied at the time that she threw her pillow to her friend and teh toy that Michie had in her hands rolled onto the floor.

- Youʼre killing my baby! – whined Michie exaggerating.

- Michie, itʼs not real! Itʼs only a toy, besides I donʼt even like it.


- You have no soul! Whined the brunette again, and they kept arguing and between jokes they forgot about Aaron Truman.

However, as Faith was staring the screen saver on her computer monitor, the young girl was wondering if in fact Aaron Truman had been causing those accidental encounters on purpose.
-ʽNonsense!ʼ She said as she frantically started typing trying to concentrate on her work.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The room was filled with light coming in from the large window that extended from wall to wall. The room would have been totally silent if it wasnʼt for the distant noise of the avenue twenty floors bellow and the soft scratching of the pencil moving on paper. Aaron Truman looked at the lines his hand drew quickly while he was finishing the drawing of a stage prop for one of his design classes. From time to time the hand would stop its work and the young man would shake his head as if trying to shake off thoughts that were distracting him from his work.
-ʽIt is just an amazing face resemblance. Thatʼs all...ʼ he told himself putting the stretcher down with annoyance .
-ʽI am being taken over by that,ʼ he thought as if arguing with himself, getting up from the bench to look out of the large window. For a moment his hard glance fell on the light caught by the glasses of the window, but right away his face softened and a smile was formed on his lips.
ʽStill, those eyes… they are a strange mixture of strength and kindness… full of life and light, like water sparkling under the sun… and that laughter!… When she is with her friends and has no idea I am watching her from a distance… and those very few times she has given me a smile…ʼ
Aaronʼs memories took him back to the day he had met Faith at the train station, after the end of their summer holidays. After the formal greetings, the two of them were able to have something resembling a conversation which was of course interrupted by short spells of sarcasm.
-ʽAre you coming back from New Jersey?ʼ asked the young man casually.
-ʽNot really, I am coming back from home,ʼ - replied the young woman and Aaron could detect a touch of sadness in her voice.-I come from Atlanta you know.
-ʽDo you mean that you flew into New Jersey from there?ʼ asked Aaron surprised that the girl hadnʼt flown directly into New York.
-ʽNo…..in fact…..I travel by coach…..you know, to save money…ʼ
-ʽSeriously?ʼ was the only thing he could say thinking how come the girl was so cheery and animated after a journey that must have lasted over 24 hours.
-ʽYou must be feeling knackered by now.ʼ
-ʽA little bit yes, but at the same time I am very happy that I was able to be with my mother, so I donʼt regret it. What about you? Did you visit your parents these days?ʼ she asked in her usual way noticing his sudden change of mood.
-ʽYes…well….only my mother,ʼ he answered avoiding her eyes feeling somewhat uncomfortable that someone enquired about his life and his parents.ʼ That is where I am returning from at the moment, after having visited her. She has a summer house in New
Jersey.ʼ
-ʽI see…..And what about your father?ʼ Faith asked naturally and he felt like she was trying to read his face as if she was making an effort to make eye contact with him, which he was avoiding.
-ʽEhmmm….the truth is that I no longer see him since I started studying in this University,ʼ he confessed in a barely audible voice.
-ʽThatʼs a pity,ʼ replied the blond and gave up trying meeting his eyes as her eyes fell on the moving waters of the Hudson.
A strange silence between the two of them followed and for a moment. Aaron believed that being next to Faith Sherman without speaking a single word was as easy as being all alone and at the same time it was extremely difficult for him to stand still while chills where running up and down his spine. Strangely all that he felt when he was close to Faith was completely new to him, but at the same time he couldnʼt help thinking that some time, in some indefinable past he had experienced all these sensations before.
-ʽMy father died when I was twelve,ʼ said the young girl breaking the silence in a quiet voice as the ferry was docking.ʼ He was a wonderful man, although not perfect of course. I remember he always told me off for being too trusty with people and that I would end up getting hurt. He had strange habits like getting up at dawn and was too ticklish. He loved the Beatles but hated Bon Jovi which was such as shame as I love them.ʼ
-ʽStill……ʼ the young girl paused, surprising her listener with the amount of words she could speak with just one breath…'Still, I would give anything to have him alive today even though he would still be nagging me.ʼ
-ʽFaith!ʼ Aaron stammered not knowing how in a outburst of honesty.
-ʽWhat I am trying to say,ʼ said the young girl as she was getting up from her seat. ʽIs that you are very lucky Aaron Truman and without any doubt very silly not wanting to make up with your father.ʼ
-ʽWho said anything about not getting on well with my father?ʼ Aaron said trying in vain to restore his look of indifference.
-ʽI didnʼt need to be told Aaron. If I were you, I would think the matter over,ʼ she said and with those last words she walked down the ferry corridor to the exit.
ʽYou are really nosy miss freckles,ʼ Aaron told himself caressing the window glasses with his fingertips. ʽNot only do you invade my dreams night after night, you want to get involved in my family affairs as well.ʼ The young man lowered his face not being able to stop a smile coming on as a persistent thought was going through his mind.
ʽYes, very nosy but so beautiful that the eyes hurt just by looking at you…ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There were times that Michie felt that this energy field forming between Faith and Aaron whenever they were close, was so obvious that it could be felt from miles away. Obvious it was to the rest of the word, apart from the two young people involved who continued to ignore this force that was making Aaron cause their encounters and Faith to prolong them with funny contradictions in her attitude which one moment seemed to say “I like being next to you” and another was trying to pretend the opposite. However, instead of discouraging the young artist, Faiths behavior of forward and backward steps only managed to increase his persistence.
Perhaps this game of almost flirting would have lasted longer if it wasnʼt for certain unexpected events that sped things up.
On a certain rainy morning a pair of green eyes were going nervously through one of the notice board in the faulty of art of NYU. Suddenly, a small message caught the attention of the owner of those eyes who harried to note down in an address book the address on that message.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The building was one of those impressive and imposing ones in south Manhattan. Faith approached the elevator glancing once more at the address noted on her address book and once more she realized her hands were shaking no matter how hard she was trying to stop that. The lift finally reached the 20th floor and the girl came out of it trying to find the flat number she was looking for.
ʽLetʼs go!ʼ she was trying to encourage herself. “You know you have to do this!” However, regardless of her efforts, her legs seemed to fail her ever step. “Please my God, make it so that it is for a woman,” Faith prayed while she rang the bell still somewhat indecisive.
The door opened almost immediately and revealed a blond man taller than 1.90cm who seemed to be close to his thirties.
-ʽYes? How can I help you miss?ʼ asked the blond man in a polite manner which did nothing to calm Faithʼs nerves.
-ʽI…..I am here regarding the advertisement…..about a model,ʼ she answered not looking at the eyes of the man.
-ʽA model?ʼ the man asked with a confused expression but seemed to understand afterwards. ʽOh, yes! I guess it must be my cousinʼsʼ. Please come in, he showed her in, stepping aside so that she could enter the corridor.
Faith stepped in cautiously, wondering if it was safe to enter the flat of someone she didnʼt know just like that.
-ʽPardon me for not understanding straight away,ʼ the blond man apologized inviting Faith to sit on a big black leather sofa. ʽYou see I am only visiting. The owner of the place is my cousin. He is the artist of the family and must have written the ad for a school project.ʼ
-ʽI see,ʼ answered Faith not knowing if she should be happy that the blond man wasnʼt the person for whom she was going to pose, or worry and wonder about the mentioned cousin. After all this blond one seemed pleasant and there was something about these sky-blue eyes that inspired trust in her.
-ʽMy name is Walter Nollan.ʼ
-ʽI am Faith Sherman,ʼ she answered shaking the hand the blond man extended.
-ʽPleased to meet you. You are lucky, I was just about to leave and my cousin may be a few minutes late. He went shopping in some streets towards the south.
-ʽI understand.'
Nollan was no doubt a polite man and he soon offered Faith a cup of coffee which given the temperature on that rainy day was a splendid thing.
After a little while the two young people were having a lively conversation and Faith had almost forgotten the reason for her being there.
-ʽSo you study Education. It must be a very interesting field,ʼ Walter commented smiling.
-ʽYes.. and what is your specialty?ʼ Faith asked casually.
-ʽI am a biologist. That is why I am here in Manhattan. I am taking part in a study about a species of sea gulls which inhabits the whole area of Long Island. My cousin is giving me accomodation for these days.ʼ
-ʽI see. What is your cousin called?ʼ
Walter was about to answer when the door opened wide and Faith was filled with two blue-green eyes. For an instant it was as if the devil himself had appeared.
-ʽSo good you turned up Aaron!ʼ Walter exclaimed without noticing the amazed look on Faithʼs eyes. ʽMiss Sherman came for the advertisment you had posted regarding a model for one of your projects.ʼ
Walter had just finished his sentence when his cousinʼs jaw fell to the floor, but Walter didnʼt notice the astonishment on his cousinʼs face as he was already holding his wallet in his hand and was leaving in a hurry.
-ʽDid you come for the advertisment? Aaron asked still not having comprehended the matter once his cousin had disapeared behind the door.
-ʽI.....I....ʼ Faith whispered while trying to come up with an excuse to leave running as soon as possible from that place. She needed this job, but couldnʼt do it for Aaron Truman. Impossible!
-ʽI believe there must have been a mistake,ʼ she said timidly.
-ʽYes, I believe there must be,ʼ Aaron answered still not having regained his ususal serious self. ʽIt canʼt be that you would like to pose for this job freckles. It is not your style,ʼ Aaron thought trying to evaluate the situation.
Faith took her coat on one hand and was about to turn to the door when a new internal force stopped her.
ʽDo you have a better idea for me to earn this money?ʼ she asked herself battling with her feelings. ʽYou know very well you have no time to loose and quite possibly you will not find another way to gather the whole sum. You have no other option. You have to do
this.ʼ

