A/N: This one feels like an accomplishment, perhaps, no, for sure, there are a lot of mistakes but I´m pretty excited that I got to write two Jmemories in it. I think in this post he´s spoken more than ever before. This post is much longer as well and has references of some songs and a poem, I´ll add a link of those below.
This is the first of a few posts that I want to dedicate to some kids I met. This one I want to dedicate to Bry, he was one of my students and though he´s nothing like the characters in this story, I was reminded of him as I wrote the first Jmemory. Bry was an example of what dedication, effort and a bright personality can accomplish, also he had a beautiful, supportive family. A true example, he´d be a HS freshman this year, I know he's doing great.
On less loaded things haha Saku, what did my girl do in the last post to make you dislike her? haha she was behaving well -for her- :p I wonder if you´ll get a glimpse of why J decided to go in this trip.
finally, to the post! ah, no, before that, Josh challenged me and I just had to accept. He knows writing flashback...I´m just not good at it but... haha ok, anyway, I hope it´s not too confusing, what I did, in case it was too bad, is to write in italics everything that is flashback. I hope it helps /////_//////
****
We parked
on a dirt parking lot under a tree. There were scattered SUV´s and jeeps under
trees. There was some kind of kiosk with benches made of logs where a group of
people were chatting apparently waiting for more people to arrive. We took our
things out, each one of us had a backpack, I had my guitar and the picnic
basket. Marissa had the map and a camera and Nichole just her backpack. We
stopped in the center of the place while Mari surveyed the area, like every
other forest it was all green and it all looked similar to me.
“Lead the
way, carina” Nic had a hint of teasing in her tone
“According
to this –Marissa was still staring at the map –we have to go… -she looked at
the many paths all around us –here” she walked to the one at her left as she
extended her hand to me. We walked in silence for a while, Marissa and I walked
hand in hand leading the way and Nichole walked a few steps behind us. At times
Marissa stopped to either check the map or take a picture and she randomly
pointed to flowers, birds or butterflies
“I hope I
don’t get us lost” Mari said biting her lip after a while
“I thought
we were following the map” I raised my eyebrows
“We are but
this might have been the wrong path” she told me with some concern.
“As long as
we can go back” I said. Getting lost was not something I wanted
“Mh…”
“It´ll be
part of the adventure” Nichole said behind us in her calmed tone of voice, we
both turned to look at her, she was looking up the trees and had her tiny smile
in place. I think her confidence made us relax. I shook my head at how easy
that had been I knew both Marissa and I knew how good she was at finding her
way. I knew very well that she wouldn’t let us get lost. That I trusted that
made me feel a little annoyed.
An hour
later we were at the sightseeing deck. It was twice the size of the one at the
log house. It was a beautiful place. The sky was blue without clouds. Birds
chirped everywhere hidden in the tree tops that were green and yellow. I could
see rocky mountains in the distance right in front of us. A click let me know Marissa
had taken a picture of me watching the place. I smiled for her and she took
another picture.
“It´s your
turn” I extended my hand and she gave me the camera and stood still with a
smile in place
“Nini, come
here!” Mari called Nichole who was behind me watching down leaned on the wooden
railing. She turned around and rolled
her eyes
“You come
here” she replied and Mari rolled her eyes this time but she went to where
Nichole was. Nic extended her hand motioning for the camera
“No, no,
no, don’t give it to her –Marissa said- I want a picture with you, you silly”
Marissa smiled
“Marissa,
no. You know I don’t like getting pictures taken”
“Whatever.
Josh, take her picture, please”
“Marissa”
Nichole hissed
“Come on!”
Marissa tried to hug her with an arm but Nichole moved away
“Mari, no,
just no, I´ll take yours and Josh´s”
“Just one,
come one, it won´t kill you”
“You´re
allowed to draw me if you want” NIc offered with a smirk and Marissa scoffed
“If you
stayed still for a second!”
