I always heard that love was complicated, and that love relationships often brought us problems. Well, in my case, that was an understatement.
Ava was a normal girl, that's what she looked like the first time I met her. I met her standing in line at an electric bill payment office; she was also coming to pay her electric bill. Something as trivial as asking about the registration process for the new system led to such a pleasant chat that we decided to continue it over a soda and finally exchange phone numbers.
Our virtual relationship was excellent, we spent hours on the phone. Her job kept her busy most of the time. She did freelance work, I never wanted to delve into the subject.
She often left me waiting in dinners, pubs, and movie theaters. For some reason, she was always running late. I used to wait for hours. I came to think that she didn't want my company, but the time I spent with her made up for all her shortcomings.
Eventually, I fell madly in love with her. Wasn't it obvious?
Everything was rosy, and things were going great, until the day when an unexpected situation forced her to reveal her secret identity. We were in an elevator and suddenly we got stuck between two floors, the 18th and the 19th:
Don't panic.
I'm sure when someone says "Don't panic" it's obvious that you start to get nervous at the very least.
I smiled to hide my distress although my eyes gave it away. Suddenly, she blew me a kiss, which took my breath away, forgetting everything around me except the hole she blew in the ceiling as she immediately flew off.
My jaw dropped.
I never saw her again that day.
No wonder; I live in a world full of superheroes and villains.
You might think it's super to have a super for a girlfriend. No pun intended. At first, it was, I considered myself lucky, how was it possible that a beautiful girl, who was also a superhero, could notice me? But it was inevitable that the relationship would wear down when someone constantly had to postpone dates every time an emergency arose: a cat got trapped high up in a tree, a building caught fire, an alien invasion, archenemies trying to conquer the world... countless inconveniences in managing a love relationship.
There was never a break.
Finally, she decided to break up with me and that devastated me.
I must confess that I was also to blame, I was too demanding and selfish, and I only wanted her to share her time with no one else but me.
My parents tried to console me, but I didn't want to listen to them, besides it was impossible for me to forget her. By any means of transmission, you could receive news about her and her achievements.
Devastated, I went to sit on a park bench, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, wiping away my tears, sunk in the abyss of lovesickness. It was then that I was suddenly attacked by some henchmen who grabbed me and placed a hood over my head, blinding me completely.
This is the guy who was with her, isn't it? Shut up and hurry up. I heard them say
I tried to resist, to warn them to leave me alone, because they would get into big trouble if they did not let me go, however, I received a strong blow to my head in response and lost consciousness. I remember hearing other people in the background shouting and threatening to call the authorities.
When I woke up, I heard a familiar voice frightening my captors:
How is it possible that you didn't notice!!!? shouted the woman
They are a bunch of incompetents, warned a male voice.
You can never find good quality henchmen, added the woman.
You'd think you could trust a website called minions.xyz, said the man.
I cautiously opened my eyes and looked around. I was tied to a chair. The room had no windows and seemed airtight. It was fully illuminated. The pearly-colored walls blended in with the entrance door.
At that instant, my eyes corroborated what my ears had perceived. They were my parents. Were they evil archenemies? I would never have guessed it.
Did they hurt you, dear? Mom asked.
I could hardly utter a word
Calm down my child, all those ruffians will be punished.
But, madam, interrupted one of them trying to excuse himself
Silence!
Dad shouted as he unsheathed a strange device with which he disintegrated the henchman.
I couldn't believe that
"Honey, don't be reckless," scolded Mom, "you should have let the poor devil explain himself".
I'm sorry, my love.
I was still speechless. My parents archvillains. What did that make me? How the hell did I not realize?
I could barely process what had happened when suddenly the wall blew into a thousand pieces and behind them, Ava walked in.
My eyes sparkled. She really looked beautiful, wearing her superhero costume, her red hair loose, her pink lips, her eyes as blue as the sea, a sea where I could happily drown.
Are you all right?
Are my ears deceiving me? She just asked me something. My locked brain made me nod my head. If she's here it means she still has feelings for me.
I blushed. My face inevitably kept smiling. That's when my parents realized what was really going on.
My mother collapsed in my father's arms.
Darling, what's wrong? my father asked in anguish.
Enraged, he shouted at Ava.
I don't know how you did it, but you will pay dearly for it.
Ava had no idea what my father was talking about.
My mother opened her eyes and caressed my father's face. Haven't you realized that she is the love our son is suffering for?
What?! he shouted again.
My eyes bounced back and forth, to Ava and my parents.
This was a big problem
Are they your parents? Ava asked in surprise
Believe me, I didn't know, I defended myself.
Ava rolled her eyes.
Don't ever call me again!
My heart shattered again. I screamed her name at the top of my lungs, so much so that I woke up drenched in sweat on my bed.
My mother came to my bed in a hurry
Son! What's wrong?
I had a nightmare. My breathing was still labored.
It was so vivid. Tell me you and Daddy aren't archvillains, I begged my mother.
What are you talking about, honey? You must stop watching those violent movies at night.
My mother laughed softly and left me alone with my thoughts.
As I ate my breakfast, I couldn't look away from an electric bill under the centerpiece.
Son, my mother said, be a good boy and do me a favor and pay the electric bill. Tomorrow the bill is due.
This must be a coincidence, I thought to myself.
Normally I would have refused, excusing myself on some homework I had to do for college, but my curiosity got the better of me.
When I finish breakfast I'll go do it.
Mom smiled and kissed me on the head, took the keys to the truck, and left.
Back at the payment office, I decided to wait for the girl of my dreams to arrive. However, the day went by normally. People came in, lined up at the payment booths, and after paying their bills, they left.
I felt like a fool, waiting for something that would never happen.
The office guard approached me and warned me that they would be closing soon.
With a pout I shuffled my feet and got in line, there were only 3 of us left. The guard took his keys out of his pocket and walked up to the door, flipped the open sign to indicate that they had closed.
My hopes fell to the ground, I shook my head without realizing it and looked forward.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard a female voice apologizing for being late...
