In life there are many people with whom we share a large part of it, others with whom we would have liked to spend more time, while there are some who seem to come into our lives in a way that is as fleeting as it is special, just enough to leave an indelible mark on our hearts.
A couple of years ago, one day in the afternoon I was on my way to the house of some friends whom I have known for a very long time and for whom I have a special appreciation. I always walk there, and the distance is about fifteen minutes.
Just in the middle of the way, I saw a girl who seemed to be coming from work and I noticed that she was carrying several bags in her hands. My first reaction was to offer to help her with the load, and with some confidence she approved.She lived near the street I always passed by when I went to visit my friends, but it was the first time I had seen her. We quickly arrived at her house, and after leaving the bags at her door I said goodbye and went on my way.
-My name is Adriana. Thank you very much for your help," she said.
-I am Richard. The pleasure is mine-
To tell the truth, that first meeting was quite normal for me, so much so that I didn't comment on it or share it with anyone else. So, several weeks went by until just another afternoon on my way to my friends' house I heard someone in the distance start to greet me and repeat my name.
-Hello, how are you? Do you remember me?
It was Adriana, the girl I helped with the bags. This time she wasn't carrying anything in her hands, but I waited for her anyway and, as we were going in the same direction, we walked together and had a good conversation. Here I felt something strange with the girl, that feeling as if I had known her all my life. In fact, she herself told me that she felt she knew me before but did not remember it, although later she nodded that it was not possible because she had just moved to the city a few months ago.
It turns out that Adriana used to live in another city far away from mine, but because of work she moved. She lived with a cousin, and worked from Monday to Saturday. When we arrived in front of her house we continued talking, and the conversation became so warm and special that we spent almost an hour in front of her house. We talked about many things: tastes in food, music and sports, and what he did every day at his job.
She also told me that in the region where she used to live she had a beautiful garden, something she missed now that she was living in a smaller house with no yard.
Just when she mentioned something about the cayenne trees and flowers in her longed-for garden, I told her that I had a book that talked about it and that I could lend it to her, which she accepted with much excitement. So we said goodbye and I went back to my house since there was no more time to visit my friends.
-Please! Don't forget my book - exclaimed Adriana with a smile.
Was it love at first sight? Well, that's something I wouldn't know how to define, but what I can say is that with her I felt a connection like never before. It felt good to share with her and I felt comfortable watching her talk and laugh. Again, she expressed to me that she felt as if she had known me all her life because she was also comfortable talking to me.
Several days later, I went to her house to bring her the book I had promised her, but when I knocked on the door someone else came out.
-She is working and will be back later.
That was what her cousin told me, and I had forgotten her work schedule and went at a time when she was not home yet. At the time I wanted to leave the book with her cousin, but she refused and told me that it would be best if I delivered it to her personally. Out of pity and annoyance I accepted it, and decided to let a week go by to return to Adriana's house.
And so it went, a week that felt like a month. This time I made sure to go in the afternoon, exactly at the time I could meet her. I knocked on the door several times and there didn't seem to be anyone there, until suddenly they opened the door a little. It was her, Adriana. I immediately greeted her but noticed that she didn't finish opening the door. Why didn't she look out? It turns out that she had returned from work with a malaise that made her feel very bad. She had been asleep all afternoon, but just when she heard the door she got up because she imagined it was me.
After such an effort I told her to forgive my discomfort and that I could come back another day, which she accepted. What she did not want to receive was the book, as she told me she wanted to read it with me, so I agreed with her and told her I would be waiting for her to come back.
Because of other work errands, I spent a week without going to visit Adriana and that was already a long time for me. Strangely, when I returned, no one answered me. The house seemed to be alone. I remember that I waited for about twenty minutes in front of her house because I deduced that maybe she was coming home late from work. I did this for a whole week, returning every day in the afternoon at the same time, but the result was the same. I don't know how much time passed, but it was several months in which my thoughts were tangled with many ideas. "Maybe she went back to her old house, or moved somewhere else." That was what I thought about most as I reproached myself for the mistake of not even taking her phone number.
Eventually, I ended up resigning myself to not seeing her again, until one day on my way to visit friends I saw the door open at Adriana's house. I admit that in those seconds I felt something beautiful in my chest, and with emotion I approached the place. I didn't have time to knock because when I was in front of the door I noticed that someone was coming out. It wasn't Adriana or her cousin. It was an older man with some bags. I don't really remember how I asked for her, but I will never forget the man's answer:
-I'm sorry young man, but she died a few months ago," and with those words something snapped inside me.
It turns out that she had suffered a serious infection that made her suffer from a strange illness, and after being hospitalized for a few weeks she died unexpectedly. The last day I saw her was the day she began to feel ill. The man I met at her house was her uncle, who was picking up some things as they were planning to sell the house.
To be honest, I never thought I would experience something like that, and how in the blink of an eye life could give me and also take away something so special. I spent a long time without assimilating what happened, and I admit that to this day I still wonder how it could have happened to her. Sometimes I think about what could have been of me and her if things had happened totally different, but I end up reliving a regret and emptiness that is hard to explain. The little I knew and shared with Adriana seemed to me one of those experiences that do not have to be so long to leave a mark in the heart, just as a shooting star does not need so much time to shine in a special way.
THE END