“Can´t help
it –she shrugged and took the camera from me- but I´m good at taking pictures”
she smiled a mischievous smile as Mari extended her arms to me putting. Nichole
took a picture of that and then anther as soon as I stepped next to Marissa and
then one when she hugged me. She seemed to like taking picture without letting
us know she was about to take them
“One
picture, please –Mari pouted- I can´t believe no one has ever taken a picture
of you”
“Only if
they were going to kill me” Nic shrugged. Marissa frowned and shook her head
“The things
you said to not get a picture. Make a better lie” Marissa rolled her eyes. I
was almost certain that it was not a lie at all
“I have one
and had no murderous intentions” I chuckled at the end, Nichole gasped making
Marissa laugh and high five me
“Ha! Good
one, tesoro! Now, I deserve one” Marissa pointed a finger at Nichole who sighed
and narrowed her eyes at me as she gave me the camera, I shrugged
“Only one”
she told me as she leaned against the railing, she had a smirk on face that
contrasted with Mari´s happy one
“Now, you
too –Marissa came next to me –don’t say no, Nini –Marissa scolded before she
could talk –this one´s for lying” she poked her tongue out
“Is this ok
by you?” Nichole asked me. It took me aback.
“Yeah” I
furrowed my eyebrows. Why wouldn’t it be I thought she wouldn’t want one with
me. I went to stand next to her and as soon as I stood there she pushed herself
up and sat on the railing very quick. It startled me.
“Jesus! –I
exclaimed as I took hold of her hand- you´re gonna fall!”
“I´m fine”
she tried to suppress a chuckle
“Get off
there” I insisted, it was a high
“If I fall,
I´ll fall on my feet” she winked but I didn’t let go of her “You miss took more
than one picture so stop it” Nichole said to Marissa who giggled
“They are
blurred –she said innocently- plus you can always erase them later, now, look
over here and say cheese” Mari instructed as I let go of Nichole bu still
looked at her
“Look at
the camera boy, I´ll hold on to you” Nic placed her hand on my shoulder. Mari
counted up to three
After the
pictures we sat down on the deck to just watch the sky, each one of us with a
bottle of water and snacks. Nichole was just eating one of those tiny lollipops
and had her drawing pad on her bent knees, a blue drawing pencil in her hand,
her head slightly tilted to the left, her short hair covering part of her face,
her hand moved as her face went from the scenery before us to the paper. I
wondered what she was thinking about. I had always wondered what she thought
while she draw, it was the only time that I had seen her face completely
relaxed. She usually looked calmed but somehow not but when drawing and
painting she seemed to be just a girl.
“You went
silent on me –Marissa said in a sing-song voice next to me, my eyes expanded a
little –what are you thinking?” she smiled her easy smile. I couldn’t help but
smile back, all the time, I shook my head
“Your
smile´s really contagious” I said still smiling. She blinked once and her smile
grew making her eyes become smaller
“You have a
nice smile, too. Perfect white teeth” she touched my cheek “Do you like it
here?”
“It´s
beautiful” I leaned back until my back touched the deck and then I placed my
hands under my head and bent my leg. I looked up at the pieces of sky between
the leaves of the trees just above us. It was very quiet but not really, the
place hummed with its own quiet music directed by the soft breeze
“You go a
lot inside your head” Marissa commented looking down at me, she was still sitting
down. I wondered if this would be a problem with her eventually, so far she was
ok with it but then most of my dates are, they like that I listen but when I
didn’t speak enough they didn’t like it either “I think I´m into quiet people
–Marissa continued without asking for a reply- this one –she pointed to Nic at
her side with her thumb- is always quiet unless I force her to talk, she makes
me become a jerk” she laughed quietly. I smiled and nodded a little, you tended
to feel like you were forcing her to talk all the time
“Look at her
now, I bet she´s pretending she´s not listening –she glanced at the other girl-
but you won’t pretend you don’t listen, right?” Mari smiled and touched my arm;
I shook my head as reply
“What are
you thinking about?” I asked, she smiled
“That you
go a lot in your head and that you didn’t tell me what you were thinking” her
lips moved in a very gracious way, it seemed to me that every time she said
“you” she was about to kiss someone
“Every time
you say you, it seems like you´re kissing the air” I told her in almost a
whisper, she laughed throwing her head back with delight
“I kiss the
air that you breathe” she said it slowly emphasizing the word “you”. I chuckled
“I like
that –I smiled showing all my teeth –it´s maybe even song material” I winked
“Don’t you
think it was too much?” she smiled and touched her arm
“Nope, I
don’t mind impromptu poetry”
“Even the
desperate one?” she tilted her head. I chuckled
“It didn’t
sound desperate”
“You are
very soothing” again Marissa emphasized the word you and I touched her lips
lightly with my fingers for a second
“Thank you”
“And you
don’t even say much, how do you do it?”
