Her aggressive invasion of my personal space had haunted me for months, and then, suddenly, it was gone.

I knew her, she was capable of achieving anything she set her mind to, and if she set out to make me falter, I was doomed. But as much as the idea scared me, nothing could stop me from wanting her to invade it again. I missed her.

We still shared a little time here and there, talking about our things and laughing together, but it had been almost a year since I felt her breath on my lips and… God, how I missed it.

Despite everything, I didn't try to change anything. The distance was uncomfortable, and the approaches so exciting that I felt like I had to run away, but I could bear it. At least, every day, I saw her smile.

However, her seventeenth birthday came and, that little peace of mind I had left, disappeared with the kiss that attractive man placed on her hand while flirting with her.

I wasn't ready. I didn't want to see how other men seduced her, or how she forgot about me and chose them. I was the one who had rejected her, but my soul ached at the thought of losing her. Nevertheless, that was just what had to happen. Sooner or later she was going to find someone who would make her happy; that was the idea from the beginning and, for me, all that was left was to bow my head and watch how she slipped through my fingers.

But whatever logic told me, it didn't seem to reach my heart, and every time sexyman gave her a smile, I felt smaller and smaller. I couldn't compare myself to him; I couldn't compare myself to any of them. They were all young, handsome, strong, tall… Next to them, I looked like a malnourished child with gray hair. If she could have someone like them, I couldn't imagine a universe where she would choose me.

That night, at Mirabel's request, Casita prepared temporary rooms for all of them in the arcades of the inner courtyard.

The party continued late into the night, and by the time we all left, I had no energy left but to throw myself on the floor of my room, stare at the ceiling, and sigh. That day, lying on my bed was not an option.

"What's so interesting about the ceiling?"

"Mirabel! Don't you know how to knock on the door?"

"Something told me you wouldn't have opened up."

She was probably right; I couldn't protest.

"What do you want?"

"Are you alright?"

"Me? Uh… Why wouldn't I? Today my three nieces have returned home, we have been all day partying…"

"You didn't seem very festive, honestly."

"I… You know I don't feel very comfortable dealing with people and today there were a lot of new people and Ana didn't stop talking not even for breathing and… well, nothing new."

"Yeah… Nice person, right?"

"Who?"

"Ana! Who were we talking about?"

"Ah, right. You can tell she's a good girl."

"It is true that he speaks volumes, but I like her energy. And, the relationship that she has with Cristóbal… Have you seen how they look at each other? And how are they constantly teasing each other? And how they care for and protect each other?"

"Yeah, it is enviable…"

"Yes, it is."

Mirabel watched me in silence, breathing deeply, and hardly blinking. Her chest rose with each gasp of air and her glasses slipped little by little toward the tip of her nose. How could it be? How could she look more attractive to me with each passing day? She was no longer a fifteen-year-old girl, but, anyway, she was still not considered a grown-up woman. Why did it have to be so obvious to me that she actually was?

"Tío Bruno? May I come in?"

Dolores's voice sent us into a panic.

"What do we do?! What do we do?! What do we do?!" Mirabel whispered as she ran quickly from one end of the room to the other. "If she finds out I'm here, she will tell everyone!"

"Dolores? I don't think so," I laughed.

"Really?! And what about that time when…"

"Tío Bruno? Are you asleep?"

"Mirabel, I need to open. I'm sorry for asking you something like this but, it really will be easier that way. Could you, possibly, hide?"

"Alright, where? Under the bed? In the closet? Why you don't have a closet?!"

"Tío?"

"Behind the sand clock. Cross it and wait for me there."

"Oh, right… I hadn't thought about the extra part…"

"Go!"

"On it!"

Mirabel jumped through the hole without the least bit of care, and when the grunts and spits stopped, I opened the door.

"Dolores, I'm sorry, I was in bed and…"

"You are dressed."

"Ah, yeah, I was too tired to change. He-he…"

"And your bed is made. Oh, wow, that's your bed?"

Great.

"It suits you… Hm!"

"Did you need something, Dolores?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"Do that, then."

"You knew it, right?"

"Knew what?"

