Pissed+at+Men+Syndrom+(andrea)

Pissed at Men Syndrome

Chapter 1

Carolina Ossa thought she had a pretty good life. She had a loving family; her mother Diana and father Ramon were always supportive and loving, her older brother Santiago was always the best companion for long road trips and boring family events. She did well in school; her grades were always outstanding, she was completing her third semester of engineering at Universidad Haveriana in Cali, Colombia. She lived with her family in Cali,a small town in the middle of Colombia by the Magdalena river basin. The town was famous for its excellent salsa dancing and traditional events such as bull fighting and the Cali fare. Carolina's whole family had been living in Cali for many generations. Some of her cousins had moved to Bogota to go to college but her mother wanted her to continue with the family tradition of going to Universidad Haveriana, the best university in the city.Carolina was destined to live with her parents until she got married. Diana Rodrigues, her mom, was a big fan of family traditions and she was determined to keep Carolina under her roof until the day she got married. Carolina Ossa always felt satisfied with her life except for her loneliness, she needed a man in her life, she thought. She was terrified by the idea of never moving out of her parents house. "How will I ever get married if I don't even have a boyfriend" she complained.The only men in her life were her father and brother, it was definitively more than time for her to find a boyfriend. Her friends Laura Vargas and Juliana Mantilla were ecstatic with the idea of helping Carolina get a boy friend.

"Ill make you a profile for a dating website! I've heard they actually work and they are totally save so don't worry about anything..." said Laura as she took a picture of Carolina for her profile picture.

"Uhh but dating websites are so unreliable! what if you match her up with some rapist or something?" said Juliana

"NO way. That wont happened." Laura quickly responded

"Are you sure" Carolina questioned

"Yes. I'm sure. Remember, you don't wanna live with you parents forever, you gotta take risks sometimes..." said Laura with a strong look on her face. She had taken the job of getting Carolina a guy quite seriously. Juliana instead, believed that finding a guy had to be fun and safe, so she decided to start sending Carolina in blind dates with people she knew. But both Juliana and Laura agreed that Carolina needed to get tighter clothes and wear make up to be able to get a guy. Carolina wasn't sure that aether of these techniques would work, but she just went with the flow and allowed her friends to look for a guy for her. Carolina, Juliana and Laura had been best friends for a really long time. You could even say they were friends since they were born.They had all grown up in the same town and gone to the same school up to 12 grade. Even tho they went to different colleges their friend ship staid the same and they were inseparable. Through out her school years,Carolina never had a stable relationship, she never seemed to find the right boy for her. But her friends Laura and Juliana never had problems with guys. Laura always seemed to find her way to the hottest guys and Juliana had had the same boyfriend since 8 grade. Carolina met a ton of guys on her blind dates and her internet matches. But she never seemed to like any of them. Every guy she met had something wrong; too fat, too short, too skinny, too good looking and out of her league. She wanted someone simple, someone right for her, she was looking for something she would never find. "you are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo picky" Laura criticized

"no body is perfect and you need to learn how to understand them and love them. You will never find the perfect guy. so stop looking for him!" Juliana said impatiently.

"But i don't want to settle for someone who doesn't fulfill me, i want to find someone right for me" Carolina tried to make them understand, that she deeply believed that there was someone out there perfect for her. The three friends argued as they walked to get coffee after school. It was a "BFF tradition" as they called it. They went to the coffee across from the Universidad Haveriana, it was called Juan Valdez. They went there and ate pan de bono and hot coffee everyday after school. It was the perfect time to discuss new gossip and Carolina's buys issues. One day Laura surprised them with unfortunate news. "I'm so glad we can finally talk, i have something to tell you guys" Laura said after gulping her coffee.

"what is it?" Juliana asked while looking at her in the eye. She knew it must be something serious from the way she said it. Carolina held her breath as she waited for Laura to say what she had to say.

"I think im late" Laura said looking at her too best friends. She knew they would support her no matter what. But she was afraid of what they might think of her.

"What do you mean you think your late?" Carolina said while nervously putting some bread in her mouth.

"well what do do you think i mean?" Laura snaped back at her. She need to talk serious business, not answering the questions Carolina new the answers to.

"how late are you?" Juliana responded.

" a couple weeks...... do you think its possible? could i actually be pregnant? Im not even officially dating this guy!" Laura responded to Juliana looking for hope.

"have you gotten one of those pee on tests yet?" Juliana said

"no"

"there's still hope then" Carolina tried to be comforting. She noticed she had just made things worse by trying to be playful. "well go to the store and get one as soon as were done with our coffee" Laura agreed, she had no rush to find out weather her life was ruined or not. But Juliana strongly disagreed, she thought this was far more important than finishing that delicious Juan Valdez coffee. The three girls left their coffee cups half full but they took peaces of bread on their hands. They turned left and walked three blocks down that same street, where the closest corner store was located. By the time they got to the store they had run into Carolinas brother, he was on his way home and briefly said hi to them. Santiago was a tall skinny guy, his eyes where a mixture of hazel and honey color, his hair was not too short and no too long, and he always had had a crush on Laura. She secretly had always had a crush on him too. Juliana and Carolina had their theories and they were both sure that they liked each other, but they were not willing to intervain because neather of them would accept their love.

In the store the three girls had trouble approaching the cash register due to the really hot guy standing behind it. It took them twenty minutes to get the courage to step forwards and pay for a pregnancy test. Now it was the time of the truth, it was only a matter of hours until Laura found out if she was really pregnant or just "late". They decided to go to Juliana's house because they new it was empty until late. Laura tried to make detours and unnecessary stops on their way to Juliana's place. She had never been so scared in her life. But Carolina and Juliana were not wasting any seconds they wanted to find out out as soon as possible and get it over with. When they got to her house Laura marched right into the bathroom, Carolina and Juliana went in Juliana's room and pretended to listen to music and read magazines, But really they were listening to every singe move Laura made in the bathroom. They herd the plastic wrapper of the box ripping then the box opening and finally herd Laura peeing.

"So?" said Carolina softly standing next to the bathroom door. a few seconds flew by and no response from Laura yet. It was like the toiled had swallowed both her and he pregnancy test. Carolina and Juliana sat on Juliana's bed facing the bathroom door. They patiently waited for a couple minutes, the longest most unrestful minutes of their lives, until they finally heard the door knob turning. Laura staped out of the bathroom slowly, she was hesitant, Carolina and Juliana were rigid on the bed staring as her. "guys" Laura said holding the test on one hand the the box were it came on the other. Her face was straight, there were no signs of any kind of emotions in her. Carolina and Juliana were petrified with terror.