“No idea,
maybe it´s you, maybe it´s the place, it´s …soothing here, quiet but not really
–I closed my eyes listening to the music of the air caressing the trees- there´s
a lot going on” I opened my eyes
“Is it like
that in here?” her finger touched my temple. I pondered
“Sometimes”
“What´s
happening?” she asked
“The birds
are talking” I replied, unsure of whether I meant in my head or around us
“What are
they saying?” she followed my lead
“That they
like this place -I thought of the waterfall for a second, it made me uneasy but
I think I wanted to try, to see how close I could get, I always wanted to start
facing that irrational fear but always ended up giving up –they also would like
to capture this peace and take it everywhere with them” I finished with eyes
closed
“They don’t
carry it around with them?”
“I think
they forget sometimes… it´s easy to forget with everything else…there´s not
many trees in other places where they can find shelter”
“Oh, are
they worried about shelter?” Mari frowned a little. I chuckled
“I don’t
know what I´m saying anymore” I said truthfully. It had been about me but
shelter was not something I thought I lacked of
“No more
bird whispered?” she smiled her easy smile
“Oh –she
pouted- do you think they´ll understand if I tell them that I have a window
sill where they can find shelter any time they want?” her eyes were bright and
her smile soft, like her words. I smiled
“I think
they got it” I sat up to kiss her but she met me half way so I didn’t fully
sit, it was a little like doing crunches
“Great –she
smiled and I went back to lying on the floor- I think… mmm I think we´ve
ignored Nini…”
“Oh, yeah,
that… yeah” my eyes expanded a bit, we´d been talking softly and very close
“Nini…”
Marissa started
“Carry on,
carina, I´m not feeling left out at all” Nichole said as if distracted. I
wonder if she was distracted, she´d basically let us know she´d been listening
to our words even if they had been almost whispers. I sat up and looked over
Mari at her. She was still with her drawing pad but she was no longer looking
at the scenery but just drawing, she was very focused on it.
“Can we,
like, have a conversation where the three of us talk?” Marissa said looking to
Nichole and back to me. I shrugged my agreement.
“Can´t talk
while I draw” Nichole said. Liar, I thought
“Then stop
drawing, this is not an assignment”
“Neither´s
talking”
“What are
you drawing?” I intervened. I felt at that moment that my mind was a computer
screen when you click something and some virus makes tons of windows pop up
with videos or random stuff. In my mind, several images of me asking that same
question popped up. Nichole paused; maybe the same happened to her, maybe not.
“The birds
that left before Marissa could take a picture”
“Can I
see?” Mari asked. Nic lifted her drawing pad, there were two birds, one next to
the other on a thin branch, one was finished made in charcoal, and the other
was just starting to be shaded
“They were
not like that –I commented- but they´re good” I said, she raised both eyebrows
“Ouch
–Marissa winced and laughed- you just stabbed her ego!”
