𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬 // 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨 [HIATUS]

𝟑.

"I'm taking pictures in my mind / So I can save them for a rainy day." —

PEPA MADRIGAL

It had been a couple of weeks since I last saw Felix. It had not been that long since I last thought about him. He just slipped into my mind in the weirdest moments, and I would never admit it but remembering our conversation made me smile in the stupidest moments.

I also saw him everywhere. It was dumb, I know but every time I saw a strong, curly-haired man I thought it was him. Well, it's not that I thought it, it's more like I hoped it. But it never was. "I might just have to go rain on his field again," I thought once.

No, gosh, I would never do that. But it's true that since that time I saw him,  I'd been handling my storms better. "Clear skies" was like my mantra. Repeating it made me calm down, and it had been really helpful. I hadn't even gotten in a fight with my mother since then. I just breathed deeply and walked away.

It was during one of these events, while I was walking away from Casita, to avoid raining in my mother's room when I saw him. I actually saw him, it was really him. I couldn't help but walk after him. "Hey, I said," touching his shoulder.

"Pepa!" He said. "It's nice to see you! What are you doing here?" He asked. The sky turned crimson the moment my cheeks blushed. I hoped he didn't notice. "Oh, you know. Taking a walk to get away from my precious mother." I said.

"We always seem to run into each other like that." He told me "Not that I'm complaining, or anything." He flashed a smile at me and I swear I could've died. And I'm not one of those people, just to be clear. But there was something about him...

The sky turned even redder. "Anyways, what are you doing here?" I asked, trying to get him not to look at the sky. "Oh, I...-" He scratched his neck. It looked like he wasn't really sure himself. "I'm on my way to pick up my buddy, Agustín. He is hanging out with his girlfriend.."

"Wait, Agustín Valderrama?" I asked. It could not be. "Yeah, why?" "That's my sister's boyfriend," I told him. "Oh wow, I see." He said. "Well, in that case, you should walk with me to your house. I don't really know where it is."

"I mean, I was trying to get away from there, you know? But if you ask like that..." I said. "Oh, no, I mean if you have somewhere else to be, don't worry about me, I'll manage. I just thought it'd be nice to spend some time together."  He stuttered.  I smiled, I didn't think he was the type to stutter and get embarrassed. 

"I'm just kidding. Let's go, I'll give you a tour." I said, and we started walking home. It was really fun. We talked about everything, he told me about his family, and I had to warn him about mine. Around half an hour later, we arrived, and I started giving him a tour. We ended up in my room.

It wasn't like that, or weird at all. He was just really surprised when he saw the magical part of my room. And honestly, who wouldn't. We were quite literally floating around in a cloud when I heard the door burst open. "PEPA MADRIGAL! Who do you think you are, bringing strangers into your room? Into our house. Come down here right now, and tell your friend he has to leave!" She screamed.

The sun that was shinning over our heads immediately disappeared. "Mother? Can you please get out of my room?" I asked. I sounded pissed, but I didn't want to lose my cool in front of Felix. "Who do you think you are, señorita? This is my house, and you just got a strange man into your room. You better come down here and show him to the door. We don't share our secrets with strangers." She said.

And I lost it. It started pouring rain. I screamed as I went down the stairs. I could hear Felix following me. "This man is not a stranger, and this is my room, I can do whatever I want in it! I will not let you talk to him like that, you are being rude. and inconsiderate, and- I'm a grown woman, for god's sake! I'm 21! And you are a-, a-." I felt a hand in my arm, and the rain stopped. I stopped talking too, I was way too surprised to react.

"Pepa," Felix said. "I see why your mother would be worried. After all, I didn't introduce myself-" He said. "Good morning señora, I'm Felix Castillo, nice to meet you. I'm a friend of your daughter's."

Mamá was speechless. I know she noticed how it stopped raining. So she muttered a response and moved aside while Felix pulled me out of my room. It was the first time I had ever seen her give away.