"IM NOT PREGNANTTTTTT" Laura said as she burst out into tears of laughter. "I wish i had a camera, you should of seen your faces! hahaha so price less"

"are you kidding me?" Juliana said angryly as shes stood up "you almost gave us a heart attack"

"that was not funny" Carolina said in disappointment "but i'm so glad your okay"

"sorry i couldn't resist, it was too tempting. And if it was one of you, you would of probably done the same thing" Laura apologized while she walked towards the bed.

"not true" Said Juliana as she sat down on the bed again. They were smiling now, they were incredibly relieved.

"totally true" Laura laughed again. They sat on the bed looking at each other, realizing how lucky they were, they were not close to being mature enough to handle a situation like that. A baby would be the worst situation. after a few minutes they decided they had to celebrate.

"we should celebrate the miracle of not life" exclaimed Carolina.

"Yes! sounds like a great idea, and who knows Caro tonight bight be your lucky night." Juliana said very exited.

"You should wear that black dress tonight, The one your mom gave you for Christmas" Laura suggested.

"Yea, i think i will. But were are we going anyway? is anyone having a party"

"My boyfriend's friend is having one, im sure we can crash it" Said Juliana with satisfaction.

The girls decided to meet again at Juliana's house at nine. It was Friday night and they need to go home do some of their homework and eat dinner with their families, before they could go to any kind of gathering or party. It is really traditional in Cali to always have dinner with your family. Carolina was specially exited for the night, she quickly finished some of her homework and ate her dinner as fast as she could. She had a good feeling about the party and she could not wait to meet new guys. After she was done with diner she went to her closet to look for the black dress her mom had given her for Christmas, then she looked for a pair of high heels that would match it and set off to Juliana's house. Her brother had to give her a ride because by the time she was done choosing what shoes to wear it was already seven.

At Juliana's house the girls waited impatiently for Juliana's boyfriend to pick them up.

"where is he?"Laura asked anxiously. while they were sitting on Juliana's front porch.

"he will be here soon, he said he was on his way"Juliana replied trying to stand up for her man.

"its already ten... i have a curfew" said Carolina while looking down at her feet. She was looking at her shoes, they were high heels and they were already hurting. But they were beautiful, the price of the pain was so worth wearing those incredible read high heels. She was thinking how hard it would be to run away in them.

"okay if he is not here in the next ten minutes were taking a taxi" Laura stated. She was wearing an emerald colored, strap less dress, that matched the color of her eyes. She looked gorgeous. Carolina had always secretly been jealous of her. she seemed to always get guys just because she was pretty.

"Here he comes! told you he would be here" Juliana gladly said

"sorry for the delay" Juliana's boyfriend, Camilo apologized.

"No problem. thanks for getting us" the girls replied as they jumped into the little Honda Civic that belonged to Camilo. Camilo's friend was sitting next to him in the front seat of the car. So the three girls squash themselves into the back of the car. The ride was shorter that they expected, they where a couple blocks away from the party.

"we could of walked" Laura realized

"Yea... if we only had known where it was.." said Juliana

"But we are here and that's all it matters!" said Carolina.

They were parked in front of a residential building. It was a brick five sortie building, with a nice front garden and a nice reception. When they got of the Car Camilo and his friend walked towards the back of the building, the girls followed along. They walked up to a wide garage door, above the door about two floors up, there was an opened window and a guy looking out of it.

"Hi were friends with Rafa" said Camilo, loudly so that the guy could hear him.

"Ok how many people are with you?" replied the mysterious man on the window.

"Five "

"Ill send someone to get the door for you"

"thanks man"

A few minutes later the garage door opened. A tall guy emerged for it and told them that there was no smoking upstairs and if they wanted to smoke they should do it now. His voice was extremely familiar. Carolina walked closer to him so she could see his face better. She thought that stranger sounded like her brother, she was right.

"what are you doing here?" Santiago asked his sister.

"what are YOU doing here?"Carolina replied.

"Thanks for letting us in" Said Laura as they walked into the garage.

Santiago led them through the garage to a stair case, where they could hear the music from the party. As they went upstairs the music got lewder and lewder. The girls where ecstatic, they couldn't wait to dance. Santiago opened the door to the apartment the party was taking place in. The lights were dimmed and the furniture had been removed out of the way to create a massive dance floor. The girls immediately went off to socialize and catching up in gossip. Carolina was completely determined to meet at least one guy. Juliana and Laura helped her scanning the dance floor for cute guys. Once they saw one they would casually walk up to him and start a conversation. One of the guys they ran into was specially nice. His name was Ricardo Arevalo and he was gorgeous, nice and he seemed to be interested in Carolina.

"Hi i don't think i've seen you before, Im Laura and these are my friends Carolina and Juliana"

"Hi i don't think i've seen you guys around aether.... what school do you guys go to"

"i go to Universidad Icesi"

"i go to Universidad Haveriana"

"and i go to Universidad San Buenaventura. Where do you go to school?"

"I go to Los Andes in Bogota, im just here for a couple moths visiting my mom"

"Nice" the girls responded as they smiled and nodded in agreement. They were mesmerized by his smile and his voice. At that moment the most incredible song started playing. The crowd rushed to look for a dance partner. Juliana had her eternal dance partner, her boyfriend, and Laura had no trouble finding a partner. Carolina was left alone as usual. But this time Ricardo was there and he asked her to dance with him.

"so it looks like you really like this song" Ricardo said

"i really do" said Carolina

"wanna dance?"

"id love to"

And so, Carolina and Ricardo danced together all night. At around midnight, Santiago came to remind Carolina that they had to leave so that they would be on time before their curfew. Ricardo and Carolina exchanged phone numbers and they planed to go to the movies sometime that weekend. Carolina checked her phone for the time it was 12:45 she had 15 minutes to get home. She kissed Laura and Juliana good bye quickly said good bye to as many people as she could on her way out. Santiago was already downstairs by the garage door waiting for her.

"we have to run or else well be really late. can you run?" Santiago asked his sister.

"not in a straight line but yea i can run if i take my shoes off" Carolina said, she was already panting. She took her beautiful read high heels off as she prepared to run like the devil was chasing her.

"okay hold my hand, i don't want you run into a car or something"

"okay"

Carolina and Santiago ran as fast as they could to be able to get home before curfew. They crossed a couple of dangerous avenues without even stopping to look for incoming traffic. But they made it home on time. It was 1:30 exactly when they turned the door knob to get in. Diana Rodrigues was in her pijamas, she was in the kitchen serving herself a glass of water. She did this every night, at the same time. It was he way of making sure her kids were back by curfew time. On her way back from the kitchen she would check their rooms to make sure they were there and asleep. If they were still doing homework she would remind them that their physical health was more important than their school work and that they should go to bed. As Carolina and Santiago walked in they ran into her by the kitchen door. She was glad to see her kids return home safe and sound. She kissed them good night and went off to her room. Santiago went in the kitchen and served himself and his sister a glass of cold water with ice. It was really hot and humid outside. They were both read and out of breath. Carolina went straight to her room after she chugged her glass of water. she was terribly tire, the night had been full of surprises and she could not stop thinking about Ricardo Arevalo. Her brother did the same thing but instead of going to bed he went right to his computer.