“Oh, I…” I
started
“Don’t
listen to her” Nichole rolled her eyes, going back to her drawing, I looked at
Marissa
“At school
she usually gets a ‘ah, you´re talented’ or ‘you´re a natural’ or stuff like
that…. Nini was really mad when one of the professors said one of her works was
just ‘a good one’” Marissa related, Nichole scoffed
“He didn’t
say it was good –she said not looking at us but at the scenery- he said it didn’t
have feeling which is an entirely different thing”
“Nini asked
for her grade to be revised, made other professors to look at it, she really
didn’t want that failing grade” Marissa chuckled
“I thought
you didn’t care about grades or taking courses twice” I said. She´d always said
she didn’t care but I knew it was not true, she always did the work and did it
well
“I don’t
care about that but his argument was one I couldn’t respect. He couldn’t grade
the feeling of it. You just can’t grade feeling –she made air quotation marks-
it was too subjective”
“I thought
all art was subjective” I replied
“It is”
Mari chuckled
“Yeah
–Nichole agreed- but technique is graded, quality and originality as well. That
was the criteria to be evaluated at the time, so he didn’t even have that
argument there” she lifted her chin a little
“Professor
Fleming told her –Mari said- that her technique and finesse were great but that
it had no feeling to it, it didn’t produce anything”
“What did
you do?” I asked curious and amused
“She made a
book; it was a small black leather bound book with three roses, two of them
dead and, I think, a melted candle –Mari replied- sorry, Nini, but it wasn’t
that good, I never got it. Why did you do that for such assignment?” Mari asked
“What was
the assignment?” I inquired
“Something
like showing your worst memory in a simple way” Mari explained shaking her head
“I guess it was simple, what you did but…I don’t know” she told Nic with a
small shrug
“Oh…” I
said knowing what that book must have been “Did you get the failing grade?”
“Yes and
after that Fleming did his best to get me the lowest possible grades –Nic said
and grinned- and I did my best to make him give me the best grades”
“She loves
contradicting people” Mari laughed
“It made me
improve. It´s been one of my best courses” Nic smirked
“What did
you do?” I asked Marissa
“Leaving
home –she said and wrinkled her nose a little- but bad memories no more, we
should talk about our best one. What´s your happiest memory, tesoro?” she
asked, her smile lingered. Both girls looked my way.
"Mhh...-I
hummed- my best memory is from the afternoon that my dad gave me my first
guitar- I told the girls remembering being surprised that he was home early -I was about six, maybe seven, I was having
troubles in school and didn't want to go anymore" I explained distantly
remembering my childhood heart aches. After my accident I hadn't been the same
but I hadn't noticed until that week but it´s not like I have that many
recollections of the first few years after my accident, only glimpses come to
me from time to time, it's the feeling of what I lived and the nightmares that
are the most vivid.
"My
grandpa who always got me to do the unpleasant things -I shook my head clearing
it from the double pain that thinking of Alexander caused me with the two opposite
faces he had- like taking medicines, going to the doctor, eating my lunch,
things like that –I explained- at that time, he just couldn't make speak of what
was wrong so one day my dad came home and...” I smiled down to the floor
remembering that afternoon.
“Hi son” My dad had said smiling to me
“You´re early, daddy” I had been surprised it wasn´t a
usual occurrence that he came home before seven. I hadn’t known that mom had
asked him to talk to me.
“I had a good day so I decided I could come
talk to you – he
sat next to me and slung an arm on my shoulder- we closed a great deal, money straight to your college fund –he chuckled-
I had some problems while doing it,
obstacles but I knew I could work it out. Do you know why I knew?” I had
been excited that he was speaking to me about his day and that he had asked for
my opinion
“Because
you’re good at what you do” I had repeated what my mom had always said and that
had earned me a chuckle and squeeze
“That´s true but remember when mom wanted to
redecorate the kitchen? –Six or seven year old me nodded- remember
what happened when I moved the furniture?” he´d asked and I had laughed
“You broke the water pipe and mom was angry.
She had to pick me up”
“Yeah –he had grimaced- and I couldn’t make it stop and ended up leaving us without water until
the guy came. He was good at his job, don’t you think?”
“Yes, mom was happy”
“Yes, she was. Remember later that day the
other guys came to help her make things pretty?”