The girl turned again towards Aaron, left her coat on the sofa and directed her gaze at him with a determination which shook Truman once more.
-ʽThere is no mistake,ʼ she said determinded ʽI came to do a job and things donʼt change just because we know each other. Please tell me where I have to pose. The faster we do it, the better for both of us.
Truman needed a few more seconds to regain his coolness, but confronted with the young girlʼs resolution he had no choice but to show her where the work would take place.
ʽI donʼt understand you freckles.ʼ Aaron was thinking while he was explaining what the job would consist of to the young girl.ʽ Never had I believed you could be so amazingly cold.....and even more that a girl like you would be disposed to.....I am not saying I dislike the idea....it is just that....I donʼt know if I will be able to keep those brushes from shaking....My God! We havenʼt started yet and I already feel dizzy.ʼ
-ʽSo I should not be wearing anythingʼ, she said in mumble distracting Aaron from his thoughts.
-ʽNo, it is a project about anatomy and has to be very precise,ʼ he answered making great efforts to maintain his serenity.
-ʽIt is OK. Is it going to take us long to start?ʼ asked Faith and Aaron thought he heard her voice tremble.
-ʽWell, if you prefer it that way…Let me prepare my material and in the meantime you can change in the bathroom and use the robe I have left on the hook,ʼ he indicated and the girl headed immediately to the bathroom Aaron had shown her.
The young woman entered the bathroom and avoiding her reflection on the mirror by the sink, started undressing. A long list of arguments and contradictions were filling her mind making her feel terribly confused. Faith had had a profound and traditional upbringing and the idea of taking her clothes off in front of a man was something that only happened in the relationship of a couple. To make matters worse, the young girl had not had any intimate experiences yet and nudity was a totally alien thing. So, posing in the nude for an artistic or academic painting as this was going to be, troubled her to the point of feeling dirty. As if this wasnʼt enough, she ended up having to do it precisely for the man that was waking in her the most contradictory emotions.
ʽYou just have to imagine you are taking a bath alone, that is all.ʼ She was trying to calm herself while she was taking off each garment and stowing it in her bag, ʽTou know well that you have no alternative. You need the money,ʼ she repeated one more time.
When she had finished undressing, she lifted her sight to the dressing gown Aaron had mentioned and with an indeciseve gesture extended her hand to reach for it. Once she had worn it, she finally looked at herself in the mirron and fixed her hair which was falling in wild golden curls halfway down her back. With one last sigh she opened the door and headed towards the studio where the young man was waiting for her looking very busy cleaning an impressive collection of tools for drawing and painting.
Aaron then turned and almost choked with the image of that girl wrapped up in a plush white dressin gown which was too large for her and who seemed like she was bathed in cascading wave of blond curls. It didnʼt take long for him to conclude that this was the most beautiful vision his eyes had ever held and couldnʼt tell if the seducing force that Faith seemed to fully posses was radiating from the grace of her clasical beauty or from the fact that she seemed to be completely ignorant of that. Standing like this in the middle of the room with a strange lost look in her eyes, she looked so defenseless and at the same time so dangerous that it was difficult to define how she made him feel.
-ʽAre you ready?ʼ he managed to as and the girl responded with a slight nod of her head.
The young man approached her feeling that his heart was beating at a speed somewhat unhealthy and was about to indicate how he wanted her to be positioned when he noticed that Faithʼs eyes were full of tears. That was the last strike that tore down Aaronʼs defences who without thinking about his movements, got near the young girl taking her face in both his hands with a gentleneess that surprised Faith.
-ʽWhat is worng Faith? Why are you crying?' he told her and Faith couldnʼt understand where had Aaron found this sweet and comforting tone. In another moment perhaps she would have tried to regain her composture but the pain in her chest, the unexpected kindness from Aaron and that constant feeling of faitning she always felt when he was near her, were enough to unleash her sorrow.
The girl didnʼt try to stop it and she was freely sobbing on the chest of the young man who held her with concern, amazement and satisfaction.
-ʽFaith!ʼ was the only thing he could say while his arms gently enfolded the girlʼs slender body.
-ʽI am so sorry Aaron,ʼ she said in between sobs ʽI would like to be able to do this without hesitating that much.ʼ
-ʽAre you telling me that you donʼt want to pose?ʼ he asked while the warmth of the young girl was going through his pores. ʽYou donʼt have to do it if it makes you feel that bad. I can understand this.ʼ
-ʽNo, you donʼt understand. I have to do this whether I like it or not. I need this money,ʼ she responded with her face still burried in his chest.
It was the first time she dared say out loud that she was going to do something against her will just for the sake of money. This only made things worse as now that it was said out in the open she felt almost like a prostitute.
Aaron listened to Faithʼs words surprised. Trying not to scare the girl, he softly forced her to look at him in the eyes lifting up her chin.
-ʽWhat do you mean when you say you have to do it whether you like it or not? What do you need that money with such an urgency for?ʼ he asked sinking deep into those green lakes which seemed even deeper because of the tears.
-ʽItʼs my mother... She... she... has been diagnosed with cancer and she needs to have an operation imediately,ʼ the young girl said in a broken voice.
-ʽAnd you need the money for the operation?ʼ he asked thinking that if that was the case, Faith would have to pose for many more paintings in order to gather the necessary amount.
-ʽNo... not really,ʼ she said lowering her eyes. ʽI have gathered a good sum thanks to some loans from friends, mostly Michieʼs father, but I still need money for the planre ticket. My mother will be admitted the day after tomorrow. I fear that if I get there late, she will be depressed and will not make it through the surgery. I have to be there with her but I cannot borrow any more money, do you undestand?ʼ And as if confessing her problem to him had given her new strength, the girl freed herself from Aaronʼs arms and looked at him with determination.
-ʽLet us start please,ʼ and saying that moved her right hand to the belt of the dressing gown with the intention of untying it but
Aaronʼs firm hand stopped her.
-ʽNo Faith, I donʼt want you to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.ʼ
-ʽI have already told you that that doesnʼt matter. What matters is my mother,ʼ she argued with an unexpected strength
ʽYou are incredible freckles!ʼ Aaron thought admiring the girls character even more. ʽYou who are always so full of pride, are capable of humiliating yourself out of love towards your mother.ʼ
-ʽWait Faith,ʼ he replied without letting go of her hand. 'You are wrong if you think that you donʼt have anyone else to borrow money from.ʼ And with that last sentence the young man went to another room and returned a couple of minutes later to give Faith a check in her name.
-ʽWhat is this?ʼ she asked taken aback.
-ʽWell, a loan, what else could it be? I believe this will be enough for a trip to Atlanta.'
-ʽBut...ʼ she blabbed not believing her eyes.
-ʽNo buts. If you hurry up you should be able to find a ticket for tonightʼs flight.ʼ
-ʽBut I want to pay you back nevertheless. Let me pose for your project and then I will feel we are evenʼ
-ʽMy God Faith! Why do you always have to be so stubborn?ʼ Aaron complained impatiently but at the same time delighted with the girl's courage. ʽTake this as a loan and you give me back the money when you have it... I can easily find someone else for this project. Now go, get dressed and go buy that airplain ticket.ʼ
The girl reluctantly took the check not knowing what to say, and disappeared behind the bathroom doors. Shortly after that, a new Faith completely different from the one that entered the block of flats, came out dressed in her usual jeans and black coat with a wide smile on her face.
-ʽReady?ʼ he asked trying to sound normal.
-ʽYes,ʼ she said glowing and without thinking what she was doing threw her arms around the young manʼs neck. Having so many things in her mind and because of the new found relief it was only a matter of seconds before Faith noticed she was embracing Aaron Truman. Still, far from feeling repulsed, a new unknown collection of sensations suddenly exploded in her. All this started with a clear perception of a masculine scent which filled her senses and continued with a pleasant warmth that seemed she had had a need for all her life, something she had never noticed before.
For Aaron things were a bit different. All of a sudden it was as if all the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. Long after this, the young ones recalled that moment as one of their most intense of their lives.
It was as if in a fraction of a second the games of souls became reality all together and every whisper became a voice, and every vision an image of their unknown past. Faces, places, smells, far-away sounds flooded the room and suddenly it was as if they were on the deck of a far-off boat, in the clearing of a forest, sitting next to calm waters, writting a letter, in the corridors of a hospital, running on a staircase, or hugging in front of an old car.
It was the two of them, Aaron and Faith and at the same time it was two strangers, wearing different clothes, talking with a different accent and expressions living in a distant time.
-ʽI am realy sorry but I have to tell you that I like my freckles very much. Actually, lately I have been thinking of ways to get some more.ʼ
-Phewwww! And surely you must be proud of your small pointy nose.ʼ
-ʽOf course!ʼ
-ʽMr. Granchester you mean? I didnʼt know you knew him Miss.ʼ
-ʽNo, I donʼt know him. So his name is Grandchester then.ʼ
-ʽYes, he is the son of one of the noble English families Miss. Has he been bothering you?ʼ
-ʽMiss, please go back to your cabin.ʼ

