Carla had just ended her relationship with Marcos. They weren’t boyfriends, she really didn’t even know what to call what they had. They were very attracted and sparks flew every time they saw each other, but that was not enough. It was a stormy and very toxic relationship. Marcos had a girlfriend, and although he always promised Carla that he would leave her to commit to her, her promise never came true. Their false “love” was made up of half-truths, fleeting sexual encounters in places where they could not be seen, and plans for the future that never came to fruition.
Carla was very hooked on Marcos, but he was not so much on her. She was a harmful and self-destructive way of loving herself. They lied to each other daily: Marcos lied to Carla and Carla lied to herself.
Until, like those things that end up falling under their own weight, reality slapped him in the face. She realized that she would never occupy the place that she wanted to have in Marcos’ life. She would always have to live in the shadow of those relationships that have never existed because they cannot confess. Then taking out the little courage that he had left in his diminished self-esteem of her, he decided to end the little torture of her. And start again.
New life
- Carla’s new beginning began in Candás, a small fishing village in Asturias. It was the perfect place to escape for a few days. A magical hideaway where she can get rid of the drug she thought she was in love with. Although she never imagined that her true love story was yet to come.
- It was summer and the sun was shining brightly, despite the fact that in Carla’s heart it was raining like never before. After a long walk on the beach and a bath to quell the suffocating heat of that afternoon, she decided to go to the hotel bar where she was staying to have a drink. Drink to forget and there… she ran into Sergio. He was the waiter of the place, a young guy, apparently friendly and very attractive. She asked for a gin and tonic and she continued absorbed in her thoughts. After that glass came another. It was late and the bar was already empty. Only he and she remained. “I invite this one,” Sergio said as he put the ice cubes in the glass. “Thank you,” Carla replied. “Too sad a look for such a pretty girl,” Sergio interrupted again.
- Carla didn’t really want to talk, let alone give explanations, but without knowing exactly why, that boy gave her peace, made her feel comfortable, at home. They struck up a conversation that lasted until three in the morning. Carla told her the reason for her trip to Asturias, she told her about Marcos, and Sergio told her about her work, her routines, her hobbies.
- History repeated itself for the next few days. Carla spent her mornings on the beach waiting for the only moment that would make her feel truly alive again. Sergio made her laugh with absurd jokes, he made her move to a world in which Marcos did not exist.
After the rain the sun comes out
- The last day of her mini vacation, Carla went to the hotel bar as usual and Sergio was not at the bar. He suddenly appeared behind her and covered her eyes: “Today we drank the drink in another place,” he said. So he took her to the beach. There she had prepared a small picnic, with two candles and a few glasses of champagne. Carla couldn’t believe it, no one had ever done that for her. She burst into tears overcome by her emotions. Marcos was still in her thoughts, but now it was Sergio who was occupying part of her heart.
- Sergio wiped away her tears and at that very moment it began to rain. A summer storm and then a kiss. The calm. Everything seemed like a true metaphor for what Carla was experiencing. The storm of these years with Marcos and the calm of Sergio’s lips. Her temperance, her way of looking at her, the night followed her rhythm. The effect of alcohol, the intoxication of passion, the unbridled sex by the sea.
- The following two years they maintained a long-distance relationship. He would escape to Madrid to see her whenever he could and she would spend her summers in Asturias. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. Carla asked for a transfer at work and now she lives in Oviedo, just 35 km from Candás. And she has started a new life with Sergio. A life in which the storm is left behind. Now only the sun can come out.