Like Hurricanes

36. But if you had to

Thursday evening was like all the other evenings. I listened to soppy music as I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling with a mind full yet empty of thoughts.

My life felt like a movie, a very depressing one. With no plot and no momentum. No crescendo or climax. I didn't know how yesterday was different from today. I ate the same cereals and I watched the same TV show and at the end of the day, I fell on the same bed with the same exhaustion and nostalgia in my heart. Maybe I was stuck in that yesterday. I witnessed the present from afar, as the whole world went on without me. I was standing there, two steps behind on the timeline with my feet glued to the ground.

Maybe they weren't really glued. I could have moved if I wanted to. I could have walked out the door and grab a beer with my basketball teammates. Or maybe have a cup of coffee in a hipster bar with a book in my hands. Or take a train and go to a conference about global warming and start changing the world. I could have done all that, but as I did them in my mind, I still felt the same on the inside. And that is, I felt like shit. There was a hole where my friends should have been. A hole for them, a hole for Noemi, and a hole for all the pieces of me that got lost along the way.

My phone buzzed.

At first I got excited, then I realized it probably wasn't who I wanted it to be, and then I grabbed my phone anyway. As I looked at the screen, my eyes widened. It was Gaia.

"Hello?"

''Hey, Pit. Are you wearing something decent?''

No ''hello, Pit, how are you'' or ''hello, Pit, I know things are awkward now but you kind of broke my heart'' or even ''hello, Pit, I fucking hate you''. The status of my clothes wasn't the first thing I expected her to ask me, but she was Gaia Monforte, so I never really knew.

''Yeah, uhm, I guess. Just jeans and a T-shirt.'' I was actually wearing a pyjama, but she didn't need to know that.

''OK, great,'' she said. ''Can you come over?''

''Uhm...''

''I need your help. Please hurry.''

She hung up.

Without even knowing what this all meant, I quickly put on my decent clothes and rushed out the door.

Gaia's house looked majestic from outside, but I'd never liked going in there. It felt like a museum, always cold and empty. Her father was a busy man and maybe that's why she liked hanging out, even with people she despised. Any kind of company was better than none. I couldn't even imagine how she slept when her father had one of his usual business trips.

Today something was different, though. Dozens of cars were parked in front of the open gates, and it took me some time to find a place for my motorcycle. When I rang the bell on the door, a stranger opened it. He was wearing a formal waiter suit and seemed surprised when he saw me. I was surprised too.

''Uhm, is Gaia home?'' I muttered.

I had no idea what was going on. I could hear some noise coming from the house. Orchestral music, silver plates, laughter.

The waiter looked at me from head to toe and frowned. ''I don't think you can see her today.''

''Uhm, why?''

He sighed. He seemed eager to shut the door right in my face, but a woman stepped closer and told him it was okay. When he left, she looked at me and smiled.

''Are you a friend of my daughter?'' she asked.

I nodded my head and gulped. I had Anastasia Monforte right in front of me. She was even more beautiful than on my TV screen, and her similarity to Gaia was astonishing.