The next morning Carolina woke up at 11. She was pleased it was Saturday and she was able to sleep in. No school today she thought, as she stretched still on her bed. She went to her dinning room were an egg omelet was waiting for her. She ate calmly until her phone rang. She ran back to her room to grab it adn she saw on the caller id that it was Ricardo calling. Her heart pounded with happyness, she couldn't believe he was actually calling her. Usually the guys she gave her phone to never called her and if she called they would not pick up. So as a rule, she decided to wait until they called her instead of being stupid enough to think they would want tot talk to her again.

"Alo?" Carolina answered, pretending she didn't know who was calling her.

"Hi Carolina, it Ricardo... we ...we met last night"

"Oh yea i remember you..... what up?"

"so i was wondering if still wanted to catch a movie with me?"

"sure i would love to"

"do you have any movies in mind?"

" no not really. I can watch anything you wanna watch, im pretty tolerant with movies."

"okay how about.... umm..... AVATAR?"

"sure ive heard its good"

"ok im buying the tickets online right now. At what time do you want to go? is 6 okay?"

"yes its perfect. Ill meet you at the movie theater a 5:30 ok? i have to go finish breakfast"

"cant wait. see you there. bye"

"bye"

As soon as she hung up the phone she began dancing around. She couldn't believe it! after all this time it was that easy all she had to do was to go to a party with the little black dress her mom gave her for Christmas.

Chapter 2

She had never been so disappointed in he life. Her movie date with Ricardo didn’t go well at all. She discovered that he was the owner of 3 cats. And her deadly cat allergy was unbearable the entire movie. She kept sneezing and coughing during the movie, she was completely miserable. Ricardo felt terrible so he drove her home as the movie was over so that she could lie down. “Maybe next time” Carolina said as she got off the car. But really she never wanted to see him again. He was hot, but it was not worth being uncomfortable. Ricardo was never sure about what happened. He never learned about her allergy, but he didn’t mind. Carolina had been acting weird all night and he had no rush to get a girl. Carolina was devastated; she couldn’t believe that the only guy that had asked her out in moths would own cats! Ether the Gods didn’t what her to her married or she straight up had terrible luck. When Carolina told Laura and Juliana about what happened they were shocked.

“WOOOOWWWW that would happened to you,” said Laura

“UHHH im never gonna get married!!!” cried Carolina “im so old already!”

“come on you still have time. And if you don’t find anyone, it cant be that bad to be alone for the rest of your life” said Juliana “thanks guys, very supportive”

“ well what do you what us to say? That we will help you look some more?” said Laura

“we have treied everything! We are forcing it now. We should just let it happen, whatever it is that has to happen,” said Juliana with honesty.

“yes your right…. I’m just so disappointed,” said Carolina “ I need time to be alone now and think, I think ill go for a walk by the river. Ill catch up with you guys later”

Carolina walked by the river side for a couple of ours everything was normal until suddenly the sky was illuminated by a warm yellow light. At first it looked like a comet or a shooting star. But it kept getting closer and closer. The next thing that happened was that intense flash, but it was gone after a few seconds. Did anyone else see that? She wondered. “Maybe I’m just going crazy, I could really use a wish right now and I wanted a shooting star so bad I imagined it.” She kept walking down the path as she listened to the water of the river rush by. A few steps away from her there was a clearing and a bench. It looked like someone was on the ground next to the bench. As she approached the bench she could see it was a man. He didn’t look okay he looked like he had just fallen out of the sky. “Excuse me Sr. are you okay?” Carolina asked cautiously. she waited a few seconds but she got no reply. She had always been taught not to talk to strangers, but something about this man didn't make him a stranger. He looked so vulnerable and harmless. Maybe it was the way his perfect features laid harmoniously on his face. She felt no fear, it was rather comfort. He moved slightly and turned his head towards her as he slowly opened his eyes. She was kneeling next to him staring into his perfectly formed face.

"Hi. My name is Gustavo." he said, in a strange monotone voice. It didn't sound like he was hurt.

"Hi im Carolina"

"Please to meet you" he said as he gestured for a handshake. He was so proper, she thought. There was no need for that kind of manners under the circumstances they were in.

"It is very nice to meet you too" She answered as she was getting lost in his green eyes. They were like nothing she had ever seen before, they (his eyes) were not normal. But they had her so mesmerized she couldn't even question their beauty.

They shook hands awkwardly, then she helped him stand up. He was making direct eye contact with her and tried to mimic her posture when standing up. They sat at the bench and talked for a while. She was dying to get to know him and she was completely determined to get his phone number. She found out that he wasn't from there, he was visiting and had a reservation at the hotel Los Lagos. It was located down the street from were they were. He never really mentioned were he was from, he just said he came from "far away". Carolina didn't really care were he came from, all she cared about was how lucky she was to have met him. He was very interested in her. He made unusual questions about her hair color and her eyes. She was flatered by his curiosity.

It was getting late and Carolina had to go home.

"Its getting dark out, i better go. It was very nice meeting you" said Carolina.

"I am very pleased i met you too."

"will i ever see you again?"

"Of course you will. We can go out for a cup of coffee if you would like"

"id love to!! but how will i reach you?"

"Just come to the hotel and ask for me, all be there"

"Okay, i have to go now. Bye"

"Bye"

Carolina ran home knowing she was still going to be late. But she was so happy she couldn't stop herself from running. He was incredible, not only good looking but incredibly proper. She knew that the way he talked was not normal and that his exaggeratedly beautiful smile wasn't normal ether. Gustavo was just weird, she could not really point out why he was weird, she just had a feeling. But she decided not to question it, it was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

When she got home she found her whole family sitting at the dinner table waiting for her.

"im sorry im late." she barely said running out of breath.

"you really need to exercise more." he brother said lovingly.

"Your doing dishes again tonight. For being late" Her father said. But he wasn't mad, he just wanted to get out of doing the dishes.

"Okay dad." Carolina said as she sat down at the table. " So i met someone"

"someone? as in a guy you think you like" her mom bursted with emotion. Carolina suspected that her mom, as much as her, wanted her to get a man as soon as possible. She was always making sujestions and telling her how to talk to guys. Maybe Diana was scared that her daughter would have to live alone and be a fat cat lady.

"Yes mother. His name is Gustavo and im getting coffee with him tomorrow."

"well thats a start" Diana said as she exposed her perfect white smile.

"Be careful honey" said her father. "You know how i feel about you meeting random guys"

"yes i know dad." said Carolina.

"i can check him out for you dad" said Santiago. He knew how much this meant to his sister and he didn't want his dad to ruin in it for her.

