Albina paid for it, not taking what the saleswoman said seriously.
She headed straight for her mother’s grave. It was very cold, and no one was there except the old man guarding the door.
Albina placed the flowers in front of her mother’s headstone and looked at the photograph on it. The picture was cropped from a group photo, in which her mother was looking at the camera with a smile.
Four years later, her eyes had healed, but she could only see her mother’s face on the cold headstone.
-Mom, I’m back, I can see now. Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t protect you,” she spoke in her hoarse voice as Albina’s tears flowed unconsciously.
The only thing that answered her were the cries of cold crows in the cemetery.
-Don’t worry, mother, I will avenge you, that Yolanda should suffer from punishments -she wiped away the tear, her eyes firm.
-Didn’t your husband come with you today? -The doorman came out of the little house, saw her and greeted her at the exit of the cemetery.
-What? -Albina was astonished.
-The tall, handsome man, I’ve seen him come by a few times over the years. That said, you haven’t shown up in the last few years, did you go get your eyes treated? It’s great that you got your sight back.
The janitor remembered this girl very well, he had seen her coming with a cane on a snowy day and had even given her a hand.
Albina remembered that her mother’s grave had been cleared and there was no trace of snow on it.
-How do you know that man is my husband, does he often come to my mother? -she asked anxiously.
-I asked him at the time, and he himself said that he was her husband. Not that he comes often, sometimes he was busy and asked me to help him clean the cemetery.
The only person who knew Mom’s grave was here, apart from Miguel, was Umberto, but Miguel had been by her side all year, helping her with his eyes. The only one who could say he was her husband was also Umberto.
Albina felt a little confused when he came back.
“How could it be Umberto, didn’t he loathe me?”
She pressed her shirt to her chest and warned herself again and again that her mother had been killed by Yolanda, that Umberto was her fiance and that he had come because of her guilt.
“Umberto is already Yolanda’s fiance, we are from two different worlds, and as long as the revenge is not over, we will be on opposite sides, so I must not be soft.”
Because of her distraction, she was almost hit by a car on her way down the hill. It wasn’t because she wasn’t watching the road, but because the car was driving too fast to notice her.
-Are you all right? Sorry, I was driving too fast, did I hurt you? -The owner of the car rushed out of the car and rushed towards her.
-I’m fine, just be careful when you drive,” Albina shook her head.
Santiago looked at her and met her gaze and was struck by her appearance, sighing that this girl was so beautiful. She was wearing a simple white coat and her eyes were pink, as if she had just cried.
Santiago looked at the path behind her, which led to the cemetery, and instantly understood why her eyes were red.
-Tell me the phone number, if you don’t feel well, you can contact me.
-No need, your car didn’t touch me, sorry, I have something to do, I’m leaving now.
Without waiting for his answer, Albina left.
It was a pity he didn’t get her number. Santiago sighed and arrived at a club, and just as he pushed the door, a pillow fell on him.
-You’ve kept us waiting for half an hour. It’s not easy for Umberto to meet with us and you dare to be late,” Camilo Aguila shouted at him.
Santiago paid a visit to the man sitting in the center of the sofa. The box was dimly lit and he was wearing a black suit with his legs crossed.
-I’m sorry, Umberto, there was an incident on the road.
-I was passing by the cemetery and I met a beautiful girl, she was so pretty that I felt in love at first sight,” he said as he quickly walked over and sat down to loosen his tie.
-A love at first sight again, how many girls have you fallen in love at first sight over the years? Can you insist for a week this time? -Camilo hitched up his collar and smiled wryly.
-No way! -Santiago pushed him away, remembering the girl’s face, and sighed- this time I didn’t even get the contact details, the girl didn’t even pay attention to me, what a pity, if I wasn’t in a hurry to meet Umberto, I would have had her number.
-I don’t think she’s a pretty one coming out of the cemetery, she’s a ghost!
Camilo laughed and didn’t take his words seriously. Santiago always exaggerated and there was no way of knowing which words were true.
-Cemetery? What was the girl like? -Umberto asked.
-I’d also like to ask what kind of girl is the one that turns you on so much.
Camilo did not expect Umberto, who normally never pays attention to these things, to ask such a question, and he was instantly interested, also looking at Santiago.
-That girl can see,” said Santiago when he looked at him, he noticed the urgency in his eyes and almost understood what he was thinking.
Umberto frowned, drank the wine in his hand, and then said no more.
Santiago and Camilo knew of Albina’s existence and that Umberto had been married to her for three years, but they had never met her.
They wondered curiously what was the appeal of this woman, who had disappeared for a year and turned Umberto, who was so lively, into a silent and desperate person.
-It’s been a year, it’s time for you to let her go -Santiago hesitated for a long time before saying this, and received a cold look from Umberto, who said nothing.
-My brother came home this morning, left his job at the hospital and disappeared for a long time. Today he came home suddenly and my mother gave him a long lesson. I’m afraid he won’t be released until my father’s birthday,” Camilo changed the subject.
-I didn’t expect a dutiful boy like Miguel to run away from home, I think it’s been a whole year since I’ve seen him -Santiago followed with a laugh.
Umberto was drinking his wine not wanting to get involved in their discussion, but suddenly, when he heard the name of Miguel, who disappeared for a year, all the clues in his head linked together.
Albina had been missing for a whole year, Miguel had been gone for a whole year, he had heard Albina’s voice this morning as he left the airport, and Miguel had come home this morning. And the supposed girl Santiago had met today at the cemetery.
“How could that be a coincidence?”
Umberto froze, the glass in his hand fell to the floor and shattered.