The Military School (En)

Maya.

Maya had been asking herself this question for two years now. What had she done. Why hadn't she left for that airport, why hadn't she tried to catch up with Carina.

She was always in touch with their mutual friends. Even with Andrea, who had married Sam.
The only rule of their friendship was not to talk about Carina.

She had been invited to Sam and Andrea's wedding three months ago, but she had not wanted to go. She knew that Carina would be her twin's best-woman.

To make sure that Carina didn't know where she lived she had made her friends in Sicily believe that she lived in Los Angeles near her parents' home. They had an apartment there for Maya when she came to visit.

/Flashback/

What had she done.

The first thing Maya did when she came to her senses was to go into her closet. And rummage through a box buried under a pile of other clothes. Phew, Carina hadn't found the box of all Maya's unsent letters. Most of them were unfinished, incomprehensible, and yet she couldn't bring herself to throw them away.

A month after the notebooks, the letters, the essays, everything had been read at least once, some several times. Especially the last one.

Maya walked down the stairs to find her parents in the living room. It was now the middle of August.

- "I have to go"

- "what do you mean?"

- "I have to go, I have to get out of here, I have to go, I have to ..."

- "join her?" Kathy said expectantly

- "no, no I just need to get out of here, make my life somewhere else. I'll join Vic and Lucas." Her face showed that she had absolutely no idea why her mother was saying this.

-" and Car...."

- "Mom, it's over! Stop with her! She's not coming back, she's moved on. And I have to too!"

- "but she told us she would wait for you... Until the first of September she will be in Catania".

- "That's enough. I said no!" Her tone was harsh and her gaze icy despite the tears that threatened to fall.

/End of flashback/

It was August and the weather was beautiful in this part of the United States. With their military degree they had only had to do two years of study on the science of fire.

They had graduated in June. Maya had moved in with this girl she met at the academy, Andrea, to avoid reminding her of the Andrea of her youth and therefore her lost love she was content to call her Andy or by his family name Herrera.

The latter was the daughter of a captain of the Station in the city where she was now. The four young people had applied to this Station, the 19th. The most famous one in the city.

Maya was still thinking about Carina and yet it had been two years, two years since she had heard from her. Two years and she still went to sleep thinking about her.

She had seen on the internet, while searching, that this one had graduated with honors from her psychology school two months ago.
Obviously, she was the best. And obviously she had to get over Maya or she had just focused on her studies.

Maya would occasionally go out with girls. But never anything serious. She had only allowed herself to do that a year ago. To relieve the stress of firefighter school. She had last seen Carina two years ago on this stoop and hadn't touched her body for three. And yet before a year ago, she had not had carnal contact with anyone.