Her Royal Highness, Leonor: The Years Later

Crossed Stars, Realigned?

It's true what they say---your heart has a way of opening up parts of it, those parts of it you didn't know were kept somewhere there---in a way, it has never been opened, and only the memory it matches with only awakens it after not knowing it was there this whole time.

The memory lies in the second my hand touches Leonor's.

At that instant connection, my mind drifted back towards that very first meeting, rushed through that night in the park where she told me how a person's handshake tells a lot about them, and that night on the beach where we held hands walking barefoot in the sand, where for a night the world is ours and ours only, until that last memory of my hand held within her when we were riding that bus back to Madrid, a ride I was anticipating won't stop.

As our eyes met, I recognized the same warmth I felt whenever she locked stares with mine. For a brief moment, her smile faded, and so was mine, our eyes talking, trying to get past the years that have passed. It felt like meeting each other all over again, with us gone past being strangers, the closest we've been since, but the farthest we've come from being apart.

 
We didn't notice our hands shaking a bit longer than anticipated, and Mrs. Agafetta's voice brought me back to the room, with her guiding the princess towards the next professor beside me, and with all the willpower I had in me I withdraw my hand gently from her hold, and docked my head, my heart beating fast making my chest numb.

I could hear her greeting the other professors in line, and I closed my eyes, trying to contain what I was feeling. My throat suddenly went dry, and my temples were sweating cold, too much I needed to wipe the back of my palm towards it to fade away the forming sweat. 

I tried to avert my eyes from her and pretended to be still. A few minutes more passed, and once the introduction was over, we were told we could resume our usual classes. We were advised that if we can find the time, we can go back here to the school grounds where we can bid the princess goodbye to end her visit.

I tried to whisk myself away from the scene and immediately walk back out, heading towards my 10 AM class. I absentmindedly picked up the class syllabus in my locker and climbed upstairs. Once I entered the room, the class suddenly went silent, in which I tried to put on a smile to make them at ease. I tossed the syllabus on the table and looked at everyone's expecting stares.

"Alright," I said, trying to make my voice firm. "No hay lección por hoy, tendremos una examen surpresa." (TL;"No lesson for today, we'll have an essay quiz.")

There was a collected gasp of despair across the room, and I ignored it, and started writing on the board the topic of the essay they were going to write, and the word count. As soon as I nudged them to start, I settled on my seat up front, trying to concentrate on the lesson plan for the next week.

But Leonor's eyes linger in my reverie, and I had to blink to cast it away.

The hour went faster than I had anticipated, and soon the students were submitting their essays, dropping the papers on my desk, and bidding me goodbye once I reached out for them. A student of mine, by the name of Gloria, handed me her paper and gave me this lopsided smile.

"Estas bien, Maestra?" (TL: Are you alright, Professor?)

I tried to wrap my head around the question and immediately flashed her a smile. "I try to be, thanks for asking."

She touches a hand on her backpack, clinging unsteadily to her right arm. "Mal dia?" (TL: Bad day?)

I slightly shake my head. "No, just..." I kind of sigh remembering the presence of the Princess on the campus. "Just happens to be a different day."