Albina had finished eating and was strolling around the courtyard when she received a call from Macos.
As soon as she got through, a ghostly voice came to her from the other end of the line:
-Albina, Ariana is avoiding me! I can’t believe she’s not answering my calls, do you think she’s blocked me? She’s treating me like she did Santiago! A while ago I was laughing at Santiago, but now it’s my turn.
Albina put the phone away and waited for Macos to finish howling before picking it up again and asking:
-Tell me clearly, what’s going on?
Macos recounted what had happened last night.
-So you were rejected by her even before you confessed? -Albina asked.
-She didn’t reject me! -Macos replied -She didn’t explicitly say she didn’t like me and wouldn’t go out with me, so it wasn’t a rejection!
-But Ariana ran away….. -Albina stated the facts calmly.
Macos insisted again.
-It wasn’t a rejection on her part, she probably couldn’t accept it and didn’t know how to face me, I had to give her time.
Albina kept silent.
“Then why are you calling me if you know perfectly well?”
Macos also fell silent, his voice cracking with loss, and with a sigh he asked:
-Is it true that she doesn’t like me? She likes guys like Santiago, not like me, so I can’t get into her heart.
When Macos replied emphatically, Albina had not thought he was serious and, hearing his tone, she hastened to reassure him.
-That’s not true, Ariana doesn’t like guys like Santiago, she liked Santiago’s sass.
-What do you mean? -Macos froze for a moment.
-Ariana has always been insecure, she wants strong tastes and affection. She’s pretty, she can draw very well, she has a good personality, and she’s been courted by several boys in the past, but they didn’t last long before they were scared off by the indifference she showed,” Albina explained. As much as I think Santiago is emotionally unreliable, I have to admit that if he pursues a girl, he makes it clear that she feels his love and knows he likes her. It was his persistence in this regard that knocked on the door of Ariana’s heart,” she added after a pause.
It was a shame that Santiago was such an asshole when it came to relationships and had so many affairs that he pushed Ariana away hard.
-So you’re suggesting I do what Santiago did and die trying…?
Albina coughed slightly.
-It’s not a nice thing to say, but that’s what I meant. Ariana doesn’t show rejection towards you, if she really didn’t like you, she would have expressed rejection the moment she felt your feelings. You have to have faith in yourself.
These words gave Macos a renewed sense of confidence, brightening even his eyes with his dark circles.
-I feel that I have regained confidence, can I ask you for advice for all my partner problems in the future?
-Fuck off, I’m a very busy person! -Albina laughed.
She thought about what Gloria had told her yesterday and the smile disappeared from her face.
-Macos, if you really like Ariana, let it be for life, she can’t bear the pain of love again.
Macos also straightened up, then said with a hint of seriousness in his voice:
-Don’t worry about it. If I like Ariana, I will like her for the rest of my life. My heart is too small to love a second person, one is enough!
Albina believed in Macos’ character, and since she had said so, she would not fail Ariana.
-You mustn’t push Ariana, but you mustn’t express anything either. Now that she knows what you think, you must show her that you are determined to make her like you, understood?
Albina’s voice came out of the microphone and Macos nodded, with a solemn expression:
-I understand.
After hanging up the phone, Macos decided to wait for Ariana to come back and he would make sure she would see that he loved her from his heart.
But throughout the day, Ariana did not return.
Not only that, but for many days in a row after that, Ariana did not return, it was as if she had disappeared.
Macos panicked.
“I can’t believe she would avoid me to this extent, am I a man-eating beast?”
Albina told him not to push Ariana, but now that Ariana was gone, something had to be done.
Macos made up his mind and immediately sprang into action, he was going to wait for Ariana in front of her school.
He had asked around and Ariana had been arriving and leaving school on time for a few days.
As he drove to the school, he saw a circle of students in front of the school, talking as if they were watching a show.
Macos parked his car and walked through the crowd towards the school.
So, just as he passed by them, he heard some students talking.
-I never thought that teacher Ariana would have such a mother.
-Professor Ariana is so pathetic, her mother is too much, how can someone like that exist? Embarrassing her in front of her daughter’s school, isn’t that forcing her to be unfit for school?
-Yes, if the two didn’t have some similarities in their features, I wouldn’t believe they were mother and daughter. Ariana wasn’t raised by her, was she, how can someone like that raise a daughter who is like a fairy?
Macos turned his head to the two students who were talking and grabbed them by the arm.
-Who is this teacher Ariana you speak of?
He seemed so anxious that the student he had grabbed startled and, seeing that he was only asking, pointed his finger at his side.
-Ariana Andino, a teacher at our school, beautiful and good at drawing. I didn’t think someone so good would have such a bad mother.
-I heard from my friend that when teacher Ariana was in class, her mother burst in and scolded her in front of her students. Teacher Ariana, frightened by the impact on her students, dragged her mother out of the school, you see, they were both pulling in the middle.
Macos could no longer listen and rushed past the onlookers.
The last time Ariana had been embarrassed, Macos had not been by her side, and this time he was going to protect her no matter what.
-Excuse me, move along, let me in.
Macos pushed his way into the circle of onlookers, using his strength to his advantage.
But there were too many students inside, it was school noon and almost everyone was crammed in there, and he wasn’t going in.
In desperation, he shouted:
-I’m Ariana’s boyfriend, let me in!
At these words, all the students around looked at him in surprise. He was so handsome that no one doubted his words.
Everyone turned away in silence.
Macos didn’t think it would work and took the opportunity to sneak in.
As soon as he entered, he saw an older woman grabbing Ariana by the shirt and angrily shouting at her.
-You want to get rid of me for this kind of money? Ariana, I gave birth to you, and without me, you wouldn’t be here! You have no heart when you want to buy your way out of a mother-daughter relationship with this kind of money.
Ariana let him grab her by the neck, and with an expressionless and indifferent face, he spoke:
-If you don’t take it, I won’t recognize you. You will lose both your money and your daughter.
At these words, Gloria’s eyes widened and her expression became fierce.
-It’s not so easy to get rid of me! Your brother got sick this morning and almost died, now they have revived him and the doctors say he is going to die if they don’t find a suitable kidney, how can you be so cruel, I don’t want your money, I just want your brother to live, you must save your brother!