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Coincidences sometimes happen but they are not always welcome, so Carlos thinks when he bumps into David at the airport.
Both are stranded because their flights are delayed.
-Hello, how are you? -says David.
He thinks about not saying hello back, but he's with his boss and that wouldn't speak very well of his manners.
-Good. And you? The family?
There are five years of difference between them, they were neighbors until they both moved to college, they shared for a year the same school and high school and he was like his younger brother, always protected him from the older ones.
They kept in touch from the cities where they studied their professional careers and even met on the occasion of the funeral of Carlos' parents, who died in a car accident.
However, one day it all ended, without explanation, David stopped writing to her, changed his phone number and disappeared.
He tried to reach him through mutual friends but it was as if he had evaporated, no one had any way of communicating with him.
He felt that as a betrayal and vowed never to speak to him if he ever got it, but there he is waving at him.
-All right, I have two children. How many do you have?
Her love life had not been fruitful, a failed marriage and several affairs that had failed to renew her desire to marry or start a family.
-None.
With a worried face he tells her:
-Can we have a cup of coffee? I need to talk to you about something private.
Understanding this, Carlos' boss, a man in his fifties, tells them.
-There is a cafeteria upstairs. Go there.
Carlos realizes that he has not made the corresponding presentations.
-Excuse me, Mr. Urbina, this is David, a neighbor from my childhood.
They both shake hands and David tells him.
-He has always been a bit absent-minded.
They walk in silence to the indicated place, as they go up the escalator David tells her.
-I apologize for not communicating with you for so long.
Carlos does not respond.
He swore to himself that when he met him he would give him a blow.
They take a seat, order a coffee, look at each other in silence like two chess players trying to guess the next move.
It is David who breaks the ice.
-My mother died of cancer, that's why we lost contact, that day I smashed the cell phone against the wall.
Excuses, think
-You could put the same number on the other.
-Yes, but I wanted to forget a lot of things, especially something she confessed to me before she died.
The coffee arrives, they sip it slowly.
Carlos does not remember meeting David's father, according to everyone he disappeared one night leaving her alone and pregnant.
-I am sorry for what happened to your mother.
-I don't know how to tell you.
-Tell me what? -Carlos asked, surprised.
-I have tried to break with the past, it has not been easy, I moved to another continent, and you see, in the least expected place I find you and I still don't know whether to tell you what my mother told me before she died.
-Is it important?
-Yes, for both.
Uneasiness takes hold of Carlos, secrets have charm and instill fear.
-It doesn't matter to me, you can keep it.
David looks at him and Carlos is reminded of the frightened child that on more than one occasion he had to free from the clutches of one of the abusers in the area.
-I wrote you a letter, but then I realized I had no address to send it to you, in December my wife tried to reach you but couldn't, she left you friend requests on social networks but you never accepted any of them, the phone number you have on them doesn't exist and there is no address information on any of your profiles.
He has been distrustful of the security of the networks, he is not very fond of them, despite being an important tool at the present time, he does not accept friendship with strangers of any gender.
-I have little time left to interact with them. I apologize to your wife, you know I'm not very open to meeting new people.
Even women, he thinks, since it was through her that he met his ex-wife and the experience was not very rewarding.
-And what was so important?
David sighs
-You are my only family.
Carlos thinks, it's one thing for him to have been like his only brother and another to consider him as family.
-Don't exaggerate, we don't even know each other anymore.
-I don't, what do you know about my dad?
-Nothing, just what they said. Was he a relative of mine?
For a second he searches through his memories for an image of an uncle.
-Not the one who lived with my mom and left her abandoned, but the one who got her pregnant.
Things were getting intricate, David's mother had been unfaithful with a relative of his.
-I don't understand.
-My mom before getting married had a relationship with another man, but he was married and she ended up leaving him when she fell in love with my dad or who she thought he was, because she realized she was pregnant by her lover, the truth is that she hid it but he found out and left her.
-And was that lover a relative of mine?
For a few seconds all is silence, as if the noise of the voices of those in the café had faded away.
David looks him in the eye and answers.
-Yes, it was your dad.
Inspired by idea number 1 of 50 Story Ideas. You can find them in this Link: https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-fiction-prompt-6-50-story-ideas
This story has insight into the subtle emotions at play when two people joust in conversation. It is, as you say in the story, like a chess match. The back and forth, the unspoken thoughts, the hidden intentions--all of these infuse conversations. You work the final punch, the final revelation, well.
One thing that interferes with the flow of a story that is as complex as this (because of the back and forth dialogue) is the confusion of pronouns. You often refer to Carlos as 'her'. While it is possible to sort out the intended party, this does interfere a bit with the reading. I believe this is a translation issue, quite common in translating from Spanish to English.
This was an enjoyable story. Thank you for posting it in the Ink Well community. Have you read and commented on the work of at least two other writers this week? (See The Ink Well community rules on our home page.) This helps our community thrive, and also makes you eligible to be chosen for a spotlight in our weekly highlights magazine. Thank you!
At first I got confused because I didn't know who was the person I was referring. The reading continued as you were taken me in the middle of conversation. And "no", it was not a good met up because of revealing the truth.
Very well written and you gave me ideas how to write in having conversations.
At first I got confused because I didn't know who was the person I was referring. The reading continued as you were taking me in the middle of conversation. And "no", it was not a good met up because of revealing the truth.
Very well written and you gave me ideas how to write in having conversations.
A beautiful story of lost friendship.
First a brother, then a stranger and finally a family.
These transitions would not be easy for the protagonist, but i'm sure he would figure something out.
Beautiful story, i love it.
Hello, @joseph1956
The consequences of communication problems between two people who are very close to each other can lead to an inexplicable separation.
Your text is set in an atmosphere of emotional tension in which both characters are located in two different places. The underlying theme of fleeting loves that leave consequences is also interesting.
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