As soon as dinner war over and the dishes were washed, Carolina ran off to her room to call her two best friends and tell them about her magical afternoon. She called them and had a three way call with them. After a few minutes they decided that a video chat would work better for the ocation. Carolina told them absolutely everything that happened. They thought that the flash had been her imagination, but Carolina was completely sure it was real and that Gustavo had something to with it. After debating it for a few minutes they decided to talk about it felt bizarre and awkward to relate a beautiful perfect man to a flash in the sky. So they just left it aside and didn't talk about. It was more concerning the fact that he never told Carolina were he was from.

"maybe he is fugitive" Laura suggested.

"but hes too beautiful" Carolina denied.

"fugitives can be beautiful" Juliana said.

But since it seemed like he was interested in Carolina too it was a chance they could not let go. Carolina desperately needed to meet someone and she wouldn't let the fact that he might be a fugitive get in her way of getting to know him better. They concluded their conversation going over what to wear for Carolina's coffee date. Carolina began to feel nervous as she realized that she was completely out of his league. He was the perfect looking guy and she was just an average, pulling towards the ugly side, girl.

"no your not! besides what matters in in the inside" Juliana said trying to calm her down.

"That probably doesn't even matter to him. He has the looks to get any girl he wants!" Carolina challenged them.

"Yea but he asked YOU for a coffee date." Laura stated. "and you will go looking pretty, being smart and nice and will win this guys heart over"

"Yes and you will find a way for us to meet him before your next date. okay?" Said Juliana

"next date? we haven had coffee yet!" Carolina replied

"But you will have a second date with him, and before you do, we MUST meet him" Juliana tried to bust her self-esteem

"Hahaha okay... you'll love him... his... his... perfect words cant describe." carolina fantasized

"Yea you also mentioned how proper he was and how he talked funny" Laura reminded her "we went over this..."

That night Carolina had a really hard time falling asleep. She couldn't stop thinking about his beautiful smile and his charming eyes. It was like she was in love with a man she didn't even know. She was in love with a stranger and oddly enough it felt right. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be for once, things were happening "right".She slept deeply with a smile on her face. The next morning she woke up bright and early, She couldn't wait for her date. She realized that they never set a specific time for the date, he just said to look for him at the Los Lagos Hotel. She figured she had to be strategic about it, she couldn't show up before twelve because if she did it would look like shes desperate and he would think that she thought about their date all day. She had to show up fashionably late, so it would look like she was busy all day and that she barely made time for this date. She decided that it would be best if she showed up at six. It was late enough to make it seem like she was busy all day and early enough to do something else after getting coffee. It was the longest day of her life. She didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't feel like hanging out with Juliana and Laura, they would just tress her out more. So she decided to stay at home, first she cleaned and organized her room, then her bathroom. When she ran out of cleaning to do she decided to watch a movie. By noon Carolina and her brother Santiago had watched the entire first season of Lost.