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽNever speak of this to anyone! Do you understand me? If you do it you are lost, did you hear me?... Now get out of here. Quickly!ʼ
-ʽI am sorry... I will never tell anyone, I promise you.ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽStuborn old woman! What a language!ʼ
-ʽYes, but because of this I will now not be able to take part in the May festival.ʼ
-ʽReally?... It is a pity you wonʼt be able to go.ʼ
-ʽYes, a pity. It must be a very nice party, with music, flowers, dancing.ʼ
-ʽYes, it is really an incredible party.ʼ
-ʽPrinces Juliet? May I have this dance?ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽThis airplane is from when my father was young. When he flew it, he met my mother and they fell in love.ʼ
-ʽAt this time of year, the children of Ponyʼs Home go swimming and sometimes fishing. These very nice days out in the field. Would you like to go for a pic-nic one day?ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽCould I see miss White? She must be working and studying here isnʼt she?ʼ
-ʽYou can see for yourself. She should have been in this room.ʼ
-ʽIn this room?ʼ
-ʽYes, she sould be here doing her shift but obviously she hasnʼt carried out her responsibility.ʼ
-ʽShe skipped her shift to go see me at the theatre.ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽI would like it if you could come to Broadway for the premerie.ʼ
-ʽIt will be different this time. I will always be able to meet Terry again as long as we are aliveʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽThey say that Sussana is trying to force him to marry her because of the accident.ʼ
-ʽThis is not love!ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽDonʼt do this crazy thing!ʼ
-ʽI have to do it. If I donʼt I will always be a burden for you and Terry.ʼ
-ʽNOOOO!ʼ
-ʽTake good care of him and never leave him.ʼ
-ʽI will take you to the station.ʼ
-ʽNo!ʼ
-ʽI WILL take you to the station!ʼ
-ʽI said no! This will make things more diffucult!ʼ
-ʽI want time to stop now...ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽWouldnʼt it have been better if we had never met?ʼ
-ʽThen I would have said that I am very bad in keeping promises. If you ask me about my feelings for her I would tell you that I appreciate her, I am grateful to her, I am concerned... but absolute and passionate love like what I felt....what I feel for you....! Damn my luck!....
-ʽI cannot do it! I wanted to lie to you but I canʼt. I tried once to write you a letter, to tell you that all is in the past, but I didnʼt even have the courage to send it. How can I tell you now that I am in love with the man that will be my husband when it is not like this?ʼ
-ʽGod, oh, God! What mistakes had our ancestors made that we have to pay for them in this way? Why is it that this love, pure and good, so intense that neither time nor distance have stopped has became a sin? Why canʼt you be my woman when deep inside you are the wife of my heart? Why do you have to be forbidden to me?ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Faith abruptly broke the embrace not being able to withstand the explosions of visions that had invaded her soul like a series of electic shocks. She lifted her face frightened and realised that Aaron too was as confused as she was. Strangely enough they both knew without having to say anything that they had had the same visions.
Not knowing what to do, Faith caught her bag and run out of the room as if she was being chased. Aaron had no strength to stop her. He was still too overwhelmed by the force of the emotions experienced in that strange glimpse of a world that, he as much as Faith, had forgotten for a long long time, but which that embrace had awakened from a deep sleep.
A few hours later, Walter entered the room. Everything was dark, so the man assumed that his cousin had left again. Holding with difficulty his wallet in one hand, a cage with birds in the other and with a video camera hanging from his neck, the blond man walked between Aaronʼs painting stands through the room.
Reaching the dinning table, he left his load on the furniture and with free hands he looked for the light switch. When light flooded the room he was surpised to find his cousin sitting on the black sofa.
-ʽI didnʼt know you were here!ʼ he said surprised. ʽWhy didnʼt you say anything?ʼ he asked, not getting any answers from his cousin who seemed to be lost in another dimention. ʽAaron....Aaron...? Are you listening to me?ʼ he asked again getting near the young man.
-ʽHumm?ʼ at last responded Aaron feeling Walterʼs hand on his shoulder. ʽWhen did you come back?ʼ
-ʽIt has been a while but from what it seems you have been in another world. Did you finish the job with the freckly girl?ʼ the blond one asked sitting and stretching next to his cousin.
-ʽEh?....No....ʼ Aaron whispered not knowing what else to say.
-ʽWasnʼt she the type of model you were looking for this project?ʼ
-ʽNo... not quite.ʼ
-ʽWell she seemed like a very pretty girl to me....and very pleasant as well, which is something difficult to find in a beautiful woman, but oh, well, you know more than me on that, beauty is your work isnʼt it?ʼ
-ʽIt is not just that.....On that, she would have been perfect for the project Aaron rushed to say as he was getting up and for the first time noticed the presence of some sea gulls in the cage. ʽWhat is it with these animals?ʼ
-ʽThey are part of my study. They will stay with me only for a few days, but finish telling me what happened with the little frecked girl.ʼ
-ʽWell... it is just that... it wasnʼt a good idea that she posed for this project... the bad thing...ʼ whispered Aaron wondering if he should confide in his cousin what had really happened ʽ... was that we already knew each other and... that sometimes makes work more difficult.ʼ
-ʽReally? It is strange, but from my point of view I would think that that would make things easier... you know more confidential and all.
-ʽNo... it is that my work requires a nude and she felt somewhat uncomfortable. That is all,ʼ Aaron finished saying, trying not to pay any attention to the matter while he was pouring a cup of coffee. Still, the confused voices in Aaronʼs head didnʼt stop calling, provoking an uneasiness very difficult for him to hide. ʽOh, yes, I am defiantly going mad,ʼ he thought while the dark liquid was filling the cup.
-ʽI see... yes, that is true... this girl seemed inocent. I suppose you will have to contract someone else... oh, pour some coffee for me too please,ʼ said the blond man going to the kitchen where Aaron was talking to him from.
-ʽI will have to work without a model,' answered Aaron taking a sip.
-ʽWhy is that?ʼ
-ʽI donʼt have the money to pay a model,ʼ the dark hair man replied.
-ʽAnd how where you thinking of paying this girl?ʼ enquired Walter without being able to undestand his cousin.
-ʽWell....I had the money for that....until a while ago. I....lent it to Faithʼ, the young man concluded turning his back to his cousin.
-ʽWell well ... Let me see if I get this. She didnʼt pose for you, but you lent her the money and now you donʼt have any more to pay another model. I really donʼt understand you. When did you stop being Aaron Truman, Mr. Arrogance? This is not you.ʼ
-ʽDonʼt ask me. I donʼt even recognise myself,ʼ said Aaron passing his fingers through his hair that was reaching his back, a sign of nervousness.
Walter was silent for a moment, while he gave his cousin a scrutinising look and then said:
-ʽYou know brother? The last time I did something like that for a woman, I ended up marrying her...This is a bad sign my friend... a very bad sign...ʼ said Walter with a wide smile on his face.
-ʽYou are not at all funny and I donʼt suppose your wife would like to hear you say that eitherʼ Aaron responded with an expresion that made it clear to his cousin that he had touched a sensitive spot there.
-ʽWell man, donʼt be so touchy. It was just a joke. You know very well that I adore Nancy and when you will be lucky enough to find the right woman you will understand me. Pass me that cup of coffee, I am knackered.'
That is where the conversation about Faith Sherman ended.....but not Aaronʼs confusion who didnʼt know what caused him more anxiety, the fact that Faith was so worried about her motherʼs health or the strange moments he had lived with the girl a few hours back.
Faith had to fight a lot to overcome the experience. Still, the priority of the moment was her motherʼs operation so she had no choice but to get up at the break of dawn and board the first flight to Atlanta. Luckily the young girl arrived in time to be with her mother before the operation but Sarahʼs frail body so battered after over twenty years of bad health just managed to survive for 48 hours post-surgery.
So,as the day was breaking on that cold November morning, Sarah Sherman let go of her daughterʼs hand never to caress it again. Faith felt the soft good bye of her mother as the warmth of her skin was giving itʼs place to the cold of death. Strangely enough the young woman did not shed one single tear, nor did she say one word. Some pains were beyond tears.
The only things left then were the cruel and cold preparations for the funeral. With a strength that surprised her self, the girl took care of all the necessary arrangements and notified her relatives and friends. The next couple of days went by as in a dreamy haze. She could just recognize some of her aunts and cousins who had distanced themselves from the Shermans since their economic ruin. For her, the presence of her old high school friends and some kids and parents from the Special School she had done some voluntary work for counted much more, as well as the loyal support of Michelle who had left New York to run to her friendʼs side as soon as she was aware of the bad operation outcome. Yet, not even when Michie hugged her when she turned up at the funeral could the girl burst into tears.

