The blazing midday sun was shining relentlessly on the roofs of the buildings. The roads were shimmering in the sharpest heat. The sky was light blue, you could spy no clouds. The streets were relatively empty: no one would have ever exposed themselves to the weather of a summer morning. All around me, I saw vivid colors, the colors of life.
I was there, enjoying the time with my girlfriend, Gloria. We had just woken up. I had slept at her place: her dad was not in town. We felt the freedom of Summer. We were lying in bed while imagining our future life together: when you are only twenty, all you think about is who you will become.
Out of the blues, we heard noises. It seemed as if someone was going up the stairs: ” Who is it? Wasn’t your dad away for the entire day? ” “I thought so, probably he got back home. Hide in the wardrobe! ” So I threw myself into that closet: Gloria’s dad couldn’t meet me. He is a renowned lawyer who merely wants the best for his daughter: he wants her to be perfect. Gloria is a gymnast: that day was the day after a remarkable competition. Hence, I hid in the wardrobe with the lights off. I was nestled in a pitch-black cloud, lost in my doubts and fears. With my ears, I could grasp what was happening: Gloria’s dad was actually home and they had just started to talk. He wanted to get to know her gymnastics results. “I got second, dad” “Second, are you joking? After your mum died, I invested all my money in you and your stupid passion. And now, you scrap thousands of money, hours of training in the worst manner possible. You are my biggest disappointment. ” “Dad, if I am such a mortification for you, I’m going to ask you something: have you ever thought about my feelings, have ever taken them into consideration? ”
This is what I could hear, this is what was damaging Gloria day after day. I watched tears welling up in her eyes, I watched the embarrassment in her miserable gaze. A loud silence was flooding the room: a silence packed with Gloria’s crunched-up screams, a silence packed with Gloria’s sorrow. In a split second, that split second of intense silence, I began to follow my mind into chaotic thoughts. I could banally pronounce one word, one set of syllables: “why”. Why couldn’t a rude man embrace every uniqueness of his daughter? Why are humans not able to appreciate the immensity of being flawed? Why are we not capable of admiring the light that shines in us? That sketchy light is what makes summer our reality, that sketchy light is what leads us to a bright existence, that sketchy light is what makes us humans.
The blazing midday sun was shining
relentlessly
on the roofs of the buildings. The roads were shimmering in the sharpest heat.
The
sky was
light
blue, you could spy no clouds.
The
streets were
relatively
empty: no one would have ever exposed themselves to the weather of a summer morning. All around me, I
saw
vivid colors, the colors of life.
I was there, enjoying the time with my girlfriend, Gloria. We had
just
woken up. I had slept at her place: her
dad
was not in town. We felt the freedom of Summer. We were lying in bed while imagining our future life together: when you are
only
twenty, all you
think
about is who you will become.
Out of the blues, we heard noises. It seemed as if someone was going up the stairs:
”
Who is it? Wasn’t your
dad
away for the entire day? ” “I
thought
so
,
probably
he
got
back home.
Hide
in the wardrobe! ”
So
I threw myself into that closet: Gloria’s
dad
couldn’t
meet
me. He is a renowned lawyer who
merely
wants the best for his daughter: he wants her to be perfect. Gloria is a gymnast: that day was the day after a remarkable competition.
Hence
, I hid in the wardrobe with the
lights
off. I
was nestled
in a pitch-black cloud, lost in my doubts and fears. With my ears, I could grasp what was happening: Gloria’s
dad
was actually
home and
they had
just
started
to talk. He wanted to
get
to know her gymnastics results. “I
got
second,
dad”
“Second, are you joking? After your mum
died
, I invested all my money in you and your stupid passion. And
now
, you scrap thousands of money, hours of training in the worst manner possible. You are my biggest disappointment. ”
“Dad
, if I am such a mortification for you, I’m going to ask you something: have you ever
thought
about my feelings, have ever taken them into consideration? ”
This is what I could hear, this is what was damaging Gloria day after day. I
watched
tears welling up in her eyes, I
watched
the embarrassment in her miserable gaze. A loud
silence
was flooding the room: a
silence
packed with Gloria’s crunched-up screams, a
silence
packed with Gloria’s sorrow. In a split second, that split second of intense
silence
, I began to follow my mind into chaotic thoughts. I could
banally
pronounce one word, one set of syllables: “why”. Why couldn’t a rude
man
embrace every uniqueness of his daughter? Why are humans not able to appreciate the immensity of
being flawed
?
Why
are we not capable of admiring the
light
that shines in us? That sketchy
light
is what
makes
summer our reality, that sketchy
light
is what leads us to a bright existence, that sketchy
light
is what
makes
us humans.