“there is no way im waiting until six” “Just go whenever you are ready” “what can we do now?” “we should play cars!” said Santiago as he got up and walked towards the dining table. There was a deck of cards laying on top of the table. “sure” Carolina slowly got up from the couch she had been sitting on for the last four hours. “hmm what should we play?” “let’s play poker” “Are you sure? I don’t want to take all your money little sis” “your just scared ill take all of yours” “okay its on” They played poker for hours. She was determined to gain something. She checked the time every few minutes to make sure she wouldn’t be late. At around four she decided it was time for her to take a shower and get ready. By that time she had lost some money but she also got her brother to do her laundry for the next month. They had created a system of betting house chores as well as money. It was lovely when it worked for her convenience. She took her time showering and getting dressed. She was ready by five perfect, she thought, just on time. She walked out the door with a smile and blessings from her brother. She walked down the river the same way she had the day before when she met that beautiful stranger. She looked at the chair were they talked for hours as she walked passed it. She remembered his incredible eyes and walked faster, she couldn’t wait to be lost in them again. After a few feet she hit the street and across from it, there it was the Los Lagos Hotel. It was an impressive hotel, it had a beautiful architecture and she could tell it was very expensive by the red carpet at the entrance and the incredible cars pulling up in front of it. She cautiously crossed the street and walked towards the entrance of the hotel. A man with white gloves and a black suit held the door opened for her. “Thank you” she said. The inside of the hotel was absolutely beautiful. There was a massive flower adornment on a round table right in the middle of the lobby. It was filled with orchids and other colorful flowers. The front desk was very visible and simple. As Carolina walked towards the desk she realized how short she was, or how tall the desk was. She had to go on her tip toes to be able to talk to one of the women behind the desk. The woman was really nice; she smiled all the time and had a pleasant voice. “im here to visit one of your guests. His name is Gustavo…” Carolina said with a shy tone of voice. “Yes of course. Mr. Salazar has been waiting for you.” Said the nice lady “Ill let him know that you’re here” “okay thank you” “you can wait in the waiting area” she said while pointing at set of couches that were pleased on one side of the flower arrangement. They looked like the most comfortable couches she had ever seen. She was glad she was able to sit on them for at least a couple of minutes. She walked over to the couch that was empty and slowly sad down, letting her body weight sink deeply into the cushions. It was incredibly satisfying and comfortable. When she sat down she saw that across from her, on the other side of the flower arrangement, was the location of the elevators. So she could see when her perfect stranger came down for her. She carefully watched every elevator that opened and what floor it was coming from. She thought it might come handy if she knew what floor he was on. Next to her sat a family waiting for their room. It was a family of four, two little girls and their parents. They were Russians, she thought, they spoke a confusing language and they had thick eyebrows. She watched them for a little bit. But then she remembered she didn’t want to miss the elevator her perfect stranger came on. She turned he face towards the elevators just in time. She saw the doors of the middle elevator opening and saw her stranger standing there, with his serene face, stepping out of the elevator with incredible grace. She stared at him until they finally made eye contact. He immediately exhibited his perfect smile as he began walking toward her. She quickly stood up wad walked towards him too. “Hi Gustavo” “Greetings” “It nice to see you again” “I concur. Where would you like to go for coffee” “Well there is this place I know. It’s not too far away from here.” “Wonderful. Let’s depart right away.” His voice sounded just like it did the day before. He sounded like a dictionary, he was proper and monotone. But it didn’t bother Carolina in the most minimal way. She satisfied by the fact that this perfectly looking guy was walking, not only next to her but with her. They walked out of the hotel, the same man with white gloves that opened the door for her, held the door for them. They walked down the street side by side. Carolina wanted to hold his hand really bad, but she didn’t want to seem desperate. Besides they weren’t even in a relationship yet, they were just going on their first date. But she couldn’t help herself, she just felt so comfortable around him, regardless of his awkward speaking. She couldn’t help but imagine how perfect their relationship would be. They were almost at the coffee shop when he saw the name of the coffee place and said: “AH Juan Valdez is the best coffee in the world. Colombian coffee is the best coffee in the world” “Yes it is” Carolina replied making eye contact. She just wanted excuses so that she could look into his gorgeous eyes. They walked into Juan Valdez and sat in a booth. The shop had a really nice ambience, the lights were dimed and the smell of coffee was provocatively profound. They sat next to a window were they could see the river. Carolina got up and got coffee for both of them. He asked her to get it for him, since he was visiting and didn’t know what the best drink was. It was her pleasure to serve him with her knowledge of caffeinated drinks. His only condition was that he would pay for both of their drinks. He was such a gentleman, Carolina thought. To her eyes, everything he did was ten times better and more romantic than what any other guy could possibly do. When the drinks where ready, he got up and got them. He sat down and handed her her drink. He waited for her to take the first sip of her drink before he tried his. It was like he was watching her; he was examining every movement she did, from taking her drink to her mouth to placing the cup back on the table. Then he mimicked her, he copied the same exact movements she did to drink his coffee. Carolina barely noticed this; she was too distracted by his perfection. “this is exquisite coffee” he said while looking up to her “thank you very much for allowing me to try this” “hahahahah oh it is my pleasure” They sat on the booth for almost three hours, to her is seemed like three minutes. She was so amused by him; she could never get bored of him. Even tho he spoke in a weird voice there was something about him she just couldn't resist. When they were done with their coffee, they decided to go down town for a walk. What better way to get to know the city than with someone that had lived their their whole life. Carolina was thrilled to be his tour guide. She showed him all her favorite places and tell him stories of things that happened when she was there. It began to get dark at around eight and they decided to walk back toward the hotel. He wanted to walk her home, but she wouldn't let him because she didn't want him to get lost. So she walked him back to the Los Lagos Hotel. Carolina, expected that while walking on the street, other women would be all over Gustavo. But for her surprise, no one really noticed him. Maybe it was because he was accompanied by her. It seemed impossible that no other girls noticed him, he was incredibly good looking. For Carolina's surprise Gustavo wanted to see her again. It seemed highly unlikely that he would actually like her back, she thought, he was too perfect. But he did ask to see her again, and without thinking twice Carolina accepted. Carolina walked home and was able to play another round of poker with her brother before diner. Her mom interrogated her on her date with Gustavo. She wanted to know everything, from what the hotel looked like to what he was wearing. Carolina gladly shared her anecdote with the rest of the family at diner. They were all happy for her, and exited that he asked her on a second date. Diana, her mom, was pleased to see her daughter was going out with someone who was staying at a hotel were men in uniforms held doors for their guests. The only thing that concerned her was the fact that he was here on vacation. She didn’t want her daughter to get too attached to a man that wasn’t going to be there for her. But for now, Carolina was so exited she decided to let it slide and deal with the problem later. Two weeks flew by without being noticed. Carolina had been seeing her stranger everyday for the whole two weeks. He wasn’t really a stranger anymore; he had become an important part of her life, he even came to dinner at her house to meet her parents. Carolina noticed that his monotone voice wasn’t so monotone anymore. He was also improving his sophisticated vocabulary and using more contemporary language. Or she was just getting used the way he spoke. From the moment Diana and Havier saw Gustavo they had a strange feeling about him. They couldn’t really point out what it was, but it was just a kind of overall feeling that didn’t seem right. They also found it weird that he never really answered the question “Where did you move form?” Gustavo only gave them answers like “form far away”. But Carolina was so in love with him, they decided to let it go and accept the man their daughter was in love with, they also let it slip because he was really attractive. Santiago couldn’t have been happier for his sister, he wished he could spend more time with the so called Gustavo so that he could get to know him better and keep the promise he made to his dad. But it was almost impossible. Gustavo was always either busy studying or with Carolina. It seemed like he only had time for Carolina. One Thursday night Gustavo was invited for dinner. He came in a nice suit, as always, and brought a cake for dissert. While they were sitting around the dining table Santiago decided to ask; “so why did you exactly move here?” “I came here to study” “really? Study what?” Asked Havier “I’m studying the heart and how it works.” Gustavo answered while giving Carolina a smile. Carolina already knew this but she guessed she missed that detail while telling her parents about him. “That is very interesting. And you do look like a doctor!” Diana said and giggled. “Thank you, I do need to spend a lot of time observing and taking notes.” “Well, Carolina should learn from you and become a better student” Havier said “Oh no sr. I should learn from her” Carolina’s parents where even more pleased with him. That night after dinner and dissert, Gustavo and Carolina went to her room. She needed to finish some homework and he just wanted to spend time with her. In Carolinas room Gustavo took out a small notebook form his pocket and started taking notes in it. It wasn’t the first time Carolina saw him doing that. She had noticed his notebook once or twice before, but she had never asked. She was curious but she didn’t want to be rood, it seemed like it was a very personal notebook. She had the impulse to ask about it and get it out of the way. But she held it back, for some reason she believed it was a bad idea to ask him about it.

Chapter 3

Laura and Juliana met him at an ice cream shop. Carolina thought it would be the best setting for this meeting. They would be able to get ice cream and stay there without getting bothered for as long as they needed to. Juliana and Laura were way too excited for the meeting. “you guys calm down. Don’t scare him away with stupid questions when he gets here ok?” Carolina tried calming them down. “oh we won’t. Were just so excited to finally meet your man!” Laura said “Yea, we have heard so much about him! Its about time we meet him.” Juliana said as Gustavo walked into the ice cream shop and walked towards Carolina to kiss her hello. “hi sweetie, this are my best friends ever Laura and Juliana” “Pleasure to meet you ladies; I have heard a lot about you” “The pleasure is ours! We have heard a lot about you too” “shall we get some ice cream?” Carolina suggested “of course. I won’t be having any but ill pay” Gustavo said. “ohh no you don’t have to” Carolina said “I insist” “awww he is such a gentleman!” Juliana whispered to Laura’s ear. Juliana and Laura were kind of disappointed when Gustavo walked in. They expected the entire ice cream shop to burn down. He wasn’t as hot as Carolina had said he was. Maybe he looks that way to her eyes, they thought, everyone has a different perception on beauty. Even though he wasn’t ‘god like’ looking, he did have a really nice smile, Juliana thought. The rest of his body makes up for his weird voice, Laura thought. The three girls and Gustavo spent a pleasant afternoon in the ice cream shop simply getting to know each other. Laura invited Gustavo to a party she was having, so that he could meet the rest of their friends. But she got offended when Gustavo turned down her party invitation, he said he didn’t have time for distractions, he needed time to study. Juliana admired his dedication; she believed that was one of the beast qualities in a boyfriend. Carolina agreed and backed up Gustavo when she realized Laura was offended. For the most part Juliana and Laura approved of Carolina's boyfriend. They thought he seemed like a good guy and together they definitively looked like the perfect couple. Carolina had never been happier in her life. She got to spend a lot of her time with the man she loved and for the first time she felt things were going right in her life. Since she started dating Gustavo her grades in school improved dramatically, this really surprised her parents. They thought that because of a boyfriend their daughter would not be able to fully concentrate in academics. But it was the complete opposite it was like he inspired her to be a better student. She wanted to prove she was good enough for him and therefor tried harder in school. Diana and Havier were really happy fort their daughter. All this time all she needed was the attention from a boy, they thought. The only thing they feared was the moment when Gustavo wold have to return to wherever he came from. They didn't know how Carolina would react to this. They were scared that her grades would drop but mot of all they feared how their daughter would take it. Carolina never really had a relationship before, so they didn't know what to expect from her when being heart broken. They had no idea when to expected either.