Michelle stayed with her friend throughout the two weeks that the legal issues following the death of Faithʼs mother and none of
Faithʼs begging were enough to convince her to return to New York so that she wouldnʼt miss too many classes. During those days, Faith found one of her motherʼs old friends and got her to look after the Shermanʼs house which would remain empty until the young woman decided what to do with it. So after arranging the last details Faith closed the door of the house in which she had grown up behind her, carrying a huge back full of valuable and melancholic memorablia and departed for New York once more acccompanied by her friend Michie.
Once she was back, depression didnʼt delay its presense. Faith carried on being strong but all her hard trieswere not enough to fool Michie. The girl thought that since Faith had chosen to be silent regarding her loss and sadness, the best thing would be to respect that decision and simply be there, present and disposed for whenever the blond girl would finally need to discharge her load.
No matter how good Michieʼs intentions were, it would not be that easy taking care of Faith as it seemed that the blond girl insisted in being more concerned about everyone else but her hurt heart. It had only been two days since their return to New York and already Faith was insisting that Michelle should go out without her.
-ʽI think you should accept Johnʼs invitation,ʼ she casually said while she was opening a gelly sachet she was about to make, 'You have always liked the guy havenʼt you?ʼ
-ʽYes...but...I wouldnʼt like to leave you alone, especially since we have just come back,ʼ responded Michie lying on the sofa while she was watching TV in her style, that is switching through all the channels without watching any one of them.
-ʽNone of this. What I want is for you to leave me alone for a while, actually I have a lot of studying to do to catch up, and you being in the flat doesnʼt let me conentrate.
-ʽI am not letting you concentrate?ʼ asked Michie acting offended. ʽWouldnʼt it be that what doesnʼt let you concentrate is more the 18 messages Aaron Truman has left on the answering machine?ʼ Michie threw back at her mockingly.
Faith averted her eyes from Michie and pretented paying attention to the strawberries that were about to go off.
ʽAaron... Aaron,ʼ the girl thought without listening to her friendʼs teasing from her place in front of the television. The sad circumstances had made her put that thought in the corner of her mind where we put the things that try to overtake our emotions. Nevertheless, it was enough for her to return to New York and listen to the long chain of messages he had left on the answering machine to realise that sooner or later she would have to confront Aaron and the uneasy memory of what had happened in the young manʼs apartment.
-ʽWill you not answer me? Hummm....This is grave,ʼ mumbled Miche leaving the sofa.
-ʽFor the love of heavens PICK UP THAT TELEPHONE AND TELL JOHN that you accept his invitation!ʼ Faith screamed and stuck her tongue out and the brunette answered with a mocking arm gesture. A few minutes later Michie was finishing getting ready to go out.
-ʽHave you taken your keys?ʼ asked Faith giving her friend a final look of approval.
-ʽYes Miss Sherman, donʼt worry,ʼ said Michie saying goodbye with a kiss and left in a rush.
Once alone, the girl returned to the kitchen. The milk she had on the cooker for the strawberry gelly was about to spill over. It was then that she heard the door bell. With an exasperated sigh Faith went to the door again certain that flatmate had ignored her and left everything behind.
Worried abou the milk that was about to spill, Faith run to the front door. She opened the door with her head turned still looking at the kitchen and as soon as her hands had let go of of the latch, she run back to the stove.
-ʽI told you not to forget the keys. It will be your fault if my desert gets ruined,ʼ she managed to say as she run to the cooker.
The girl let a sigh of relief as she had gotten there in time managing to take the pot off the hot plate before the contents spilled over. In her worry, she didnʼt notice that the steps that followed her closely behind were not those of Michie. The door was closed.
-ʽIf you had given me keys to your flat freckles, I would certainly not have forgotten them, but as I donʼt recall having had that luck...until now.... replied a voice from behind Faithʼs back. The girl stoped on the spot and let the container fall off the edge of the cooker. A thin rosy line was spilled as a result of drop of the pot.
Many seconds went by and the girl still couldnʼt find the courage to turn around and face the owner of the voice. Under different circumstances Faith would have turned around and replied to his joke sarcasticaly, but once more the girl was not the same in Aaronʼs presence since the last time they had met. Suddenly it was enought for her to hear just one sentence from his lips and the thin barrier that contained her saddness broke allowing the tears to run free.
Aaron noticed that the girlʼs thin body was shaking violently and that a sad moan was flooding the room. Faith was sobbing. When the young man realised what was happening it took him just fraction of a second to run to her side and put a soft hand on her shoulder.
-ʽGod Faith! What has happened?' Aaron asked all alarmed from to that sudden crying. Something in the air was telling him that this was about an incurable pain so real that it had started hurting him before she told what was the matter.
-ʽMy mother.....ʼ she managed to explain between her sobs.
-ʽWhat about her? Is she still weak because of the operation?' He asked not expecting to get a grave answer.
-ʽShe....she died....I am left alone,ʼ the young girl answered and Aaron instinctively pulled her slender body to his chest forgetting that once more they could go through a strange experience like last time they were so close to each other.
Faith, on the other hand, at last letting go of all her sadness turned around to bury herself in the young manʼs embrace. All of a sudden it seemed that leaning tight on Aaronʼs chest was the most natural thing in the world and his arms the most appropriate place for her to let go of the pain that was drawning her since the morning her mother died.
Long moments went by in which the only thing heard in the silence of the flat was the crying of Faith mufled by Aaronʼs leather jacket. While the young girl was opening her pain sack letting out all itʼs content once and for all, the warmth of Faith was slowly penetrating Aaronʼs body and the young manʼs internal sight started perceiving forms and colors that were speaking to his ear.

