The minor criminal claps her hands with an inspired bob of her head.
"Let's do this again tomorrow! Would you like to go out for drinks with me?"
I am grateful that she did not latch onto my borderline tyrannical remark.
"I would, but I took a day off tomorrow... For my birthday," I hesitantly conclude, immediately regretting my self-centeredness and how I drew attention to my hitherto unblemished privacy.
"What?!", she shrieks. I swallow nervously, unable to do anything else than blink. "It's your BIRTHDAY tomorrow and you didn't TELL ME!? We have to celebrate! Do you got any plans? No, screw that, you're cancelling them. How could you keep this from me!? We'll spend the day together! And I need to buy you a gift... Oh, this is exciting! How old are you, actually?"
Her conclusions to my announcement are unusual, to say the least, but her joy is nothing less than a contagious affliction. And... I don't have any real plans for tomorrow...
"Turning 23. You don't have to dedicate a day to going out for my birthday, you really shouldn't, actually. You have a life and jobs to work."
"Not anymore. Tomorrow will be super fun, I promise! When should I pick you up?"
"My shift ends late tonight, so not earlier than noon."
I gather I am accepting her intense offer.
"Perfect! Speaking of noon, we should get going. Can't be late!"
I get up from my chair, smiling. "You're right."
~
At 10h15 AM, the sound of my alarm clock pulls me out from a night - or rather a morning - of faint dreams, already fading even as they were built by my brain. October 26th, my birthday, already. The anniversary of the beginning of my existence... Or, as I recall it, the anniversary of my catastrophic quinceañera. For the eight year in a row.
I jump out of bed, proceeding with my usual routine, after which I sit down on my couch. For a few minutes, I stare at the grayscale of buildings outside and oppressive clouds that crowd the sky, mirroring the flow of vehicles and pedestrians across the black tar roads, through my uncommonly large living room windows. The glass is specked with ancient rain fall and translucent streaks of dusty, polluted air. Today, the sky is monochrome and sufficiently lacking in sunlight to mask those imperfections. I clench my fists, resting against the cool surface of my laptop, folded in my lap. As ridiculous as it may seem, I am dreading to open it. I am unwilling to stare at my e-mail reception box, searching for... Hoping for a certain e-mail that I fear will never be sent and I won't ever receive. But, until I have checked, I have resolutely forbidden myself from looking at my phone, so I must do this in order to get on with my day.
I sigh, decidedly pushing my anxious feelings out of the way and the lid of my laptop upward. I rapidly access my e-mail inbox, which contains... 12 spam messages... And a single real one. Sent with the address of Héctor Aguayo, my father. The message is typed in Spanish and reads as follows.
| Dear Constanza,
On this day, 23 years ago, I gave birth to you. Here are some saintly passages to inspire you. May they lead you back into redemption.
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
YOU ARE READING
Fascinating Villains
Action[ONGOING] "You're delusional. I should've seen it before..." ~~~~~~~ Tanza is an agender paramedic. They rely solely on themselves, and the last thing they need is for an incredibly attractive supervillain to disturb their (relatively) quiet existen...