"He can only stay here for so long. I mean hes on vacation" Havier said to his wife. "yea, and he has already been here for almost a month" Diana replied "He could leave at any moment! I don't want my little Caro to get hurt" "Oh i don't want her to get hurt either. But there is really nothing we can do stop that. Sooner or later, one guy or another she will get hurt and we just have to be here to support her and offer her a shoulder to cry on." "Your right. And im just going to keep the fridge full of ice cream, i have seen how girls eat their feelings in ice cream and how it make them feel better. Do you whats her favorite kind of ice cream." "good idea. cookies and cream ice cream"

Before anyone even noticed it was Carolina and Gustavo's monthversary. Carolina couldn't believe it. she had actually dated somebody for longer than a week. She had a comited relationship that she was really proud of. Laura and Juliana were proud of her too. But they were too very aware that relationships didn't last forever and that sooner or later Carolina would need their support more than ever. The fact that their monthversary was coming up ment that they had a month less to be together. He had to be leaving sooner or later, he was staying in one of the most expensive hotels in the city, no one could possibly stay there for very long. Gustavo and Carolina planed to make dinner together and then eat it at Carolina's house for their monthversary. Carolina convinced her parents of going out for dinner that night so that she could have the house for herself. Her brother, Santiago, was going to a party that night so Carolina didn't have to worry about kicking him out of the house. Carolina bought beef and spices for them to prepare. She knew that Gustavo had a peculiar love for meet. She also got ice cream for dessert, which she regret doing when she saw three buckes of cookies and cream ice cream in her fridge. Since when do my parents eat ice cream? she thought. It never occurred to her that all that ice cream was for her. She cleaned up the dining table and the kitchen, she wanted everything to be perfect. When she was done she went in her room to change into the outfit that had taken her about forty five minutes to pick.

Gustavo arrived at her house just in time, he brought with him red roses and a bottle of wine. Carolina liked him even more everyday. She thought everything he did was perfect and that only he could be as sweet as he was. She could not picture herself with anyone else but him, even thought she was perfectly conscious by the fact that Gustavo was only visiting and that he was leaving sooner rather than later. Every time someone reminded her of this she got mad at them. She did not want to face reality and the fact that he wouldn’t be her’s forever. She would rather just not think about it at all. All she cared about was that he was there now, and there was no one else she wanted to be with more than him. The time they spent cooking together was priceless. Apparently he had looked up a recipe for sancocho, the most delicious traditional Colombian soup, Carolina favorite. The soup also contained a lot of meet which he loved. He was really observant all night, watching how she reacted when he gave her the flowers and how she acted every time he said anything sweet to her. She thought that maybe he was scared he was being too sweet, so she kept telling him how much she loved all he did for her. When they were done preparing diner they fixed the table with candles and the roses he brought. They eat eagerly; they were really satisfied with their team work and the delicious meal they made. Once they were done eating they cleared the table and washed the dished. Since Carolinas parents were not home yet, they decided to eat dessert while watching a movie. They watched Harry Potter, Carolina always talked about it and Gustavo had never seen any of the movies so they decided that would be the best idea. Gustavo thought it was fascinating how they made movies about people with supernatural powers. Carolina explained to him that everyone wanted to be more than human in one way or another. She tried to explain that it was characteristically human to want to be more than human. Gustavo realized they were spending too much time talking about human characteristics. So he kissed her, the only thing he knew would make her quiet. Carolina loved it every time he kissed her, she almost fainted a couple of times but then she learned how to handle the overwhelming feeling of happiness she felt. They watched two Harry Potter movies and Carolinas parents were not home yet. They probably wanted to give us time together, Carolina thought. But it was getting late and Gustavo had to wake up early the next morning to study like always. Carolina hated every time he said he had to go, it was hard for her to be alone after he had gone. All she could do was think about him some more. But this time she was actually disappointed, they had the house for themselves and he was leaving. He dint even try to make a further move on her. She was expecting more, she really hopped something more would happen. He didn’t even look interested at all. What kind of a guy was he? She was surprised he didn’t try anything before but now she was just let down. She looked at him and saw his beautiful eyes sparkling with the light coming from the TV. He was the perfect man, she decided that he had to have a really good reason to not want to do anything. She thought it was selfish of her to be disappointed because she had probably disappointed him many times before. So she just sucked it up as she opened the front door of her house to say good bye to the man she loved and wished he kissed her goodbye again. He did, and she felt eternally grateful for being able to feel his lips pressed against hers one more time. She watched him walk down the street and disappear in the shadows of the night.