Suddenly it seemed that he had stood in that same place many other times. Perhaps the wall colors, some details or the italian blinds that were decorating the windows had not been there before. Nevertheless he could swear that this was a familiar place to him....as much as the warmth of the woman he was holding in his arms. As Faith crying was calming down, the deja vu sensation was becoming clearer and it was turning into melancholy.
After a good while of unloading the young girl softly broke the embrace still confused from her inexplicable weakness. Aaron smiled at her in a way she had never seen him do while he looked for a handkerchief.
-ʽHere, take this,ʼ was the only thing he could say not knowing what else to say to the sad news of Faithʼs motherʼs death. ʽI....am really sorry...I hadnʼt imagined things would have tuned out this way.ʼ
-ʽIt was... all so fast,ʼ Faith responded with a just about audible voice while she was wiping away her tears. ʽThere was just enough time to arrange things after her.....after she left.ʼ
-ʽYour relatives must have given you some help,ʼ Aaron supposed who didnʼt know what confused him more. The strange atmosphere of that place, the fact that Faithʼs mother had died or her hugging him and crying in his arms as if he was someone very important to her.
-ʽNo....not realy,ʼ she said taking a deep breath. ʽWeʼve only had distant relatives but they were never too close, more so when dad died and our financial situation wasnʼt too good.ʼ
-ʽTypical. However you shouldnʼt worry too much about that. I believe you have many true friends here. I know it is so,ʼ he commented not being able to avoid a little pinch ressembling jealousy.
-ʽThanks... and I am sorry for being so emotional... I donʼt know what came over me... regarding your money...ʼ
-ʽDonʼt mention it... you offend me,ʼ he answered getting serious and she thought how handsome he looked with that serious look on his face.
-ʽThanks again... I...” she whispered getting every time more nervous realising it was inevitable to talk about what had taken place before her trip to Atlanta. ʽI would like to offer you something... would a cup of coffee or tea be OK?' she asked not being able to stand his gaze.
-ʽTea is good for me,ʼ he said and she noticed he hadnʼt stopped looking at her place as if trying to recognise it.
Faith invited him in the living room and in a little while they were both sitting facing each other, drinking their tea each wondering who would make the first step in that uncomfortable situation.
-ʽYou have a nice place,ʼ he said breaking the silence. ʽAlthough it must be a bit expensive.ʼ
-ʽIn reality it is not mine, but Michelleʼs. I am only her guest and sometimes the cook... although I think that very often Michelle probably eats again in the canteen of her faculty. She is so good and does it in hiding in order not to make me feel bad.'
-ʽWell, the tea is not that bad freckles,ʼ he said smiling widely for the first time in front of Faith.
-ʽThanks.ʼ
Silence again, this time deeper than before. Faith started twisting the tissue she was holding feeling the beats of her heart up to her ears.
-ʽI got your messages,ʼ she said after a while.
-ʽI...ehm...I was worried because you were so sad that day. I wanted to know what had happened with your mother. I even asked some of your classmates, but they knew nothing and Michelle had left town without notifying anyone.'
-ʽShe came to Altanta as soon as she knew. Truth be told, I donʼt know what I would have done without her these days,ʼ she aswered with a serious intake of breath.
-ʽWhen did you return?ʼ he asked and she realised she owed him an explanation for not having returned his calls.
-ʽItʼs been a few days. I am sorry I havenʼt called... it is that...ʼ
-ʽDonʼt say it. I understand you were not in the mood to speak to me... especially after...ʼ
The young woman held her breath praying to the heavens that he would avoid the issue, but Faith knew this was no longer possible.
-ʽ...after what had happened that afternoon in my place,ʼ he finished as nervous as her.
-ʽI donʼt know what you are referring to,ʼ she answered getting up violently wondering why she was reacting that way.
-ʽDonʼt tell me that. Perhaps this is the craziest and most irrational thing I could have imagined but I am sure you felt the same things as I did. Donʼt ask me how I know, but I do know with all the certainty in the word,ʼ Aaron said regaining his usual hard gaze.
-ʽWell, now I know you are crazy,ʼ she told him defensively turning her back to him. Inside, the uncontrolable force of the images she had seen that day stated depressing her again. With every nudge, the associations she had made in the following days between her visions and some facts of her life disturbed more and more.
-ʽSo, you think I am crazy,ʼ Aaron returned leaving the sofa too. ʽWell now I will show you something to demonstrate the grade of my madness.ʼ
Saying those last words the young man took a portfolio he had brought and left in the entrance. A few seconds later Aaron was displaying in front of Faithʼs surprised eyes large collection of drawings and paintings made with different techniques. Much to her great confusion, each and every one of those paintings were portraits of her. With a gesture of his arm, the young man invited the blond girl to have a closer look at those portaits. With slightly shaking hands Faith examined the artwork and to her great astonishment she realised, as she turned the pages, that some of those drawings were of her during childhood. Regardelss of the age, the resemblance was incredible.
-ʽWhat do these drawings mean?ʼ she asked with a weak voice. ʽAre you telling me you have been drawing only me since we met?ʼ
-ʽNo, and precisely that is my problem. I started these drawings years back, long before I met you,ʼ he said staring at Faithʼs green eyes as if trying not to miss any detail of her response on hearing his confession.
-ʽAre you going to tell me now that you had seen me before meeting me? The girl ask one part of her wanting to believe the crazy things Aaron was telling her which appeared real, and another not to trust him yet.
-ʽI know all this seems absurd, but this is how it is. Look at the dates on the bottom of the drawings, On top of that look at how the technique has changed over the years... The older are made by pencil on paper that has turned yellow over time. The sketches are similar to the rest of the drawings but not as real or in such detail as the work done with more recent dates.
Faith was left numb for a while longer, looking at the drawing in which she was depicted at the age of eight.
-ʽWhere had you seen me?ʼ she finally asked fearing the aswer Aaron would give her.
-ʽIn dreams,ʼ he answered with a lump in his throat as he sat next to her.
At last it was said. He had feared that moment that much, that every time he had called Faith during her absence without getting a reply, in part he felt relieved knowing that the moment of the confession had not come yet. Yet now it was done, and he was ready for whatever there was to come. Perhaps her disbelief and rejection. Aaron felt the blood in his veins freezing.
-ʽI...I thought I had seen you before...but, I have to admit not so precisely,ʼ she said surprising Aaron with her reply. ʽHere, I have seen you here,ʼ she added showing her forehead trying to explain that she had seen him with the eyes of her soul. ʽBut there is something more.ʼ
-ʽTell me, at this point I am disposed to believe the craziest things.ʼ
-ʽFollow me,ʼ she told him softly taking his hand to guide him to one of the flatʼs rooms.

