Before we collide (ENGLISH VERSION)

1. - Nora, right?

May

— The days have been boring lately since the last final exams are over, but we look forward to this semester being very useful for the new students of our prestigious Seattle Central University, as well as for our graduates! We wish you much success!

— That's right Charlie! We hope the graduates enjoyed their stay at the university. You see, one day it's your first day and the next you're already leaving university...

I was taking things out of my locker that for so many years kept what are now memories of my university life. My hands shook slightly as I removed the books and notes, leaving the space empty and desolate.

I looked closely at myself in the mirror I had hung on my locker door. My gray eyes reflected a mix of nostalgia and anticipation for what would come next. My night—black hair fell in soft waves over my shoulders, framing my pale face. A mole was visible under my left eye, a peculiarity that always reminded me of my mother, since she had the same mole in the same place.

I adjusted the glasses that rested on my nose, a constant companion during all those nights of studying. Although I sometimes hated them for the marks they left on the bridge of my nose, I couldn't deny that they were a part of me. I examined myself carefully, trying to remember every feature of my face, aware that this was the end of one stage and the beginning of another. My life began at 22 apparently.

I carefully removed the mirror while I heard the voices of a woman and a man through the speakers in the hallways, they were the announcers of the university radio. Then I prepared to walk towards the exit carrying the things I had left in my locker for so many years. I had in my hands years of experiences at the university that had opened so many doors for me, and thanks to which I met extraordinary people.

Almost none of the graduates were walking through the hallways, everyone had finished emptying their lockers before the week was over. I would have done it too if it weren't for the immense melancholy that finishing this stage caused me. I decided to wait until last Friday to pick up my things, believing that the wait would last long enough to make me believe that nothing was going to change. But everything was about to change.

The truth is that it has always been difficult for me to let go, but this time it is justified, after all I was finishing the most important stage of my life, and it is something that not many achieve today.

I walked out the front door and walked a few steps before leaving. In one movement I turned around to admire the university logo, feeling the nostalgia of leaving an entire stage behind. Now she was a literature graduate, a true writer.

Everything was going to change from this moment on.

— Nora! What are you doing?

Grace, my classmate throughout college, was yelling at me through her car window. I jumped and spun in horror as soon as his scream interrupted my melancholic moment. Her wavy hair came out the window, her curls were always part of her personality.

— Nothing! I just admire the University for the last time. — I said approaching her car with some nostalgia mixed with melancholy.

— Oh, Nora, please, you hated almost half of the teachers. — she replied.

— TRUE. But can't I be allowed a moment of melancholy for the good memories? — I replied as I loaded my belongings into the back seat, along with Grace's.

— Okay, okay, but it's not the end of the world, it's best to get started!

And was the best really about to begin?