Chapter 3 " The party "

                It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet and I left the house, running to the party.  When I arrived, I noticed that there were many young men and women that I barely recognized.  The bonfires were lit and crackling, the music played and everyone was dancing around the fire, singing and drinking among laughter and shouts.  I witnessed the festivities and experienced it alone, from a corner.  I watched as the light of the full moon illuminated the countryside, the mountains, the lake, etc…

                Watching the stars, shining strongly as if it were the last time they were to give light, I caught a familiar scent that made my heart beat quickly.  I then felt a light touch on my back, and as though I already knew whose it was, my body began to tremble.  There was no doubt about it, it was her smell and her way of calling my attention.

                “What are you doing over here all alone, Daniel?  Are you not having fun?”

“Of course, the party’s great and you…you look more beautiful than the moon itself.”  What?  How had I found the courage to say that?  For a moment I hoped she hadn’t heard me, but Nassay fixed her gaze on me and said the words the I will never forget.

“Daniel, I wanted to say that you mean so much to me, even though we barely know each other.  True, we’ve spent very little time together, but I feel that you are the most important boy in my life.  You don’t have to worry about impressing me, and there’s no need to be jealous of anyone.  There’s no one else like you.  Enjoy the party.”

Without any further explanation, she put her hand on the back of my neck, sending a great chill running through every inch of my body and brought her mouth to mind, immersing me in a sweet and passionate kiss that I’ll never forget.

My entire being trembled like a wild beast abandoned in a cold winter storm.  I thought for a moment that my heart would leap from my chest and even my sight left me.  Without offering any more words, she left, returning to the guests and livening up the party like only she was able to do.

                I could not keep my eyes off her and my mind off the kiss that had seared my lips and soul.  That showing of passion tricked me in approaching that great mass of people in search of a large drink, or maybe two, downing them as if I had just arrived from a desert.

                I smile split my face from ear to ear and even though a few people looked at me surprised, the alcohol in the drink and the feeling of being the most powerful man on the planet made me jump and pump my fist in the air.

                “Yeeeeehaaaa!”

                The party past happily for me at least and without saying goodbye to anyone I left in my cloud, floating homeward.

Chapter 2 “Strange Sensations”

            What was wrong with me?  I gathered my tool and headed home, leaving the job unfinished, waiting for my mind to clear.  I wanted to find a logical explanation for all this.  I searched in the books about nature and medicine that we had at home, but I couldn’t find anything.  I spent the rest of the day in my room daydreaming, inventing thousands of stories of Nassay and I, until my mother called me for dinner.  I realize that I was mentally absent during the meal, but no one said anything.  Maybe something like this had already happened to them and they understood, but the truth is that I was so embarrassed that it didn’t even occur to me to ask. 

The next day, there I was, with my toolbox in hand, standing at her door, full of fear and thinking about how to knock, until I told myself, what am I doing?  They called me over!

So I swallowed hard and knocked, waiting to see her face when she opened the door.  However, to my surprise, it was Mercedes who stood there in a beige, satin nightdress.  She invited me in and told me that Nassay was in the stable feeding the horses.

“Should I tell her you’re here?  Do you want some coffee?  I just made it,” she said kindly.

“No, thank you,” I replied.  “I’ll just get to work.  Just tell me where you want me to start, ma’am.”

A while after beginning work, I felt a light touch on my back at the same time that I caught a delicate, familiar fragrance.  I looked behind me and there she was, the most beautiful angel that any man had ever beheld.

“Good morning, Daniel.  How’s the work coming along?  Are you thirsty?  Would you like some fresh lemonade?”  And without giving me any time to answer she promised to bring me some.

“I you want to, Nassay, but this is nothing, really,” I said somewhat nervously.

While she was bringing the drinks, I finished replacing the final slat in the fence.  Hammering in the last nail, I finished the repair.  I began to gather up the tools, covertly watching for her.  And there she came with a fine wooden tray.  The morning sun, shining through her black hair, pierced my vision with almost magical flashes of blue light.

            “It looks so good!  Thank you so much, Daniel!  You’re so sweet!  Lemonade?” Nassay said with a great big smile.

            I blushed again like a ripe tomato.  It took courage to be next to this woman.

            “The party’s at eight o’clock tonight, don’t be late!”

            “No, of course!  I’ll be there at eight, on the dot!”

            I spent that afternoon in front of the mirror.  I must have changed clothes and re-combed my hair at least a hundred times, shaking with nerves.

Chapter 1 " Hurried Times"

            I remember it perfectly, almost as if it were yesterday.  It was near the end of the year 1899 and many changes were coming for our village, the city and, I believe, for the world in general.  Political changes, changes in fashion, even changes in marital state for many, and I still don’t understand why the belief that one must be married before the start of the new century came about, maybe it was simple superstition

            Everyone rushed to find a wife, to build or remodel houses, etc.  Everything around me was constantly in motion.

            For me, I tried to distance myself from that particular foolishness in that time of outrage and frivolity.  Isolated from all that, I lived with my adopted family on a small farm to the south of the village, very close to the mountains that surrounded it, just behind the Great Lake.

            The countryside was amazing, the air carrying the pleasing odor of mint and the perfume of the purple flowers, the intense color in sharp contrast to the green of the thin blanket of herbs and sprinkling of yellow tulips.