Slowly Faithʼs thin hand turned the roomʼs key, the one she had avoided entering since her return to New York. In her other hand she could clearly feel Aaronʼs stifness upon entering the room. She didnʼt need to look into his eyes to undestand that a chain of dormant pains were awakening in him which were slowing going through the pores of his skin.
Aaron let go of Faithʼs hand to fill his eyes with that sight coming from dark days of a past that was his without being his. The paintings on the walls, the map, the statute, the books, the writting things....the pyramid paperweight he imediately took in his hands feeling again that punch in his chest.
-ʽI have seen you here,ʼ she said breaking the silence. ʽAt first you were just a blurry vision that I thought of as a result of tiredness or of my infantile imagination... You appeared the first day that I endered the room, but still I didnʼt recognise you. Time went by and the vision returned but I could never see your face, Nevertheless I knew that the person I was seeing in my ming had been the owner of this room a long time ago. Then the images became more precise... and then I met you in Professor Andersonʼs class... but I still didnʼt understand it was you... it was that day in your appartment that I undestood... but knowing it frightened me, because even now I
donʼt understand all that is going on. I only know that you... or that person that you once were, wrote this diary,ʼ she explained, reaching for the leather bound book that she kept in one of the shelves of the bookcase. ʽMaybe if you read it you could understand better who we are in reality.ʼ
Aaron took the book and he didnʼt need to read long to feel the sadness that impregnated each page and which was converted into bitterness as the last pages were getting closer.
The doctor has given me one year left of life and he couldnʼt avoid feeling taken aback from the coldness in which I received the news.
-ʽI am so sorry to have to tell you these news like that. You are still young but I suppose that you would want to take care of your business in time. Who knows, perhaps we can cover some ground against the illness, against time.ʼ
-ʽGod will not want this,ʼ I answered and I believe he must have thought I was losing my mind. ʽA whole year seems like a long time to me. But I appreciate your preocupation. I will arrange my businesses so that my wife is taken care of when I will have gone.ʼ
Since that day I have been busy, so that things are left in order. Robertʼs old son has helped me a lot. I have faith in him that he will make sure that my wife will always have what she needs. At this point I can no longer work and I pass my days in this room, or isolated in my bedroom. Sometimes the pain is intolerable but this is nothing compared to the pain in my soul ... and that pain I havenʼt been able to tolerate for over twenty years... what else is left? After all what my body is suffering now is nothing more than the alcohol abuse of times past. As for the pain of the heart... that I owe to my mistakes and the destiny that never favored me.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Today I finaly wrote my last letter to Albert. It was difficult saying the final goodbye to the only close friend I have had in this life. The only one that knows every corner of my small unfortunate heart. What an irony! To think that at a point I hated him with all my strength... but what happened next united us with ties much stronger than those that once conected us. She who blessed with kindness everything she touched, even in her departing managed to leave her scent uniting Albert and I forever. God may want that some day in another plane... some other existence, the three of us can be friends without the chains of passion that separated us one day.
When he receives the letter he will surely try to come over, but I am certain that once he arrives I will no longer be here. Even though the letter will reach him before I die, crossing the Pacific Ocean and then flying over from the east coast will take him a lot of time. Even though I would have liked to see him, maybe it is better this way. I know that my death will break his heart and my absence will make him feel even more lonely. How I would have liked it if he could have found a woman to love after that....but I
canʼt hold it against him that he let his youth go by remembering her, as I have done exactly the same. How I would have liked that things had been different at least for him!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My wife is inconsolable. At the start I thought of hiding this from her, but then I realised that sooner or later she would come to know the truth. So, I had no other choice than to let her know.
I know that her heart is falling to pieces seing me in this state and that in addition to her pain, I can understand that she is terrified of being alone. Since her motherʼs death I have been the only person on whom she could count. Still, as paradoxical as it may be, I dare to think that my death will be the first oppontunity in her life that my poor wife will have to be really independent. Without her mother or me to count on, Susanna will have to learn to take hold of the reins of her life.
Sometimes I think that our marriage, instead of bringing her stability and strength as I at some point believed it would, only contributed in making her more withdrawn and insecure... always dependant and dissatisfied. I know very well that I am to blame for part of that since I could never give her what she wanted most. Perhaps I lacked the will to do it... I donʼt know. What is for sure is that I regret the harm I did to her, but now is too late to fix things. Bottom line is that I havenʼt only been her executioner but her victim as well. I think we are even since we both participated in the contruction of our mutual misfortune.
Aaron banged the diary closed and let it fall heavy on the desk. He nervously brought his hands to his temples as if trying to free his mind from images that were going around it.
-ʽAre you feeling bad?ʼ Faith asked concerned putting her hand on the young manʼs shoulder.
-ʽI am fine... it is just that... all this is a real madness... I donʼt even believe in life after death. Yet, I am sure that the things we see and feel... we have lived before...before the first memory I have from childhood. How can I get these things into my life?
-ʽI donʼt know,ʼ Faith answered lowering her gaze with her eyes folwing the patern of the carpet. She herself couldnʼt explain things.
ʽHonestly there are many things that I still donʼt undertand,ʼ she finally confessed timidly. ʽMaybe if we give ourselves the opportunity to speak in greater detail about the things we have seen, we could find some more sense in all this,ʼ she said almost choking when Aaron put his hand on top of her.
-ʽThis could probably help us yes, but to be honest with you, there are certain things that I donʼt need to clarify more as I already understand them,ʼ he responded getting dangerously close to the girl while he was puting her hand on his cheek. ʽI donʼt know if in reality we have known each other before... in another dimension, another life or only in dreams. The certain thing is that I have always been looking for you and now...'
-ʽNow?ʼ she babbled not resisting any longer the dizziness she felt when looking in Aaronʼs clear eyes. Despite her heart agitation her senses allowed her to feel the heat of the young man going to her temples.
-ʽNow, finaly I understand why I had never fallen in love for real.ʼ
Faith tried instinctively to resist the soft force with which the yound manʼs arms pulled her to his chest. Nevertheless, that was a mere reaction of reflexes which was soon abated by an internal impulse, making her lower all her defenses in fractions of seconds. It was as if an internal voice was telling her ʽit is him.....donʼt be afraidʼ. The rest came to pass with the softnesswith which the body succumbs to the influence of dreams.
As strange as it might be, the young girl felt that she had lived this embrace before, with the same anxiety, the same force that was making her muscles unite with his. Then the kiss that followed, apart from being the first between the two of them, didnʼt seem like something new, and his mouth tasted and felt familiar. Aaron Truman wasnʼt the first to kiss her, but something inside was telling her that those lips that were now caresing hers, where no doubt the first to touch her soul.
It wasnʼt long after that physical exchange, silent and every time more decisice for the girl to realise that sooner or later she would end up giving in to that feeling with which she was waking up for some time now. The idea started surfacing through dark passages in Faithʼs mind progressively coming out into the light, becoming cleared and more unavoidable every time. Defined images and persons taking form while her willpower was dissolving in the caress of the young man.
Faith opened her eyes to see a green field. She was in front of an endless garden and could see a woman in a light white dress that was coming out to the terrace, to sit under the shade of an umbrella to have her tea. Faith felt an inxeplicable attraction to that young woman of whom the face she could still not see from that distance, and which was hidden by a white wide rimmed hat.