She closed her door and went to her room. She wished she had a cat or dog. This is the kind of time you need a pet, she thought, when you are alone and you don’t feel like being with anyone. She reached for her pajamas under her pillow and she saw a little square plastic baggy. She immediately knew who had put it there. She noticed that under it there was a note that said: Be safe little sis, love Santiago. She laughed at the fact that Santiago knew exactly what she wanted. She wondered what she would tell him when he asked her how her night had been. Carolina went into her brothers room to return the small package, she placed it on her brothers little bed side table. She knew he would need it. Carolina returned to her room and put her pajamas on. She was more tired than she thought she was, as soon as she put her head on her pillow she fell asleep. The next morning she woke up to her parents yelling at Santiago. Apparently he had had too much fun at the party he was at the night before, and Diana and Havier had to go pick him up because he wasn’t able to walk home. But as soon as Carolina picked her head out of her room Diana immediately went over to her and began asking her questions about her date. Carolina told her family the whole story while they were eating breakfast. “Mom can Juliana and Laura come over today? I want to tell them too. Do you have any plans for today?” Carolina asked her mom after she was done with her anecdote. “Yes honey you can invite them over. There is a barbeque at you aunt’s house this afternoon, but you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. And you can bring your friends if you want to.” “Okay ill think about it” “Oh I dint know there was a barbeque. At what time is it?” Santiago asked. “It doesn’t matter because you not going!”Diana replied “Your staying home and cleaning the house. You already had tooooo much fun yesterday “ “But ……but…. Mommmm” “no ‘buts’ Mr.” Carolina laughed and walked into her room to get ready for a day with her best friends. She called them and they settled they would be there by noon. Carolina carefully calculated how long it would take them to talk and get updated; she still wanted to have time to hang out with Gustavo at night. Carolina was excited to have a day with her friends, she was really in the mood to do her nails and face masks. Carolina, Laura and Juliana spent the afternoon in girl world. They even made a face mask out of ordinary food products one can find in their house kitchen. According to the article they found in Voge, natural face masks are healthier than industrial ones. The girls could not resist and had to go try out the recipe. Santiago was not so happy about it, he was responsible for cleaning the house before his mom got home. And he had to clean honey and egg face mask form the kitchen floor. Carolina told Juliana and Laura absolutely everything. They hadn’t hung out in a while and they needed the update. Carolina was glad to hear that Juliana and her boyfriend were still happy together and that Laura was not pregnant. Carolina asked them what they thought about the little note book Gustavo had. They thought he just used it to study, but they definitively agreed that it was kind of sketchy how he pulled it out to write on it in front of Carolina in a very secretive way. Maybe he does it like that because he is a genius and he doesn’t feel like explaining what he is doing? Juliana tried to find an explication for his behavior. It sounded reasonable so they accepted it and dropped the topic. Carolina also talked to them about how it seemed like he dint want to go farther with her. All her friends could tell her was that she needed to be honest with him and tell him how she felt. But Carolina knew she would not do it. She couldn’t imagine herself questioning him, she barely disserved him, and she should be grateful for even having the chance to date him. But she couldn’t tell her friends that’s what she felt; they would think she was obsessed. Other than that Carolina had only good things to share with them. When Santiago was done with the house chores, he decided to join the girls and talk about his feelings too. He never expected to actually have fun with his sister and her friends talking about their feelings and boys. Santiago was able to spend time with Laura, which was rare. He enjoyed it since it was the closest he would ever be to her. He knew he would never get the courage to tell her he liked her. And when he heard her talking about other guys he completely lost fate. If he only knew she was just trying to impress him, because she liked him too. He was sadly only able to stay in his sister’s room for so long before he got a head each from the smell of the nail polish.

