Love Is Just Around the Corner

by Ariel Zorion

yesterday that it was not a pickup. She is a good friend from childhood.

  - Alright. And I'm sure you only had coffee.

  - No, the truth is that we were having dinner and catching up because fifteen years ago we did not see each other. Do you need to know anything else?

  - You can rest easy because I'm not going to tell your girlfriend anything.

  - I'm very calm and you can tell her everything you think is right.

  - Okay, whatever you say. In other times, you used to tell me these things, but, well, I'm not going to push you any further.

  - You can push everything you want because nothing happened. You don’t understand, for me she's like my sister. You can not imagine everything we shared when we were kids. Sophia is a very important person in my life, so I do not like you treat frivolously this subject. You are over thirty years old and it is time for you to mature.

  - Are you getting angry?

  - I'm not angry, I just want you to talk about her with more respect.

  - Well, now you speak as if she were your sister. Okay, I will not make you dizzy any more. What time does your plane leave? Because we could not even have a coffee to say goodbye. For once you come to Geneva to see me and, between some things and others, we have hardly spoken.

  He was right about that. Adrian knew a lot of people there, and although he had been in the small Swiss city for almost three days, they had hardly been able to see him since he had had many commitments. In any case, it was not going to give more importance because they were frequently in contact by Skype.

  But it had not been so with Sofia. They separated at the age of sixteen and never contacted again. How could they let their relationship wither so? This time he would not consent. There are multiple options for communicating in the information society we live in, so there was no excuse now. He could not afford to lose her again. Something about him had changed, though he could not explain what. He had felt so much tenderness to see her and so much nostalgia and melancholy at once. How would their lives have been if had they not been separated? Why did not they even consider finding an intermediate solution instead of studying each one at one end of the globe? Perhaps the simple answer to that question is that they were simply two children eager to learn and with an uncontrollable desire to conquer the world and fulfill their goals, even though it meant leaving behind one of the most important things in their lives up to that moment. At last, and almost as if it was a revelation, he discovered that a long dormant feeling had awakened inwardly.

  CAPÍTULO 6: TIME FLIES BY

  Regardless of the intends, sometimes, purposes are just purposes, not real facts. No matter how valuable and good our intentions are. Every day, with his busy schedule, with his countless contingencies, with his urgencies and his routines, our daily habits put our nice resolutions in a corner and wraps them in a cloud of dust until they disappear.

  And that was how it happened. Time, with its incessant rhythm, put several months between that wonderful day in which two old friends met and the present. Each one in a place of the planet, continued with their lives as they had done until that moment, sometimes, simply surviving.

  Both were professionals with very demanding and successful careers. Not only were they dedicated to research in their respective fields, they also wrote articles in scientific journals and taught at their respective universities. That is, they lived parallel lives without knowing it. And in parallel, too, they were dragged once again by the maelstrom of activities, tasks and endless commitments in which they spent their professional life, leaving a very limited space to personal.

  In spite of this, Sophia could not avoid to feel melancholy at certain moments. Something had changed since she had met up with Adrian again, though she did not quite know exactly what it was. In fact, on more than one occasion since her return from Geneva, some of her companions had asked her if something was wrong, because she was more distracted, at certain moments almost absent. Needless to say, that was quite uncommon in her, who had always demonstrated a great ability to concentrate on her work. Invariably, in those situations she did not know what to answer, due to she did not think anything would happen to her.

  More than one night, she had awakened and thought of that wonderful day, already distant in the nebula of time, where they had been together in that little Swiss city. Nothing special happened, that is, nothing beyond two old friends who meet and catch up on what happened in their lives. But, at the same time, it had been something extraordinary that confluence in the same time and space after several lustrums. Something simply inexplicable.

  Se could not help wondering if he would still remember her, of their encounter, and if the idea of ​​getting in touch with her would cross his mind. She had even thought of doing it, that is, taking the first step, not delaying it another day and calling him on the phone with some excuse to hear his voice again. She only needed that, until that point she missed him. But each time she had dismissed it, since she considered that, possibly, that day had been only an insignificant parenthesis in his life and it was most likely that Adrian did not even have time to think about her. In fact, he had not called her once, not even a message or an email. That had to mean something. However, she did not realize that she had not done it either, and maybe, just maybe, he would think exactly the same thing. It is always easier to let the other person make the first step. And if he does not, we can always blame him. It's just a cowardly way of self-protection.

  Three months after the trip to Switzerland, at last she decided to do something. she could not continue with that restlessness and that nocturnal sleeplessness. She did not understand why she had to mull over that so much. After all, he was still her friend, the one whom she had shared much of his life with. Therefore, in order to nothing was too forced, she searched him on Facebook. Just a few minutes after sending the friend request, Adrian sent several messages that she did not hesitate to answer. They were chatting for a long while, so there was time for personal confessions. Sometimes, things are easier to communicate by typing on the screen of the mobile or the computer than in person. Although, to be faithful to the truth, Adrian had never had trouble expressing openly his feelings, at least, Sophia did not remember something like that.

  Among other things, Adrian confessed her that his relationship with his girlfriend had begun to capsize since returning from Switzerland. They were having a bad time and he was thinking very seriously about leaving. He took advantage of the fact that Sofia had contacted him to consult her, just as he did when they were children. She did not know how to interpret that and, finally, she did it in the worst possible way.

  - Why are you asking me this?

  - What do you mean, why? Because you always used to be my sentimental counselor and you always knew what to do.

  Sophia had mixed feelings at the moment. On the one hand, she never imagined that she could feel for Adrian anything that was not friendship. She did not even dare at that moment to think that they could go any further. On the other hand, after having been with him for the first time since they were adults, she could not deny that her feelings had changed. So, although, to a certain extent, she appreciated him to show her that confidence, the fact that he asked her what to do about his girlfriend reminded her that there would never be anything but brotherly love between them.

  - Adrian, I think you ask me for too much. I don’t even know her. How can I tell you what to do? You have to make this decision by yourself. I can not help you.

  - And why don’t you come to spend a few days? You take vacations that, knowing you, surely you don’t usually do it if it is not for obligation. Then, you come here and I introduce her to you. Besides, we can tour around the country. You know, in Germany there are many things to see.

  - I don’t think that's a good idea. I have to leave you because I'm in college and I should not be talking to you right now. Take care and we keep in touch, okay?

  - Clear. Take care of yourself too. A kiss. I love you, my little one.<
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  She did not answer the last message. Sophia felt an intense desire to cry. She was so confused. She did not understand anything that was happening to her. She told herself that was not a good idea. And she decided she would not write to him again. It did not make sense until his feelings cleared up.

  CAPÍTULO 7: IN A SNAP

  The routine was reintroduced again in her life. She had set out to leave behind the latest events. Sometimes, the past has to be left where it is, which is precisely in the past. It is not always advisable to remove it because, when you do it, you risk the ideal and idyllic image you keep in the recesses of your memory breaks as crystal. Sophia had a precious memory of her childhood that now, for some reason she did not dare explain, seemed to have blurred a little with the tears she had shed. She decided to put a point and followed to continue with her life.

  She returned to her work, to dedicate endless days to cover a little the loneliness she felt lately. She had no real reason to do so, because those who appreciated her were still there. However, whether it was a real solitude or simply perceived, work had always been her refuge, that safe place to shelter when the storm appeared, and she was willing to use it once more to escape what frightened her, what was nothing