As if afraid to disrupt the internal thoughts of that lady, Faith approached slowly. Great was her surprise when she noticed the surprising resemblance between her and the woman in white. It was as if she was looking at herself in a mirror or in a video projection. Faith was now almost in front of the woman but she didnʼt seem to notice her presence
This close up, Faith could admire the fine English embroidery that decorated the neck of the dress and the delicate folds of the chifon skirt which was falling softly to the middle of the womanʼs calfs. Faith dived deeply into her other selfʼs eyes and it was impossible not to get distracted from the profound melancholy that was shining in their depths.
The woman gave a slight sigh as she distractively observed the morning light shining through the diamond ring adorning her hand. It was then that Faith observed that a tall blond man came out of the mansion behind the womanʼs back, who seemed familiar to Faith without being able to clearly recognise him. The man went near the woman and put his arms on her shoulders kissing her cheek. Faith noticed then that the woman changed her distracted expression automaticaly, coloring it with a smile in place of her sad gaze.
Still Faith knew that the sadness continued being there, even if it was hidded behing a mask of happiness.
Then, everything happened very quickly. Some male voices were heard arguing from a corner in the garden. Shortly a couple of men in uniform appeared in front of the couple trying to detain a young elegantly dressed man with red hair. The ones in the uniform who Faith perceived as servants, where trying to tell the young man that the master of the house was not disposed to receive him, but as much as the men insisted, that man carried on his way through the garden towards the terrace. It was clear that even if the servants were following him closely and were trying to convince the intruder that he would not be welcomed, were afraid of treating the reheadedman with more aggression. Faith thought that perhaps he was similarly important and that was why the servants didnʼt dare to act more decisively.
Before anyone present had a chance to react, the redheadgot close to the couple, only a few metres away. Faith then felt that her heart was paralysed by fear. With an inxeplicable anguish she heard the red hairʼs words.
-ʽIf you think I will remain with folded arms while you enjoy the woman I want, you are mistaken! Damned be your family William Albert! You will never marry her!ʼ
Following that the events took place as in a dizzy confusion. The young man put one hand inside his pocket and took out a revolver and pointed it to the blond man. The young woman turned her face and Faith saw the horror drawn in her eyes. With a speed faster than that of the red haired man, who was obviously drunk, the woman in white got on her feet.
-ʽDonʼt do something you will regret Neil,ʼ she shouted while she was putting herself in between the blond man and the course of the bullet which had left the barrel of the gun.
Faith wanted to scream to warn the other blond woman but the red stain which then spread covering the white dress and the strange pain that hit her in the stomach made her realise it was too late now. The white hat fell on the floor and the dying body of the woman was collapsing in the arms of the blond man. The servants pounced on the red haired man who was screaming and crying at the same time as if he was going crazy.
For a moment Faith thought the bullet had hit her as the stab of pain in her stomach would not go away when she went near to look at the blond girl lying on the terrace floor.
-ʽMy God, my love, please hang on! The doctor will come soon and you will be fine,ʼ he was saying trying to stay calm, but Faith could see that the poor guy was dying from sorrow too, once he realised that the wound on her body was no doubt lethal.
-ʽThere is ....no need any more,ʼ the girl told him with difficulty, ʽGod knows.....what He is doing.ʼ
-ʽDonʼt say that.ʼ
-ʽLook after yourself... be happy... free yourself from this golder cage... which is suffocating you,ʼ she whispered in his ear in a rasping dying voice.
-ʽDonʼt leave me.ʼ
-ʽOne last favor... give this to him... and forgive me... for not being able....ʼ she managed to say showing him with a blood covered hand the crusifix hanging from her neck. Then she exhaled her final breath.
Aaron felt that his spirit was leaving him with the touch of Faithʼs lips. A taste of wild flowers filled his mouth and it suddenly felt like the whole world was disapearing to leave him alone with that woman in his arms who was slowly giving in to his caress. He realised that the emptiness he was feeling was being filled in completely. It seemed that the searching had finished. It had taken him a long time for him to reach that point in life.
Aaron opened his eyes to a rainy scenery. He could see people dressed in black attending a funeral under their umbrellas. The men were dressed in dark suits with hats made from material used in the start of the century and the women wore long black dressed tailored in the fashion of the 20s. Some older ladies still wore skirts of ankle length
Everyone looked profoundly sad like the person being burried that day had been loved by all. The priest was reciting the mass, but not even his words could console an old woman with grey hair that was crying unconsolably in the arms of a pale faced nun that was looking at the seen with silent sadness.
Aaron had no idea who had died, but strangely he felt his soul breaking as if it concerned someone who had been for him his whole life. The ceremony carried on slowly and Aaron kept watching from a distance. Then, every one of the relatives approached the coffin covering it in white roses saying a last goodbye to the person that ceased being among the living. Slowly the attentands started to depart .Only a tall blond man was left, together with two more men that seemed to be his bodyguards. They stayed put under their umbrellas in the pouring rain.
It was then that an unespected person appeared, coming out of a car. Aaron had seen the car parked in one of the cementeryʼs sidewalks, since the start of the ceremony, but didnʼt come out of shadow to look at a man who looked so much like him that could have been his twin.
The man of dark hair, also dressed in black, was seen by the blond one and it only took them a few seconds to recognise each other and to fall into each other arms. Aaron felt as if one more piece of the puzzle felt into place, while the two men where crying in each otherʼs arms with a sadness that Aaron had never before experienced. All of a sudden Aaron knew that those two men had been united with a very strong bond which had been broken but which on that morning had been re-made never to break again.
When the two men separated, they exchanged words that Aaron could not hear but he somehow understood their meaning. Then, the blond man took something out of his pocket and put it in the dark haired manʼs hands.
-ʽShe wanted you to have it,ʼ it looked as if he told him.
The man with dark hair expressed his appreciation gravely and said goodbye to the blond man who left followed by his bodyguards. Aaronʼs double was left alone under the rain looking as the burriers were lowering the coffin into the grave. Aaron approached him slowly and noticed that he could not see him. He was crying silently while he was clutching in one hand the object the blond man had given him. A crucifix.
Once the graveyard workers had finished their work, the man took out a watch to look at the time. It was 11:30 in the morning.
-ʽMy life stops here,' the man whispered. ʽI swear to you that the sun will not come out again in my soul until I see you again,ʼ and Aaron understood very well what the young man had meant.
With slow paces the man left the grave behind submerged in deep thoughts. He got into his car and disappeared under the rain. Aaron then felt the warmth of his own tears running down his cheeks.
While they were still kissing, the clock on the wall showed 11:31 starting to work again after almost 80 years. Aaron knew that the sun had come out again.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The morning light insolently penetrated the painted glasses of the big window. The light rays didnʼt seem to bother the man lying in the bed still sleeping deeply. On the contrary, the woman next to him soon woke up, by the sun light. The young woman sat up discarding the sheet that was covering her. Still half asleep reached for the dressing gown hanging from the head of the bed to cover her nakedness.
Sighing deeply the girl walked with quiet steps to think about the new day starting and to listen to the distant sound of the cars twently floors below. With a smile she shook her golder hair and set out to start on the daily chores. Before leaving the room she silently kissed the hair of the sleeping man and cleared away the brown locks that where covering his face. She then headed to the bathroom.

