She looked at her wristwatch, it was 2 o’clock, strangely, the train had arrived twenty minutes ahead of time, perhaps it was destiny, and it was quite inexplicable, knowing how the railway system worked.
The station, new to her, was in full swing, rush-hour.
She looked around the wide space of the station, looking for the toilet door, after hours of travelling she needed to refresh herself a little, and check her appearance in the mirror.
She was quiet for a moment, not knowing how long it would last, life had given her another opportunity, a second chance, in every sense of the word.
Whoever would have thought (just over three years ago), that she would find herself here, alone.
She travelled back in time for a moment, to the 2nd of August, a day like today, her Birthday, one phone call and her world had fallen apart like a pyramid of cards blown over by a single sigh.
-It still hurt to remember, those words spoken by a stranger over the telephone..an accident..her husband..dead...
¡¡Everything, everything was gone!! Her heart broke and exploded into tiny pieces, that stabbed and cleaved every corner of her body and soul.
-¡It cost so much to carry on living, to move ahead! Even when she had all the affection of the people around her, in the end everyone had their own life to lead. Hers, for the best part had almost.....disappeared.
A whole year...to begin to understand that she had to live.
Despite all this, she was now here, living......feeling her heart beat anew ...for how long?...she didn’t know but she wanted to live!
She grabbed her suitcase and moved forwards quickly, finding the entrance to the toilets. They were clean and smelled nice. The cleaning lady had just been here, judging from the cleaning cart standing in the entrance.
She stood in front of the large mirror that stretched from one side of the wall to the other, shared by all the wash basins. She leant her suitcase against the wall and looked at herself, her face didn’t show too much tiredness.
She took out her small make-up bag, washed her hands, cleaned her teeth a little, brushed her hair and finally applied a little blusher to her cheeks.
She looked at her face again, now the mirror reflected a better image, a happier and healthier face. She walked towards the toilet door and opened it.
-Again the bustle, the comings and goings of people in a hurry, worries....how fascinating and precious/rare life is.......
- I must hurry, she glanced again at her watch. Her legs were shaking and she felt her nerves bubbling and rising like boiling water.. it was time.
If she hurried to arrivals she would have enough time left over to see him, watch him before meeting him....she hoped he would be there!
If he wasn’t, she would see the ground open up from under her feet again and she would plummet downwards.
-Hopefully it won’t happen, hopefully! (Walk don’t think!)
-He would be waiting to see her arrive, coming through the arrivals door, not imagining that she was already so close.
They had agreed to meet in a place that was new to both of them, until today they had never been together..but already they shared so many things, so many. Later they would go to the Travel Agents, to choose an immediate flight, to a place not too far away, a few hours from here, an unknown destination, that they would both explore and discover together.
-I think my heart will burst, I have to still it or something will happen.
Her eyes looked for a familiar figure amongst all the people who were waiting for who? a father, brother, son, husband ....her.....
-There he was. The ground didn’t open up under her feet! He was nervous, he couldn’t stay still, he looked at the door, walked, looked at his watch, took his hands in and out of his pockets, picked up and put down his suitcase.
-I must approach him! I’m here! I must save him from his nerves.
When she was just three meters to reach him, my voice rose and gave his name.
He turned around....and his expression changed from surprise to happiness in a fraction of a second, his eyes welled-up, completely disarmed he approached her, gave her a timid kiss on the lips and a long, long and hot hug.
-I held him in my arms, he hugged me tighter! until I couldn’t breathe!, it was as if he never wanted this moment to end.
I felt his lips on my ear, listened to his breathing, and his voice soft and breaking with emotion and said...I love you....¡You don’t know how much!!
-Now no matter what destiny holds for us, we have to live it, together....perhaps forever, this we will have to see. A second chance.. to live and second chance to hold happiness in our hands..........
María V. Ponce