After Laura and Juliana left, Carolina waited for Gustavo to com get her as he said he would. He had never been late before. Maybe he got behind in his studies and didn’t keep track of the time, she thought. Santiago was still in the house and he noticed his sister’s anxiety, he had not seen her like that before. She explained to him that Gustavo was late to see her. Santiago could only tell her that people are late sometimes and that she has to be understanding. She waited for a couple hours, growing more and more desperate. She just wanted to see him. It bothered her not being able to call him, he dint have a cell phone and she didn’t know his room number. She only knew his floor number from that time when she got him at the hotel. It was raining outside, perfect the last thing I needed, she thought. She could barely see out the window now and visibility was key for her state of awareness. She didn’t want to miss him walking towards her house. But she didn’t miss it, because he never did. He didn’t show up. “Maybe he forgot” Santiago tried to reason with her. “He didn’t, he doesn’t forget he is perfect” she challenged him. “Hell show up tomorrow and give you an explanation” “Tomorrow? How will I get until tomorrow if I don’t see him today?” Carolina didn’t know what to do. She came up with a plan to go look for him at the hotel, then she realized that going out on a rainy night at eleven o’clock by herself was crazy. But she was crazy, crazy and desperate for him. Desperate people do desperate things, so she went out on her own to look for Gustavo at the Los Lagos Hotel. She had a feeling in her gut he wouldn’t be there, but she didn’t listen to it and followed her heart. Santiago agreed to cover up for her when her parents got home, he would say that she is sleeping over at Juliana’s house. Carolina was thankful for her brother’s support; she never thought he would ever become handy in her life. Carolina walked out of the house in weird hazy pace, she was too nervous to run so she settles for walking. She didn’t bother taking an umbrella, the rain didn’t matter. When she got to the hotel she was soaked. The guy in white gloves, who held the door for her, looked at her and said “You are wet”. She didn’t waits a minute and ran to the information desk. The lady behind it was different from the one she had seen over a month ago. This one wasn’t as nice, she thought, maybe they have her at night because she won’t interact with as many people as the girls who check in people during the day. Carolina asked about Gustavo, the lady knew who she was talking about but wasn’t allowed to give her his room number. She asked whether she had seen him leave the building or not, but she had just started her shift. Defeated, Carolina dragged herself across the lobby towards the doors. The guy with the white gloves, who held the door for people, had been listening to the conversation. He knew Gustavo’s room number; he had to carry his luggage to his room when he got there. As he opened the door for her he whispered in her ear his room number. She instantly turned around and sprinted towards the elevator. She pressed the elevator button and waited impatiently. The elevator took an eternity, there were other people waiting for it to arrive as well. She didn’t recognize anyone, they all looked like tourists, she thought. Mostly because of their terrible burn on the back of their necks, how hard was it to put on sun block? She thought. When the elevator doors opened she was the first one to jump in, inside there was another man with white gloves, but his job was to press the buttons of the elevator. She never realized how fancy the hotel was, it must cost a fortune to stay there, she realized. She asked the man to take her to the fifth floor, thankfully there were only two more stops before her floor. She felt bad for the people going to the last floors of the building, they had to wait for everyone else to stop on their floors first. When she got to the fifth floor she thank the elevator man and stepped out hesitantly. She looked left and right to see in which direction the numbers increased. She was looking for suite five hundred thirty four. She turned right and walked down the hallway until she was face to face with a door with the number five hundred and thirty four. She knocked on the door but she got no answer. She looked down at the door knob and she noticed the door was unlocked. How weird, she thought. She turned the handle and carefully opened the door. It was dark inside, the only light was the one coming from the hallway. She looked towards the bed and there he was, so serene, so beautiful, sleeping. She filled her lungs with air and smiled. It felt like she had been holding her breath that whole time, it was so much easier to breath in his presence. Carolina walked towards the bed with caution, she didn’t want to wake him up. She lightly sat next to him, he finally noticed she was there. He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Hi sweetie I didn’t expect to see you here” “I didn’t either. Where have you been?” “I guess I over slept. I am sorry, I was supposed to get a wakeup call at four, so that I could walk to your house.” “Oh” “you walked all the why here to see me?” “yea” “why?” “because I wanted to see you…” “well now that you’re here do you want to watch a movie? They have great channels here in the hotel” “sure” Carolina was still wet and she was freezing the ac in the hotel was really cold. “can I borrow something to wear?” “Of course, here are some dry pajamas” Gustavo said as he handed her pajamas. Carolina walked into the bathroom and changed. It was a beautiful bathroom, there was a huge mirror and sinks. She noticed how cleaned and untouched everything looked, they must have cleaned it today, she thought. The shampoo bottles and soap were unused. Yes, definitively got cleaned today. She took her wet clothes and threw them in the sink. Then she put on his dry and warm pajamas. She loved wearing his clothes, they smelled like him. Walking out of the bathroom he saw that Gustavo had found the movie Mean Girls on his TV. “We don’t have to watch that…. Hahaha” “I’ve heard its good but I’ve never actually seen it. And I figured you would like it.” “I do but it is really girly, I don’t want you to get bored.” “I won’t I promise” So Carolina walked to the other side of the bed and cuddled with him. The bed was incredibly comfortable, but lying next to him made her even happier. She was tired, she had gone through a whole emotional crisis that afternoon. She was completely grateful she could be in his presence once more. The movie was fun to watch with him. He had funny comments all along, She couldn’t believe he was actually enjoying the movie. He was way too concentrated on the film; she was hopping for more attention. They were alone in a hotel room, what other perfect timing did he want? She was more surprised than disappointed. Maybe he cares too much about me and doesn’t want to move too fast, she tried to make excuses for him. But every time she did she remembered how lucky she was to be with him. And that she shouldn’t question his perfection, after all that’s why she loved him so much. So she just concentrated in watching the movie and enjoying it was much as he was. When she realized the movie was about to end she looked at the bed side table to look for a clock. She saw it was almost two in the morning. “Do you need to be home?” Gustavo asked her when he noticed her looking at the clock. “No its okay, I told my parents I would be sleeping over at Juliana’s” “Okay… we can watch this really cool documentary after the movie is over. The play it on Discovery Channel every night, it is very entertaining and educational” “I would love to” Before she even noticed they had pulled an all-nighter watching a documentary on parasites living on walls. She slept at times but dint stay asleep for more than an hour. He was completely fascinated and did not miss a thing about the documentary. Carolina saw it was seven in the morning; they had time to go out for coffee before she had to return home. Her clothes were still wet in the bathroom so she had to wear his pajamas. They went for breakfast to the same coffee shop where their first date had been. Gustavo got the same coffee Carolina had ordered for him that time. She got a croissant and some coffee for breakfast. For some reason her coffee didn’t taste right so she added a lot of sugar. She realized how much she had grown to love him. She remembered how she felt the first time she walked in there with him and now those feelings had become more powerful and real. She enjoyed every second she spent with him. When they were done they walked towards Carolinas house through the path by the river. It was humid because of last night’s rain. When they got to Carolinas house she realized that the car was not on the drive way, which meant her parents were not home. She was glad she could go in and change and not have to explain to anyone why she was wearing guy pajamas and why her clothes were all wet. Gustavo didn’t want to come in, he said he had to get ready for something. Before he left he gave her a letter, he told her not to open it until she was inside the house. She wondered why but dint questioned him, she was desperately trying to get a goodbye kiss from him. He hugged her as usual and kissed her cheek, then her lips, then he turned around and walked away. Carolina went inside and up to her room where she decided to open the letter. She made sure no one else was home before she locked herself away in her room. Gustavo had never given her a letter before, she didn’t know what to make of it. Her lips were still warm from the kiss he gave her as she ripped the envelope open. It was a letter, a love letter maybe? She thought. It was not too long it was a page long, typed letter. She carefully unfolded it as she sat on her bed. She took a deep breath and began to read. Dear Carolina, It said , //You are the finest young girl I have ever met. I’ll be honest, there is no one here I feel more comfortable around than you. You have shown me many aspects of the Colombian culture that I love and that I will never forget. Being with you gave me an incredible, unforgettable almost human experience. You were incredibly supportive in my studies and I will be eternally thankful for that. Without you, I would have never completed my research appropriately. We both knew I would have to leave at some point. Because like you said, nothing lasts forever and we cannot, under any circumstances hold a long distance relationship. From the beginning you were aware that my state here would be temporary. Now it is time for me to go back to where I came from. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you were I’m from so I won’t tell you were I’m going. I believe you deserve to know exactly what my purpose on this planet was. I never explicitly explained to you why I was here and I believe you deserve to know why. My species have been dedicating enormous amounts of time in the study of feelings. We have the privilege or disadvantage of not being able to ‘feel’: we never feel happy or sad or glorious or devastated. Most of my community believes that species with feelings are inferior because feelings only make one weaker. I argue that feelings can positively affect one’s ability to survive. So I decided to experiment on different planets with different species that have feelings, to see weather my hypothesis made sense or not. You have proven to me that my hypothesis could be right. You have shown to me that some feelings, like love, are exceptionally powerful and motivating. I was able to identify positive changes in your behavior and performance. As our relationship grew stronger, you were more secure of yourself, you smiled more often, and your grades in school improved. I cannot wait to share my results with the rest of my community. I wish my superiors had given me more time to work further on my research. But they wouldn’t give me more than thirty rotations of the earth (around its axis, you guys call them days) to stay. So my time has come and I am departing tonight. I’ll probably be gone by the time you finish reading this letter. This note will be the last memory you will ever have of me. My experimental team had design a pill/medicine to erase the memories of those who we experiment on. We discovered that our experiments can be extremely traumatizing to the subjects of experimentation so we decided to make them forget all their memories of us ever interacting with them. The pill takes about ten hours to take effect on humans, so you won’t remember what you ever felt for me. I gave you the pill this morning while we were at the coffee shop, I put it in your coffee. That was at eight in the morning so it will take effect by six this afternoon. That will give you time to tell your friends and family that you will consciously decide to forget me. I wish you the best of luck. Gustavo//

Carolina was still holding her breath. Was it a joke? She couldn’t believe what she just read. Another planet? Another species without feelings? What? Nothing made sense. The only thing that mattered was the he said he was leaving. How could he leave? Without her? She needed him. It took her a couple of minutes to realize that she would never see him again. She never felt like that before, she could feel her heartbeat on her ears, her stomach felt like it was goanna fall out her but, and she had this lump on her throat like she had just swallowed a giant pill. She wasn’t able to swallow, every breath she took hurt and her eyes began to water. She read the letter again and again, first because she was too numb to take it all in, then to find some word or phrase that would cancel out everything he wrote. But he wrote exactly what he meant, he knew how to close the door so that no seam showed, no light glimmered at the edges. She understood the game was over. Carolina read the letter until her eyes were so filled with water she couldn’t see anymore. She passed around her room, not knowing what to do with herself. As unbelievable as it all seemed she believed every single word written on that letter. Her trust for him would never go away neither would her love. At least until six o’clock that afternoon when apparently she would forget him forever. She didn’t want to forget him, she wished she could keep the memory of him to keep her company, it was all she had left.