            I spent my days helping with the chores around the farm, which were not a few, and didn’t even see much of my closest neighbors, a woman, Mercedes, and her daughter, Nassay.

Mercedes, who lived in a little house to the east of the lake, some 400 meters from the edge of our farm, was a lovely woman who made a delicious roast horse.  Her daughter, the young Nassay, was truly beautiful.  She had a penetrating gaze and long jet-black hair, and lips that…she was most beautiful creature that I had ever seen.  Not only was she beautiful, she was very intelligent and well-educated, the smartest girl in the whole village.  Nassay had also inherited her mother’s culinary talents, making pastries that won every year in the county’s spring dessert competition.

I remember that year in particular.  How could I ever forget?  She was turning twenty in April, and with that age reached legal adulthood.  As was the custom, there was a grand party for all the youth of the village to attend.

I was, one day, repairing damage to our fence when I heard my mother shouting for me.  Surprised, I immediately ran to see what was wrong.

“What’s wrong, mother?” I asked her worriedly.

“They’ve come to see you, my son,” she said with a tone that intrigued me.

The amazement on my face must have been obvious as I saw that selfsame angel standing in the front hall of my house waiting for me; for me, the strangest and most withdrawn youth of the village

“He-he-hello, how are you?” I stammered uncontrollably, legs trembling.

Nassay smiled, perfectly aware of the nervous thrills that were running through every inch of my body and said, “Hello, Daniel, I’ve come to invite you to my birthday party.  Also, I need you to do me a big favor.”

“Y-y-yeah, of course, wh-whatever you w-w-want,” I stumbled again.

“Great!  My mother and I need you to fix the fence around the garden for us.  It’s broken and the horses have eaten all of the vegetables.  It’s a disaster!”

“Okay, tomorrow first thing I’ll be there and everything will be good as new.”

“Thank you so much!  I knew I could count on you.  And for that I brought you this cake I myself made just a moment ago.  Be careful, it’s still hot!”

“Thank you, Nassay, you needn’t have bothered.”

“It’s no bother, I made it especially for you, Daniel”

My face instantly reddened as if a bonfire raged beneath my skin.  My mother began to laugh, with great gulps of laughter that made me even more uncomfortable, y Nassay bid us farewell, somewhat flushed, and left.

I returned to my worked and wanted to finish repairing the fence, but it was impossible for me to concentrate.  I saw her all around me.  Everywhere I looked, I saw her face.  I tried to hammer a nail into the fence but only succeeded in smashing my hand.

Capítulo 4 " Un revés del destino "

Al día siguiente, me levanté totalmente decidido a buscarla. Ir a su casa y hablarle, contarle mis sentimientos, a decirle que me sentía enamorado de ella.
Me dirigía a la puerta de casa para salir, cuando mi madre entraba con una carta en la mano y con lágrimas en los ojos me dijo:
- ¡Es tu hermano Roland, lo han herido!
Mi hermano mayor estaba en el frente, en la guerra, muy lejos de casa. Le dispararon y tuvieron que amputarle la mitad de su brazo izquierdo. Al parecer gracias a él, salvaron la vida muchos de sus compañeros de pelotón, por lo que le concedieron una medalla al valor y lo enviaban a casa, en cuanto estuviese estabilizado y listo para viajar. Así que después de aquella noticia, nos quedamos un poco traspuestos y perdí el valor que tenía para declararme. Pero ... Cuál fué mi sorpresa, cuando aquella misma tarde, mientras me asomaba cabizbajo por la ventana de mi habitación, vi a Nassay que venía hacia mi casa.
Bajé las escaleras de un salto y abrí la puerta como si la casa estuviese ardiendo.
- Hola Daniel, ¿te apetece dar un paseo conmigo?
No daba crédito a mi suerte. Yo que me consideraba un lobo solitario, un ser extraño, tal vez diferente a los demás y allí estaba la mujer más bella y deseada del pueblo, solicitando mi compañía. Era increhible, ¿debía suponer que lo que ocurrió en la fiesta fué cierto?
- Por supuesto que te acompaño, hasta el fin del mundo si es preciso. - Exclamé, provocandole una bonita sonrisa.
De modo que comenzamos a caminar dirigiendonos hacia la orilla del lago. Los dos con la cabeza agachada y la mirada perdida. A la vez dijimos nuestros nombres y le di la palabra a ella.
- Tú primero. - le dije.
- No, tú. - insistió ella.
Y comencé a hablar:
- Mira Nassay, soy consciente de que eres una chica con un futuro muy prometedor y que yo sólo soy un pobre chico adoptado que no conoce ni a sus padres, de modo que comprenderé perfectamente que lo de anoche en la fiesta, no fuese más que un arrebato de cariño ó agradecimiento y trataré de olvidarlo, aunque me va a costar mucho.
- Que no Daniel, que no me importa nada de eso. Sé que eres un buen chico y tu no tienes la culpa de tu pasado. Además no estás nada mal. - sonrió pícaramente y continuó.
- Yo siempre me he sentido fuertemente atraída por ti y desde hace tiempo siempre quise decirte algo, pero nunca tuve valor, pues la costumbre es que el chico se declare y no al contrario, eso no está bien visto aquí, pero no puedo más.
Y como si el mundo se detuviese y los pájaros enmudecieran se hizo alrededor un silencio en el que sólo sonó una voz que dijo:
- Te quiero Daniel.