The Love of An Invisible

[ Aya Millenis’ Vision ]

“You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen,” I feel the hairs on the back of my neck tingle as I hear Leandro’s whisper in my ear, his face so close to mine, his voice so deeply grave.

The movie chosen is action and romance: Mechanic: Resurrection, starring Jason Statham as Arthur Bishop; it’s the sequel to movie one, which I haven’t watched, and don’t intend to, the movie was chosen by Leandro.

“Thank you,” I say and try not to show that my heart is hammering fast and strong in my chest.

I manage to turn my attention back to the big screen, but then a hot scene starts, the main characters are going to have sex and… My train of thought is interrupted when I feel strong fingers pulling my chin to the side and a gentle pressure is made on my mouth that was already ajar because of the movie scene, and Leandro’s moist tongue comes into contact with mine. I close my eyes, this is my first kiss!

Leandro’s mouth is warm, his tongue is soft and bold, I try to imitate it and not be embarrassed, he sucks, nibbles and licks my lower lip, I try to do the same on his upper lip; his big hand goes to the back of my neck and tugs lightly at my hair, his other hand goes to my back and pulls me closer to him. Not knowing where to put my hands I support them on his arms and stay like this, kissing, the contact gets deeper and deeper…

“Boom” – the sound of an explosion makes us interrupt the kiss, Leandro looks into my eyes and gives me a kiss, then goes back to paying attention to the movie, I do the same, but to my surprise he puts his hand on mine and intertwines our fingers. He smiles, his hand is warm, and this contact is warming my heart.

[ Vision by Francisco Millenis ]

I have worked for twenty-five years in Stevens Companies, I was a janitor disowned by my father at the time I was eighteen years old, I was a rebel, I should have listened and I would not have lived through those hard times.

I was disowned because I skipped school to gamble and chase girls, I was paid, but then everything collapsed, my father stopped giving me money and told me I would have to work to continue with my life, I was kicked out of the house too, my friends didn’t help me, I ended up in the gutter. But then the current president’s father offered me a job as a cleaner, I accepted immediately, I had already gone three days without food.

The humiliation of being a cleaner is horrible, people would spit on the floor and tell me to clean, I never said “a”; two years later my father died, but before that he sold the company, and spent all the money, leaving only the house and some change in the account. With this money I was able to graduate from college and worked my way up through the ranks at Stevens, and have been vice president there for twelve years.

“She’s not back yet!” Juliana says walking back and forth in the room.

“She must be with the same boy as yesterday,” I conclude loudly so that my wife can hear and I turn to the next page of the book.

“I told her I didn’t want her with him! I have to ground her! – sits down next to me on the bed.

“What are you going to do?” I look at her with one eyebrow raised.

“I will take all technological means away from her, and if she still insists on meeting this brat, I will forbid her to leave the house.”

“You are right, Aya needs limits, she is always embarrassing us, at her age I already had to work and had no father to support me,” I say, and while I close the book I put it on top of the nightstand.

“I go downstairs to wait for this girl, it was past nine at night.”

She gets out of bed and closes her robe, leaves the room leaving the door open, I take a deep breath. Why do I have such a disobedient daughter? Haven’t I already redeemed myself from the things I did as a teenager?

I get out of bed and put on my robe, leave the room and go downstairs to the living room, before I step on the last step I hear:

“WHERE WERE YOU!” Juliana shouts and I speed up the walk.

“I just went to the movies mom,” Aya answers with a low voice.

“YOU LIAR!” my wife grabs Aya by the hair and pulls her head.

“Mom, please stop,” tears are already falling from her eyes.

“What has she done?” I ask in order to understand, Juliana was never violent with any of her daughters, well, she never used physical violence.

“She has hickeys all over her neck!”

I step closer and look at Aya’s neck, disgust sticks in my throat, but the sound of Juliana’s slap on the girl brings me out of my trance and I hold my wife’s arms.

“Go to the bedroom, Aya,” I speak firmly, and with hand on her cheek she obeys me.

“Let go of me! Are you going to put your hand on her head?” She struggles in my arms.

I look at the stairs and when I see no more trace of Aya I let her go.

“It’s just hickeys,” I say trying to calm my wife.

“Who’s to say she didn’t do more? I didn’t raise a daughter to be a slut, Francisco! I never hit her, I must have made a mistake there!” she says running her hands over her face, “I will fix this mistake now!”

“I’ll talk to her, and then I’ll give her a punishment, I know Aya is always embarrassing us, but I didn’t raise her as a slutty daughter, and I trust in the raising of our daughters.”

“Okay, I’ll take a tranquilizer.”

I let go of her arm and take a deep breath, I hope I’m right. Slowly I go up the stairs again, Aya’s room is the third door on the right. I open the door and see Aya lying face down on the bed, the sound of her crying is very low. I enter the room and close the door, she lifts her tear-soaked face.

“I want you to tell me the truth Aya, and I’m only going to ask you once,” I say as I sit down in the chair at her computer desk.

“Where did you get those hickeys?”

“I went to the movies with Leandro,” she says as she sits on the bed.

“Who is he?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“My classmate, I like him, I met him at a party at his company.”

I can’t remember anyone with a son named like that.

“Did you have sex?” I’m direct.

“No, just kissing in the cinema, then he brought me home, like a gentleman.”

“Don’t fool yourself Aya, don’t trust so easily, I want the best for you, and the best is Iuri Stevens, with him your future is guaranteed.”

“You don’t know who Leandro is…”

“And you know? Who his parents are? Does he work? Does he get good grades? Is he heir to a multi-million dollar company?” I ask and get silence in response. “You’re forbidden to watch anime, to use the internet, give me your cell phone.”

I hold out my hand and she gives it to me.

“I don’t want to hear any complaints from you, and if I catch you in a lie you won’t like the consequences, Aya, you know that we are a traditional family. And we keep the custom of marrying our daughters off as virgins, and even if they are not, nobody but them must know, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir”.

“Good, go get some coffee and take care of Iuri,” I say finally and leave the room.

I walk to the end of the corridor, enter the room and take off my robe, lie down on the bed and read my book again.

[ Vision of Iuri Stevens ]

Another day comes to an end, I really deluded myself thinking that she would start talking to me at school after Sunday dinner. She now seems even more distant.

“Let’s go out man,” George says.

“I don’t want to, I just want to lie there.”

Today I saw something that broke my heart, Aya was walking hand in hand with Leandro. They had just left the movie theater, and they even kissed.

“There is not only her, Iuri, let’s meet other girls,” he insists.

George wants to take me on a double date, he met two girls on the internet. I don’t agree with this.

“Let me be alone for a while, please,” I say and turn my back to George.

“Okay, bro, whenever you want, just talk to me. Ah, tomorrow is the day that the answer from the college will arrive.”

“I know,” I say low and a solitary tear runs down my cheek.

“I’m leaving,” he says and I hear the sound of the door closing.

How I hate to be like this, a miserable Invisible, to have to see the girl I love in the arms of another is very painful; and I know that Leandro doesn’t love her, I don’t know what he wants, but I know that this is not good for Aya. With a hurting heart I close my eyes. Tomorrow will be another day.