Alex Torres
Bio
Born in Monterrey, Mexico. Started writing short stories back in 1988 at work, when I had an empty page to fill for the internal magazine. Taking the pen again after a 30 year-long hiatus, exploring where it takes me this time.
Stories (7/0)
Helping hand
To say that this has been a very long day, it would mean to tell just a tiny part of the whole story about it. Long hours? It was more like a continuous stream of time interconnecting all of the events that lead me to that particular moment where I was immersed right now. Tired and confused, I was trying to get to the end of it and probably would be able to finally go to bed. It truly was not that late, but my mind was already counting backward in an attempt to force me to leave the work as it was. What could go wrong, after all? They would be loving or hating the idea, but at least it would give them something to think about for the rest of the semester. And that was precisely my sole intention. None of the previous attempts went well with the Director, although I knew that she was not going to be mad at me for trying one more time, or at least not strongly mad. I mean, she was always calling me a rebel anyway, wasn't she? This was more of a situation where I was not sure if I would like to risk it or not.
By Alex Torres2 years ago in Fiction
Trust me
I still think it was a good idea for me to move up north, far away from old friends and acquaintances who needed to understand my need for a change. There was nothing gravely wrong with them, in all honesty, but we all have been embedded in the same environment for 22 years, and some of them were starting to show signs of their age. How can I say that? Just by looking at their decision-making process, personal goals definitions, and of course, their diverse posts online. They were no longer the same, and it was also happening to me, understandably, but I took a step forward and said "goodbye" without remorse. There is always room for improvement, according to a multitude of self-help books and studies but if you don't make decisive changes about it, well, that room will stay empty and waiting for you, for the longest of times.
By Alex Torres2 years ago in Fiction
Twelve
I “Why is everybody moving so much around me? And why I am just lying there in the middle? I want to play the same game too! But they are not calling me; they are just looking at me with the same face they do whenever I do something they don’t like and they keep touching me all over my body. I don’t like that a bit. I prefer the other face, the one they do when we are out in the fresh, running behind each other. I like that a lot.
By Alex Torres2 years ago in Petlife
Morning routine
This is not the proper way to start in the morning. Not after you went to bed so late, your stomach was already demanding breakfast. Not after you tried unsuccessfully to relax. And definitely, not after your neighbor's dog decided to serenade you with the most annoying tone you ever heard him produce. Why was he barking so loud at that time of the night? He woke me up, made me feel mad at him and his owner, and although I looked outside several times I couldn't figure out what he was mad at. We don't have any squirrels around - or at least not that many - but straight cats are a staple of this town, mostly caused by motorists on the freeway coming from close areas who think that we will take good care of their unwanted pets if they just leave them loose at our door. I had my fair share of "visitors" in the past, but the cost of allergy medicine for the kids is too damn high compared with the benefits of somebody living "rent-free" with me and my family.
By Alex Torres2 years ago in Fiction
One and One
Have you ever had one of those nights when you just want to drive around town, maybe stop at a gas station for a bite and then keep going? Without a specific idea where to go, or even a plan about what to do. And you roll your windows down, you start listening to the local radio station that you haven't listened for a while, you take the service road running along the side of the freeway, turning right and left a few times in a row, making time to look like it stopped without consequences. Is one of those days when your mind runs rampant and the white noise makes a ringtone keep buzzing in your ear.
By Alex Torres2 years ago in Fiction
Friendly chat
It's funny to think how it all started as a coincidence: the desk was empty simply because the new hire didn't last a day. She went for lunch and never returned. I needed a place to put all of my stuff after being kicked out of the conference room for the third time in a row, and with an almost imperceptible grunt, you pointed towards the empty chair in front of you. I had the feeling you were one of those people who prefer to be left alone most of the time, and having your face glued to your monitor while I was unpacking was a clear indication of that. No doubt about it. But I had to work, and I had to have a place to sit and connect my computer if I ever wanted to finish my work.
By Alex Torres2 years ago in Fiction
Due Date
You could easily say, without hesitation, that I take pride in using my time wisely while reviewing every little detail on all the contracts I handle, day in and day out. No matter the size of the agreement, the time frame, or the name of the requestor signing over the dotted line at the end of the document. A deal is a deal and I follow my own rules to the letter. So, it is no surprise when I take a day off to pay a visit to one of my "customers" long before the due date, just to see how their part of the agreement is being honored by them. Usually, they are chill with me and even understand why I got there earlier than expected but of course, sometimes there are exceptions where the patron is not that happy to see me. And on some rare occasions, they even try the hardest to hide and see if I will miss them somehow. Don't they learn already that I am the Master of the game? But what would you expect from desperate humans trying to get ahead of the horrors of Life?
By Alex Torres2 years ago in Fiction
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