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Sebas looked at María through the darkness, and wondered how his life would be if he were alone, surviving without the company of the delicate body that was there every morning when he woke up. He knew that there were sad souls in the world: joyless, dreamless beings who, through withholding their love, had ended up forgetting that it was the single most priceless thing they could offer. He also knew that up until just two years ago, he had been one such soul, lost in worlds of lies, not suspecting that his current life could not only exist, but also be within his reach.
Having recently just got out of the shower, and his body still damp, he sat down on the bed and watched his young wife as she slept. He stroked her hair, ruffled up by the pillow, and as always he desired to be able to stay there and contemplate her, to run his fingertips over the curves on her face, and accompany her in her slow awakening; to savour every feature of her face, every expression and every look. He would have given several years of his life in that moment just to be able to stay there for hours: even though it was, basically, something so accessible that it was really only a matter of waiting until the weekend.
He stood up without moving the bed and began to get dressed, to prepare himself for the start of the new day, all the while listening to María’s regular breathing. Then he returned to the bathroom. There, he shaved and carefully combed his hair. When he finished, he looked at the clock: six thirty in the morning. At seven, he would leave to go and open his business, and he could not afford to waste time.
Back in the bedroom, he bent to kiss the lips on María’s gentle face, as a means of goodbye. He kissed her sweetly, and the young woman opened her eyes slightly. She did so almost every day at that moment:
“Are you leaving now?” she asked, her voice sleepy.
“Yes, it’s getting late.”
“Have you had breakfast?”
“No, I don’t have time.”
“You never have breakfast. You can’t go to work on an empty stomach.”
“I’ll have something at work, don’t worry. Close your eyes, you can still sleep for another hour,” he whispered in her ear, as he went to kiss her again.
“I love you, darling.”
“I love you too,” he said.
Maria turned over in the bed and closed her eyes, under the enamoured watch of her husband. Next, Sebas turned out the bathroom light, hastily grabbed a few biscuits from the kitchen and made his way to the front door.
Whilst he waited for the lift, in the silence that reined over that time in the building, he put one of the biscuits into his mouth, at the same time that he mentally reviewed the tasks he had to carry out. He liked to have everything in order by eight, which was the time when his employees would arrive. All of the machines ready, the assignments prepared, and each person’s work perfectly scheduled.
He entered the lift and pushed the button for the basement, where there was the small neighbourhood garage whose only light bulb had been out of action since Sunday. He was sure that it would not be fixed any time soon. Efficiency was not the main virtue of their community president, and therefore the most probable thing was that the broken bulb would remain there until he decided to change it himself.
As soon as he arrived at the basement, he left the lift door open, taking advantage of its light. He also turned on the screen of his mobile phone so as to slightly illuminate his way up to the car, avoiding looking at the distinct vehicles stationed at each side of the central passageway. Once inside his Opel Astra, he activated the switch to open the exit gate. Whilst it was opening, he turned on the ignition and headlights, and made his way towards it without wasting any time.
Sebas tried to remain calm, and demonstrate to himself that he was being absurd, but the truth was that the situation terrified him. The combination of darkness and vehicles brought back to mind the most hidden and sinister memories from his past. That was what they were; in the past, and he had overcome, but it had left him feeling miserable whenever he looked at himself in the mirror and, every now and again, caused him to wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares.
In any case, he thought, that was the past: the dead only return in dreams, and I should live in the present my extraordinary life together with María.
Only hours later, at midday, he would be back by her side.