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Two With The Wind 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJILSKOylJ
Bryan was coming home from a complicated day at work, as usual. Watching football at home would make him forget everything. Washing dishes, taking out the trash, and feeding his dog Loli were inevitable chores he had already become accustomed to. In his fifties, he understood and accepted that he was going to stay single and not remarry, a widower, someone who lives just to keep memories of his family. He went to the kitchen, turned on the coffee maker, and waited quietly while the coffee gave off its aroma drop by drop. He poured two cups and out the window saw a starless night. He was bothered by the noisy wind and secured the door very tightly. He turned on the TV, which showed the soccer players were on the pitch and the match was about to start. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRcSL4MmoM
His favorite team Villa Dalmine FC was on a winning streak for seven games. It was such a crucial match for his team that he just couldn’t wait for the kickoff. He moved the gray leather reclining sofa right in front of the TV. He sat down, but felt incomplete. He quickly patted around the pillows to his left in search of the remote control and pretty quickly found it among some medals and trophies of his son Esteban, on top of the sideboard. The TV screen reflected his tired silhouette with all his virtues and imperfections. Somehow the TV turned off itsef and so he pointed the remote control to the TV and turned it on again. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4b6ynG8FD
It was very cold and heavily windy that night. He heard the doorbell of the house and went to open the door. He knew who was coming to visit. He was surprised that the wind did not stop roaring and that the weather was so crazy those days. Esteban's footsteps entered the house quickly. His father closed the door and told him: 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAivWQXdk9P
"You arrived just in time!" And you came by motorcycle, for a change. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtJf2ESxsq
They hugged warmly, although the father felt his son's hug like never before. Bryan noticed him a little annoyed, perhaps because of the frigid cold of winter or some bad grade in English class, who knows, he thought. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyppWMlcEkv
"Are you watching the game?" -he heard Esteban say. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAUH0k8D1N
Of course I do! Do you want some coffee? —Father invited. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL76lhXIivD
"Sure," -said Esteban, as his voice converged with that of the television. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNd9Dlr4vit
The father anticipated the usual question "And how is everything at work?" from the young motorcyclist who had tattooed neck and multicolored hair. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ4sKOLysZj
Work is going well, everything is the same, as always, nothing new -said the father, ready to watch the game. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qEP4IObVs
The father took the coffee in several sips while his eyes were looking straight to the TV. Minutes went by and the ticking of the clock consumed the monotonous chatter of both subjects. They tried to pay attention to each other or at least look into each other's eyes while interacting, but that happened very rarely. Bryan seemed to see out of the corner of his eye that his son Esteban was on his iPhone and that curiously his shadow was an imperfect circle with fast texting fingers. His son's disinterest in the match was beginning to bother Bryan. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS18uxal4IW
"That guy, number 2 jersey, is like a wall. Impossible to pass! It reminds me of when you were a kid and played in AYSO ," said the father, without expecting a response. And he added: "You should get into football soccer again, do some sport to make you feel better, to distract yourself! ... It is not good to play lots of videogames, or riding a motorcycle everywhere, or spend a lot of time on your cell phone. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwhqXemiU4
The high wind blew and accompanied with musicality his son’s response, which was heard a little louder than the TV: 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMpCFNNbXz
"I always walk in the park on the weekends, for at least one hour. You seem to forget or you just don’t pay attention to me. AND, riding a motorcycle is sort of a sport.” 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡneqG7dWBSR
That's great! -His father said very dissatisfied. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hnAiPMMuK
Bryan did not understand why his son was a bit moody. He did not seem understand that his son was already a grown up and that he had become independent a long time ago. He remembered a question he promised never to ask again, but this time his patience betrayed him. He was about to articulate the question and fought not to say anything, but could no longer hold it and the question ejected on its own: 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlAHOEW699
Would you be interested in playing soccer with me for my team? 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9P9SfCaBj
Bryan sensed that the answer was going to be negative, as always, but insisted expecting another fate. He went on to say: 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMqcwfBVxI
—Football soccer is good for unloading all stress and be a team player, and it gets you pumped up like never before. We could even get together for lunch after each soccer match. We owe it to ourselves! 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgY3f0FP9W
After trying to understand Esteban's absolute silence, his father got up from the sofa, let go the remote control, and approached the sideboard. With great pride and pointing to the medals and trophies that his son had won, he articulated the following words: 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLDky1iuVx
"Your mom and I always took you to play soccer at the neighborhood club. You played very well and enjoyed it. I don't know why now you don't like the things you liked as a kid. I have all your trophies and medals here...so they don't get lost, but they're yours, make no mistake about it. I hope one day you dare to play with us, who are a little older, and chubby, of course.“ 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwDP2laTdr
Bryan put his hand to his head and settled the grayish hair to the side. He managed to take a breath and slowly sighed his grief accepting reality. He knew that he was not going to convince his son, and so he just wanted to survive the moment of rejection. He looked at the photo of his toddler Esteban next to the TV and tried to change the topic and focus of the conversation. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawtzBY4R62
Your friend Fernando that used to play in that AYSO team with you, I think he's going to medical college, don't he? Time flies! -Bryan dared to say. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTMNGTkR8G
Focused way too much on what to say at all times, he didn't wonder why Esteban didn't drink his coffee. Wasn't it as hot as he liked it?, he should have wondered. A goal against Villa Dalmine FC distracted him as his son Esteban replied: 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjnaGIrKYNq
"Yes, but we have not been friends for years and please don’t bring up the university thing because I do not plan to study anything at all. It’s not my thing or my moment for that. I love you very much, but enough of this already. Stop comparing me! Stop comparing me!" —Esteban repeated several times. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIPIQoTOGEX
Bryan couldn’t believe his son’s comments while wondering if he was really his son he was talking to. The match no longer mattered. He got up tired from the sofa and turned to one of the pictures on the sideboard. He moved a vase and a Bible to the side and kindly slid his fingers over a black-framed photo. In it, the colorful picture of his family: he, his wife, and a happy child embracing a soccer ball. Was it his son Esteban or himself in the picture? Sometimes, even he wasn't sure, they looked the same yet they were so different inside. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1hydcjLDg
The TV showed how fans of Villa Dalmine FC were very tense and worried. The goal to tie the soccer match did not arrive, it made sense so much drama. In the living-room no words were heard, and it seemed the silent wind took hostage of the house. Neither Bryan, nor the dog, not even the wind, saw Esteban grab the remote control and change the channel. The door obeyed the wind and it opened slowly. Father and son said goodbye to each other, there was no hugging this time. Both knew that they will see each other again, perhaps on a windy day as it was the case for the last five years. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlYqdQmSRH
Take care of yourself! The father exclaimed to the wind. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdxBAKSBtr
He went back to the sofa and turned off the TV. Esteban's photo and his intact coffee cup on the table recreated a kind of altar. He called Loli and fed her. Then, he talked to himself for a while so vividly, it looked like he was talking to someone. Through the window he saw once again the reality that drove him to madness. His ears heard the distant explosion of a motorcycle. Horror showed him the flames of the fire consuming his son's body and so Bryan cried incessantly until he fell asleep. Later, the gloomy and impious wind blew very little until it disappeared into the magical air of dawn. A warm sharp sunlight woke him up. He got up and went to the window and, once again, looked up at the sky and saw Esteban depart for his final destination. 241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxW1w8meOJl
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The End241Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ062YZk66h