"That Mariano wasn't the man of the prophecy."

"Oh… that."

"Why didn't you tell me?! You would have spared me a failed courtship and the pain of meeting the real man of my dreams!"

"Uh… Dolores, listen. I know this is difficult, but… first, you can't run away from your future: it would have ended up happening anyway; and, second, you liked Mariano enough to think it was him even though he was never engaged to Isabela. Don't you think you had the right to learn from your own experiences instead of rejecting your feelings because I would have told you that the man you were really going to fall in love with was Cristóbal?"

"So, he's really going to be out of reach, isn't it?"

"It seems so, yeah."

"In other words, I have no choice but to get used to the idea that I will die alone and miserable."

"Or, maybe, you find a person who is not your dream man and who, however, becomes that special person with whom you want to share your life even if he's not perfect."

"Do you think that can happen?"

"I think it's a possibility. You shouldn't close yourself to live. The day will come when you get over Cristóbal and, who knows what can happen then."

"I guess you're right… I'm sorry, tío. You have enough with your stuff to also have to answer for the lives of others."

"Uaaaah… I'm so sleepy…" I answered, exaggerating a yawn, trusting that Dolores would not say anything that referred to my relationship with Mirabel. "Bedtime for us, huh? Go, run to the bed and get some good rest, sobrina," I said giving her little pushes until she was out the door. "Good night."

Desperate to get Dolores away, I closed the door, took a deep breath, and slid down the sand ramp in search of Mirabel.

"She's in love with Cristóbal?!"

"Heh… It seems so. She has good taste, doesn't she?"

"That's not the point!"

"Could you please not say anything about it? This conversation seemed rather confidential."

"Of course I won't, but… oof… poor woman. She must be having a really bad time."

"Mirabel… How about we stop talking about Dolores?"

"Okay… but, why?"

"You… you know she may be hearing us, right?"

"Ohhhhhhhhhh, you're right! If she's not inside her room, she hears ev…"

Two years, it had taken her two years to realize.

"She knows! She knows about us, right?!"

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing if not everything… at least she must have clues that there's something."

"And… there is something?"

"Don't do that to me, Mirabel…"

Mirabel wrinkled her nose for a moment and then began to play with the sand, passing it from one hand to the other.

"Bruno…"

"Hm?"

"Why do you think she hasn't told the others?"

"Well, Dolores is good at keeping secrets. She always knew I wasn't gone and she didn't say a word. I think she doesn't want to hurt us; that's all."

"But… when she found out that I had found your prophecy…"

"Yeah, I guess that time the stakes were higher for her."

"The stakes?"

"What happened when she spilled the beans?"

"Ohhhhh… Mariano! It was to avoid his proposal! She left me in the lurch for that slimy?!"

"She thought she was in love with him…"

"She's gonna hear me."

"Well… Probably, she's already doing it."

"True… Well, I guess I can let it slide; after all, she's had to put up with him for months because of that, and thanks to everything being out in the open, I was able to talk to Isabela and… well, mess things up with her, and… stuff."

"And bring a new order and heal the family."

Mirabel lay down on the mountain of sand and tilted her head as if thinking about something.

"Bruno…"

"Tell me."

"Can I ask you for a birthday present?"

"I guess… Another thing is that I can give it to you."

"Would you kiss my hand?"

"What?!"

"The kiss… the kiss I want there, it's only yours."

So that was it. Eugenio had not yet erased me from her heart.

I hunched my shoulders in resignation and knelt before her. So, I took her hand like the treasure that it is and kissed the soft skin on the back of it taking a few seconds to memorize her touch. Normally, I would have refused that kind of request, but this time, it sounded like a goodbye.

Lifting my lips from her hand, I looked into her eyes and felt a pang in my chest.

"Why are you crying, Mirabel? Why do all your birthdays end in tears?"

"Maybe it is because that way you stay to sleep with me…"

Mirabel pulled me down beside her on the sand and snuggled into my ruana.

"I'm tired of waiting."

"There is nothing to wait for."

"I know."

That night, silence took over us until sleep won the battle.

I couldn't keep her waiting: life had come for her.