24 kisses

KISS 1

"You will never realize what you take for granted until its gone.

It's separation that teaches us the value of love.

You must know that"

Kezandra

****

In Seattle, we found ourselves on a beach, the boat forging ahead with a piercing sound as it cleaved through the water. I couldn't stand that incessant buzzing noise, but Guzmán, on the other hand, seemed to relish it. He clutched my hands tightly while I rested my head on his chest, perched at the edge of the boat. The warm water lapped at our legs, painting a canvas of green and blue ahead. We were on the verge of reaching the shore, as the man at the helm informed us. The sight of a familiar homecoming landscape brought a soothing calm to my soul. Home is where your loved ones are, and in a matter of hours, this man had become my sanctuary.

Once the boat docked, Guzmán helped me disembark. My feet touched the sandy white beach, and I closed my eyes, savoring the sensation of being back home.

Then, a sudden bang disrupted the tranquility. I bolted upright, my eyes scanning the surroundings. What was that noise?

In a split second, the boat vanished, and the water started receding, like a retreating tsunami. Panic coursed through me.

"No!" I cried out, sprinting toward the water. "Guzmán!"

He is gone , "Guzmán!" i cried out

"I can't reach"  . 

"I can never reach him."

I had no idea how to swim, but I had to reach him. I waded into the water, desperately searching for any sign of him. The waves grew stronger, but I refused to give in. I thrashed my arms and legs, trying to stay afloat, but it felt futile.

I refused to open my eyes.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Splash". "Had that been just a dream?" I struggled to catch my breath, waking up, attempting to shake off the remnants of that dream from my mind.

My mom stormed through the door, the sound of it crashing against the wall echoing through the house. She sometimes took out her frustration on doors.

"Kezannndraaa," she shouted my name, her impatience evident. "You're not up yet?"

"I'm coming," I replied.

I closed my book; I had been reading a new one in bed, but sleep had lured me into the depths of a dream again. About him , again !

Books were the best companions. I closed it, leaving a page marker, and returned it to the shelves.

Today marked the day when I would start at a new bar.

"Bar," my friend Patrick nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the news. "Bars and you? They don't exactly go together."

We both laughed, and I playfully smacked him. I had left my job at the convenience store, and last week, when the opportunity to work at the bar had fallen into my lap. I was doing things I had never envisioned doing in my life.

"Bars are the best place for you, pretty girl," Ester messaged me. Her words were cheering me up. "Bars are the best place to forget and move forward."

Her cheering voice message still echoed in my ears as I descended the stairs to the living room of my home.

How could two people who had entered a relationship have such disparate outcomes? One would suffer so intensely, while the other walked away as though nothing had ever happened. This was the question that had consumed me for an entire year, driving me to countless therapy sessions.