While the shower water was falling on her body, Faith Truman closed her eyes and recalled the events of the last three years. She was now a graduate student and was working part time in a Special School in Bronx. Michelle had left the US to carry on her postgraduate studies in England, but they communicated via emails and saw each other during the summer holidays in a way that seemed that the girls were still as close as ever.
Aaronʼs artistic work was starting to get some recognition. His first art shows had been succesfull and was now colaborating with a prestigious designing company making the props for the french musical ʽRomeo and Julietʼ which had just been translated into english. His mother was more than proud of him and his father, even though still distant, kept a much warmer contact with the young man.
ʽTomorrow will be the 2nd of July,ʼ Faith thought while the shampoo was washing away in the water.
She had lived with Aaron for almost two years and in all this time none of them had managed to completely understand the mysterious past that united them. Some of Aaronʼs enquiries had identified the previews owner of the flat as a Terrence Grandchester, a Shakesperean actor of the start of the 20th century who had become very popular until his death in 1942. However, he knew almost nothing about the friend the actor called Albert, who had sent him letters from the most remote places on Earth for 15 years.
Aaron had discovered those letters in a box among some books that Michie had not paid attention to, but there had been no more details on them. Only the simple name of he who had written them without a surname or any indication of his origins. Nevertheless, the references in the diary and their visions seemed to suggest that the person named Albert was the man that “She” had been engaged to.
There were also some letters in female handwriting, written in a affectionate and informal tone which Aaron and Faith inentified as letters ʽShe” had written at a time that life was less cruel. That is how they could find the name of the woman in question. Candice White. With the pieces of information they found here and there, the young couple concluded that ʽthe artistʼ had loved that woman all his life and that she, as Faith had seen in her vision, had died a violent death trying to save her fianceʼs life from the attack of an unwanted suitor on 2nd of July.
Why had they had those visions from such a long past? The truth is that they would never know, but one thing was certain, destiny, fate, God or whatever that might be had made them meet only for one reason, to love each other and close a circle that perhaps had remained open and claimed to be completed.
Perhaps even if the visions and dreams had never appeared, Aaron and Faith would have fallen in love anyway. What else could there be? The only thing that mattered to Faith was that after all she could find that face in the crowd she was looking for.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The old woman was looking at the passers-by as if they were images on the television. She was looking at them without seeing them, absorbed in her thoughts and memories. The young woman behind her carried on pushing the wheelchair without much interest. They didnʼt talk much.
Suddenly, the old womanʼs blue eyes, lifeless from many years of life, lit up for a few seconds when she saw a young couple. He was slender but muscular, had clear eyes and brown hair. She was blond with very pale skin. Her eyes where green, very green, like the spring grass, and the old woman thought she saw deep in those eyes a snowy night from many years ago, so many that it could not possibly have been the same ones. Both the young ones were walking embraced and stopped from time to time to look at shop windows laughing together at simple things. They were happy and in love, this was obvious to anyone that saw them. The crowd went on and the old woman saw the couple going away in the distance. The black leather jacket and the manʼs brown hair blown by the wind was the last thing seen in the distance.
-ʽIt was like a dream,ʼ she whispered with eyes full of tears.
-ʽIs there something wrong aunt?ʼ the young girl asked her.
-ʽNo... nothing... letʼs go home,ʼ said the old lady wiping her eyes.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-'I was told your aunt died a couple of weeks ago.ʼ
-ʽThatʼs right. Poor old her, the truth is that she was not well at all. She was too old,ʼ said Amanda Hathaway.
-ʽWas she the sister of your grandfather?ʼ Amandaʼs friend asked.
-ʽNo, she was the wife of a friend of my great grandfather. In reality we didnʼt have many relations with her, but my grandfather took her under his care when she was widowed and well, the responsibility was passed on from generation to generation.
-ʽShe was very old, what was her age?ʼ
-ʽLetʼs see... I believe she must have completed 105 years about 3 months ago,ʼ Amanda answered trying to remember.
-ʽWow! Now she must have seen the world change in a drastic way.ʼ
-ʽImagine! When she was young the women wore long dresses and corsets, cars were a new thing, and aiplanes a rarity,ʼ said Amandatyping fast.
-ʽDid you say she was a widow?ʼ Amandaʼs friend inquired from the other end of the phone.
-ʽYes, her husband died in the 40s, but she never married again. I believe she was an actress in her youth, like my great granparents, but she stopped that when she lost her leg in an accident. She never acted again. My grandfather says he remembers her being a good actress.ʼ
-ʽPity.ʼ was the response of Amandaʼs friend who promptly appeared on the computer monitor.
-ʽTomorrow dad and I will do a general cleaning of aunt Susannaʼs room. Some things we will keep, others we will give away and we might sell some to an antiqueʼs shop. She had some many old things stored in her room, that looked like a museum. Would you like to come over?ʼ
-ʽNot a bad idea, but I have to go now. Iʼll call you tomorrow to let you know if I can make it or not.ʼ
-ʽOK, in any case we will talk again next week wonʼt we?'
-ʽOf course Amanda, same time. I will be waiting for you connected in ICQ.ʼ
-ʽDone.ʼ
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-ʽCan I have a look at that design?ʼ the young man asked the girl working in the antiques shop.
-ʽOf course sir. It is golden and really rare. Our expert estimates it being made between 1900 and 1905.
-ʽIt is surprisingly well kept,ʼ said the man feeling even more attracted to that crucifix. Something told him he had seen it before.
-ʽYes, thatʼs it. It is one of our most recent acquisitions. It belonged to a lady that died recently and her relatives sold various things of her things to us.ʼ
-ʽPlease wrap it into a present for me,ʼ said the man with a smile and the sales assistant could not help thinking that he had the most beautful smile in all of Manhattan.
-ʽWith a Valentineʼs Day wrapping paper I assume?' asked the girl.
-ʽYes it is for my wife.ʼ
-ʽOh...I see,ʼ said the woman bitting her tongue jealous of the woman that filled the thoughts of that man.
-ʽOne more favor please. Before you wrap it up, could you have a name engraved on the back?ʼ
-ʽOf course. What will be the name?ʼ
-ʽFaith Truman.ʼ



THE END

Προσοχη! To ποστ περιεχει spoilers!

Διαβασα το New York story μετα απο συσταση μιας candy-fan και επαθα σοκ! Ηθελα οπωσδηποτε να το μοιραστω με τους αλλους candy-fans που ίσως δεν ειχαν την τυχη να το βρουν στο internet και μετα απο διαβουλευσεις με τους μεταφραστες και αλλες candy-sisters (δεν μπορεσα με τιποτα να βρω την συγγραφεα) πηρα το ΟΚ και το ποσταρα.

Η καρδια μου χοροπηδουσε σ'ολη την αναγνωση, αλλα τη στιγμη που το ρολοι αρχισε να ξαναλειτουργει τρελαθηκα!

Δεν ξερω τι να πρωτοπω γι'αυτη την ιστορια. Ειναι η καλυτερη που εχω διαβασει. Η κοπελα εχει κανει απιθανη δουλεια, οπως επισης και οι μεταφραστες.

Οι ηρωες της ειναι τοσο ανθρωπινοι, ο Τερρυ πιο υπεροχος απο καθε φαντασια και συναμα αληθινος. Η ζωη του μετα την Καντυ, οπως περιγραφεται τοσο εντονα μεσα απο συναισθηματα αλλα και μεσα σε συννεφο ομιχλης, ειναι οπως θα φανταζομουν κ'εγω οτι θα ηταν: μια συνεχης και απεγνωσμενη προσπαθεια να ξεπερασει εναν ερωτα δυνατο και ζωογονο, να ξεπερασει δηλαδη την ιδια τη ζωη.

Η ζωη της Καντυ και η προσπαθεια της να ξεπερασει τον Τερρυ μεσα απο ενα γαμο με τον Αλμπερτ, καθως και η θυσια της για τον Αλμπερτ ειναι τοσο μα τοσο καντυκη! Η Καντυ ειναι ενας ανθρωπος που αγαπα βαθια, που ξερει να θυσιαζεται για τους αγαπημενους της, και οχι μονο, και που δεν μετανιωνει γι'αυτες τις θυσιες. Ο,τι κανει, το κανει μεσα απο την καρδια της, και αυτη η καρδια ειναι τοσο υπεροχη, τοσο ζεστη, τοσο γλυκια.

Θα μπορουσα να πω οτι η Μιζουκι ανετα θα χρησιμοποιουσε το κειμενο της Mercurio, γιατι ειναι τραγικο μαζι και ανθρωπινο! Ευχαριστω ειλικρινα ολους οσους συνεβαλαν για να ερθει αυτη η ιστορια στα χερια μου! Να'στε ολοι καλα παιδια