“Yeah but Aaron and I helped, we picked the
colors with mom” It
had been important for me at the time that he remembered that we had helped
“Yes, of course you did –I almost laughed remembering how
he laughed quietly and rustled my hair before speaking again- but I didn’t and that is because I´m not
good at that. You see, son, I am very good at what I do but I´m very bad at
other things, just like mom is very good at being a doctor but is very bad at
closing deals, you too, are going to be good at some things and bad at others”
he´d said as he touched my shoulder with his hand
“But I´m bad at everything –I replied- I´m the dumb twin –I cried bitter and angry tears.- Aaron is much better, he´s smarter and…” I
had been in a different class, with much less requirements, less classes. I hadn’t
noticed until it had been pointed out to me by the kids in Aaron´s class. Some
kids can be mean to others; I had ended up believing they had been right about
me.
“No, Joshua, that is not true –my dad had stopped me. I had seen
how knowing what was wrong had hurt him too- You´re twins but you´re different and that is alright. We love you for
who you are and we love your brother for who he is. Now, Josh, sometimes things
are harder for some people, life puts more obstacles in their life, accidents
happen –he had stopped to clear his throat- but that just means you are and you´ll be stronger –he hugged me
tightly- you’re a fighter” He´d told
me and I had just stared down at my lap not feeling strong at all
"He
told me I just had to try my hardest because no one's good when they are just starting
something new” I told the girls a short version of his speech but I remembered
every single word dad had told me that afternoon
“It takes time to get good at things. When I
was your age –he´d continued- I wasn’t good at closing deals, I lost money
before I got good at it and mom puked at the sight of blood, she could´ve said
she going to be a bad doctor, don’t you think? But she and I tried our best at
everything until we figured out what we were good at and didn’t let what we
weren’t good at make us sad. You just have to try your very best, just like you
do everyday”
“Then he
asked me to wait and went to get something, an old black acoustic guitar. He
played a very complicated song and told me that when he was my age he couldn’t do
it. I had just stared –I chuckled looking at the two girl looking attentively
back at me- He touched a string -I took my guitar and touched the string he had
touched- and asked me if that sounded like music, I said it didn't, then he
played something like this -I played a small progression, just a few chords-
and asked me if that sounded like music"
"Awww"
Mari cooed, Nic's eyes were intense as if she was memorizing my every move. I
smiled at Mari before continuing with my story
"I
told him it did, and he explained that he wasn't good at it before but life was
like playing the guitar, you keep practicing and trying until you get it right,
until you get what you want” –I remembered he´d said to notice how one string
along with the others made music, that life was the same, at first it might not
be music but with time and practice it sounded like music, a melody you were
good at. Dad told me I had been good at reminding him that he liked playing the
guitar, which he hadn't played since I had been born.
“To never
forget there´s always a new song to learn, but, that you have to remember that
if you can't play the guitar there's always other instruments to make
music" I related to the girls my dad speech and chuckled, I had been
distracted by his skill and the shiny black guitar that I hadn't understood the
full meaning of his word but they had always stayed in my mind.
"You
make beautiful music, tesoro, with everything you touch" Mari touched my
arm and smiled her easy smile
"Thank
you -I smiled back- I got my first guitar that day and I decided I was going to
be good at that –I shook my head- My dad and I practiced every weekend and
every night he could come home early, in a while I was able to play the
complicated song that wasn’t really complicated at all” I said
"Do
you still have it?" Nichole asked in her quiet voice, it surprised me that
she showed interest more than with only her eyes on me
"Yeah,
it's in the basement in my parent's house" I replied
"Did
you go back to school" Marissa asked me “Did it get better?”
"I
went back for a while. But I didn't finish that year, I mean, I did finish it
just differently, I was home schooled for a few years after that" I
explained when Mari widened her eyes and Nichole stiffened "different
instruments -I shrugged- but that's where I got my love for music and my liking
of this one” I started to play the chords accompanied by some whistling like in
the song
“….take it slow
It'll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
Said, sugar, make it slow
And we´ll come together fine
All we need is just a little patience…” To my
surprise they both joined me on that portion of the song and whenever they knew
the lyrics.
