The day dawned cool and sunny, a gentle breeze moves the leaves on the trees. Today there are no classes and Alejandra prepares to meet her friends. She says goodbye to her mother and her great aunt Marta who remains seated in her armchair. Despite her ninety-five years, her eyesight is so good that she still enjoys knitting.
"I've almost finished your scarf", she says while Alejandra gives her a kiss on her soft and perfumed cheek with the scent of soap. The scarf is pink, she has been knitting it since Alejandra turned fifteen and she is now eighteen. She knits and unknits it, her skillful hands move the needles as if they were spider's legs.
"May you enjoy your walk very much, my beautiful girl".
"Thank you dear aunt, see you in the afternoon".
When she leaves her house she meets Juan Carlos, María Ester and Tomás, fellow students at the School of Art, and they go to El Calvario Park, to take a walk and get to know it, they have been told that it is a very interesting and beautiful place, full of stories, gardens and fountains. As they walk up the sidewalks, they observe the city in the distance, which is getting smaller and smaller. There is a splendid view of the surrounding mountain.
They walk along steep paths and stop in the small squares to observe the statues of historical characters, heroes of important battles of the independence and beautiful figures of angels and take pictures. As the hours pass, the park becomes more solitary, people begin to descend back to the city.
When they reach the highest part of the park they are surprised to hear a woman crying, as they border the street, they see the end of a white lace cloth.
What is it? Alejandra bends down to grab it but realizes it is bigger and tries to pull it, but it won't budge.
They climb the stairs covered by that moon-white cloth, holding on to the cement handrails adorned with large vases and statues of lions.... The steps seem to have no end, until they reach a yellow-walled temple surrounded by vegetation. Amazed, they see at the bottom of the steps a young woman standing in front of the carved wooden door, wearing a white wedding dress with lace on the bodice. No one is seen around her. The young men approach and ask her what she is doing there alone.
She turns to look at them and uncovers her face covered with the white veil. She is young, and her skin looks like porcelain, her golden curls fall on her forehead. With a sweet and melancholic voice, she answers them.
"I am waiting for the man I am going to marry, but he has not arrived, and it is already late. I have been told that he is not coming, that he has had an accident, but I don't believe it...."
"And why are you so lonely? And your family?" Asks Maria Ester.
"They are not invited, it's just me and him".
"But who is going to marry them, this temple seems to be abandoned", asks Tomas while he observes the building with its stone walls and a dome ending in a needle-shaped tip, which denotes its gothic style and thinks "poor thing this young lady, she has lost her mind".
"It is true that it is abandoned, because they say that something serious happened here, but that was a few years ago. People tell many strange things, they say they have seen the spirit of a person who died a long time ago, and wanders around this place. But I don't believe in that, and you? In this temple there was a priest and people came to listen to the mass. I remember it very clearly. I accompanied my mother and my sister. We sat in the dark, shiny wooden pews. She would cover her head with a veil, and she would put a veil on us too. Inside there is a stained-glass window with the image of the Virgin through which the light enters and fills the white walls with colors. I remember it very well, because I watched the lights while I listened to the mass. Look out of the windows, you can see it, it is beautiful.
The young people approach the large windows and through the glass stained by the humidity of the place and the bodies of thousands of dead mosquitoes, they watch in amazement the spectacle of the multicolored lights. And they can still make out the two rows of benches and the polished floor, in the clarity that still remains in the place. Music begins to play from the organ in the corner, next to the pulpit.
"It is Shubert's Ave Maria!" shouts excited Alejandra, who is a music student. "Are you listening to it?"
"We are listening to it, but I don't see anyone playing it". Maria Ester can hardly utter a word.
The breeze opens the heavy door of the temple and the young bride enters and walks down the central aisle, behind her slender figure her long veil slides slowly, the multicolored lights give her a special glow. At the altar, a young man dressed in black awaits her with outstretched arms. As they meet, their hands join for eternity. A vision that at that moment disappears from the sight of the four young people, who contemplated it in ecstasy, for them, time had stopped.
The sound of a telephone makes them return
"What was that? We all saw it, didn't we?" Asks Juan Carlos. "I don't understand, how could it happen, were they ghosts?"
"I don't know, but it was so beautiful", Alejandra still has the image of the bride in her memory, and she still hears the sounds of the organ.
"It was extraordinary, I still have my arms bristling". Maria Ester hugs each other for warmth.
The phone continued to ring.
Alejandra searches in her purse and answers the call, it is from her mother, it seems to be urgent.
"Hello mother, what's up?... I'm on my way".
"Marta, my mother's aunt, died a few minutes ago", she says to his friends. "I must go back ".
The young people rush downstairs and accompany Alejandra to the house.
The house is in darkness, Marta's body still rests on the bed. She died peacefully, while she was taking a nap. Alejandra and her mother are her only relatives. After the burial, and after a few days, they collect Marta's things to keep them or to give them away.
In a wooden trunk she kept many memories. The photographs are an instant of the past, an image stopped in time. There in the background, along with other family photographs, is one that Alejandra had not seen, it is the image of Marta with her golden curls covering her forehead and next to her a young man with his hands holding hers, sitting on a bench in the square... they are smiling, and it seems that it was cold, a pink scarf surrounds the long and fragile neck of the young woman.
This story that I share with you to participate in The Ink Well Fiction Prompt #105 , is a product of my imagination but the place where the events take place exists in my hometown, in Caracas and just as I describe it, there is the temple, and its atmosphere of other times inspired me to write this story with the words: bride, staircase and illusion.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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Thank you very much @hivebuzz . Your messages are always encouraging.
Happy day to you
I enjoyed reading your story so much. I was intrigued and you used a good plot as well.
I was surprised at the end tho. You wrote this really well. !PIZZA
I am glad to hear your comment @dennnmarc.
Thank you very much and happy day 🌺
I gifted $PIZZA slices here:
@dennnmarc(3/5) tipped @popurri (x1)
Please vote for pizza.witness!
Thank you 💗
Wow, very surprising end. This was such an interesting story to read. Beautiful.🌺💗
Thank you very much @jhymi. It's nice to read your comment.
Hugs and blessings 🌷
This is absolutely stunning @popurri! From the very first moment, we are invested in Alejandra, thinking this tale is about her. We like Marta and find her memorable, yet her part in the ending is a stunning surprise! The knowledge that she knits the scarf over and over again is wonderful foreshadowing. You met all of the requests of the prompt, and then some here! Thank you for sharing your story with us, and for your engagement with other members of the community.
Thank you very much @theinkwell. This was a good challenge for the imagination, I enjoyed writing it.
The character of Marta came to me almost at the end of the story and I had to adjust it to her.
Greetings and happy day 😊
I absolutely loved this story, from the first words! You build your characters in a gorgeous way here, making us love Alejandra immediately. I felt completely sucked in at the chapel... The way you painted the vibrance in with the modern-day decay, letting us watch as the illusion fully takes form. STUNNING!
And the ending... I did not see that coming at all! Thank you for sharing this phenomenal story with us! 😁
Thank you @grindan for your comment. I'm very glad you liked it.
The ending with Marta was a surprise and this character gave it a touch of tenderness for that unforgettable love.
Greetings and happy day😊
Congratulations, @popurri! Your story has been chosen as one of the best of the week and is part of the highlighted author magazine #94.
https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-highlights-magazine-94
Muchas gracias @gracielaacevedo y al equio de The ink well por seleccionar mi historia.
Un abrazo y feliz dia
That's right @bornben. It's a happy ending to the story and a beginning for Marta.
Thank you very much, have a wonderful day 💗