"Great
as always!" Mari clapped her hands once I stopped singing
"It
was a nice story -Nichole said with a small smile, not the one I knew was her
real one but it didn't seem a rehearsed one either but I couldn’t tell because it
quickly became a smirk- stubborn, I mean, persistent you was born there"
"Nini!"
Mari pushed Nic away
"It's
a compliment, carina" there was humor in her voice, I shook my head and
rolled my eyes.
"You
remind me of Aaron -I told her- he can't stay mature for too long and you can't
stay nice" I narrowed my eyes for effect but I knew she was afraid of
letting even a glimpse of nice feelings coming from her, I felt like I had known
her enough to be sure or maybe it was just the memory of our friendship in the
past that didn’t let me stay mad at her
"I'm a
monster" she winked in both Mari and my direction
"Uuh!
-Mari laughed- I don’t think so, I think you found your match, Nini."
"No
one bits me at that"
"It's
been two times already" Mari said in a sing song voice, I chuckled, when
had Nic been teased before?
"Josh's
too nice to put in my place" she laughed quietly as she look at the
scenery in front of us
"My instruments
are others. My strategy instead is deeper and simpler" I winked after
quoting a verse of a poem that had come to mind out of the blue, one that she´d
shown me. I didn't have many memories of the time after my accident but I did
have many of my teenager years. I had first heard that poem on a day after one
of our Art club meetings in which as usual she and I had stayed behind. Maybe because
I had let my mind take me back to my memories, it automatically too me back to
this one too and I felt in the spacious room filled with easels and musical
instruments
"Are
you going to stay here?" I had asked, she hadn't made an attempt to go
but had kept working on her canvas
"Yeah" it was when she replied my questions, the easy
ones at least
"Ok –my memory showed me I had motioned to go and had
turned back- did you do the homework
about the poem already?" we’d been studying poetry, metric and famous
poets; it was our assignment to emulate them.
"Nope" her eyes had stayed on the
canvas in front of her. I made a face
"I hate this assignment" I had
groaned
"Don't do it then"
"Right, 'cause that's an option"
"It is"
"But you'll do it, won't you?" I had been sure she’d do it, as she
always did.
"That doesn't matter, I don't hate the assignment
but I won't do it if I don’t feel like it" she had shrugged a little
"I don't believe that, you never fail to do
your homework"
"I feel like doing it" she'd taken a diff paintbrush
"That's the same thing" I had rolled
my eyes, given up on standing and sat on the stool I had been using. I had been
procrastinating.
"Nope, it’s a different tactic and strategy.
My tactic is to be honest… My strategy instead is deeper and simpler…”
"Eh? You lost me there…" I had furrowed my eyebrows. She
fought a smile
"That's a poem that just popped into my
head; it's on the news board in the classroom"
"And you've memorized it?" I had chuckled, only Nichole
Cristales would´ve done such thing "what
else does it say?" I had thought she wouldn't tell me but after
dipping her brush on pain and not making a stroke on the canvas, she had turned
on her stool to face me and spoke the lines of the poem in her soft calm voice
as she balanced the paintbrush between her gloved fingers, a drop of paint
threatened to fall to the floor but she moved her wrist so that it wouldn't
fall but that made the turquoise paint get too close to her burgundy gloves
that matched our uniform.
“My tactic is to stay
in your memory,
I don't know how
Nor with what pretext
But stay within you…” as she had recited she´d played
with the drop of paint and I had seen rhythm in the movement and had heard music
in the golden light entering the room through the windows. I had felt a beat in
the poem like it had a heart.
“My tactic is to be
honest
And know you are too
And that we don't sell
each other illusions
So that between us
there is no curtain or abyss
My strategy instead is
Deeper and simpler.
My strategy is that
some day
I don't know how,
nor with what pretext
That finally you need
me” I had picked my guitar and played an
improvised melody for the words she had spoken, had made a sign so that she
said it again as I perfected the sounds, and when it ended and I wrapped up the
melody, the drop of paint had fallen to the floor
"You write poetry all the time, play
it..." the Nichole in my memory had nodded towards my guitar
"It's not the same, I don't go for
numbers, measures, metric, whatever and… I don’t t always work with rhymes, my
rhymes are not...they don't follow numbers, they're not… stiff" I furrowed my eyebrows
"You just made poetry; followed the
metric. Different strategy" she had winked and turned back to her canvas. I hadn’t had an instant
epiphany with an amazing and perfect poem but the next class I had sung my
poem. My teacher had loved my creativity and strategy. By the end of that day I
had printed and pasted the poem on the inside of my binder. It had reminded of
the time dad had taught me the song Patience.
A memory
can be relived in the blink of an eye, such was the case with this memory, no
time had passed yet I had gone back to the past but in reality I had just
quoted the verse of the poem and Nic had just looked away after looking into my
eyes for a second too long. Mari was laughing oblivious that such line had
taken me back in time.
"Ah,
ragazza, he’s got you" Mari giggled and hugged me with one arm
"Funny"
Nic said in her usual monotone
"I
agree –Marissa teased as I laughed quietly- , this will be my new best
memory" she poked her tongue out at Nic
"And
the old one is...?" Nic prompted
“Mmmm… well…after Josh´s beautiful, inspirational
story, mine sounds kinda selfish…” Marissa wrinkled her nose
“It´s
subjective, if it makes you happy, it´s happy” I winked; Marissa narrowed her
eyes a little and a smile tugged at Nichole´s mouth
“Nini, you
go first –Mari said- and don’t say no!” she pointed a finger to Nic who rolled
her eyes but gave up with a dramatic sigh, dramatic for her.
“It´s not
inspirational either –Nichole started- but one of the better times I´ve had was
when Mike, my arts teacher, took one of my paintings to the teacher’s meeting. They
chose among other art works made by students to be placed in one of the library
halls. I was –she closed her eyes- happy when mine was chosen” her half smile
showed in her face
“Which
one?” I asked. I knew that by the time she left Burgeoys there were a few of her
paintings in not only one of the school libraries
“Your
teachers hung your work on the library? That’s so cute!” Marissa smiled
“More than
cute, carina, it was a big honor to have one of your works next to a Monet or
Kandinsky. It´s something that hasn’t happened again”
“Was this
school a museum too?” Marissa raised both eyebrows and looked at both of us
“They had
famous art works in the libraries and the art building” Nichole explained
“And the
office buildings” I added. Mari shook her head
“An eye of
my face wouldn’t have been enough to pay a month of education at your rich kids
school, I bet –Mari said- but Nini, it´s so cool that you were good even back
then” she smiled at the other girl
“It was
Ash´s portrait on the road, the one that got chosen” Nichole chose to answer my
question. I nodded my acknowledgement; Nichole and Aaron had ‘met’ under that
portrait, under that one he´d broken his nose after tripping on her leg
“Ash? Who´s
Ash?” Marissa looked between me and Nic
“Ashley, a
friend –Nic said- now, talk” she smirked. I chuckled, I knew it was not a lie
but I was sure she´d said the guy´s name to avoid saying who he was
“I guess
this will be fine… it´s similar to yours –Mari nodded to Nic- my happiest one
is from when I was 17, I had just left home and had no idea what to do with my
life, I had nowhere to go, no one to go to –she shrugged- On a park, where me
met –she looked at Nic- I made my first cartoon and I got my first client,
after about a week of being there –she chuckled- I had been homeless for a
week. Guess who was my first client? It was Anton –she didn’t wait for us to
give an answer- he bought my first cartoon, took me to his house, scolded me
for leaving home but didn’t send me back. He bought me pencils, paint, paper
and an easel and above all he hung my cartoon of him in his living room. My
brother supported me, he believed in me or at least he tried –she giggled-
that´s the happy part, by the way” she finished smiling to the floor
“It´s a
good story” I stroked her back
“The
beginning of a dream” Nichole winked
“Yeah, look
where you´re now” I hugged her and she beamed
“Look where we all are” Marissa chuckled and
kissed my cheek
****
links:
Tactics and Strategy by Mario Benedetti
Guns N' Roses Patience
