Unfinished

March 12, 2021.

The long-awaited day.

Today I dare to say that luck, or perhaps my never-before recognized gifts, could change my life. Today is the day I dial the foreign number belonging to the child I haven't seen for far too long... For as long as, there’s not only a legal jargon keeping us apart, but also the abysmal distance between two non-allied countries. Not to mention the restrictions of a pandemic and a sum of money I never manage to save, but that would solve everything... Because money opens doors, oh yes, it doesn’t buy happiness they say, but it surely buys those who can give it to you. For years I’ve tried to buy mine but, after endless dreams and unfulfilled promises, thousands of hours worked and 20 books published without the expected success, the $20,000 prize of this literary competition is the only remaining path between my family and me.

They say that visualizing what you want most and feeling it as if it were already yours is the secret of success and, if that’s so, I have already relived that call a million times in my mind and I have enjoyed every second of it. Joey's laugh, my tears of joy and the thousand plans that we both make in just one minute. My heart beats wildly as I hang up the phone with a kiss.

The excitement of preparing everything runs through my spine with a chill and, without wasting a minute, I make the necessary arrangements with my costly lawyer and watch as the wheels of justice begin to turn, slowly but surely. There’s no time to waste, I have already lost too much of it. Three years is more than any parent should ever lose in their child's life.

I call the US embassy in Spain and ask about the new restrictions of this damn covid, the curse of the 21st century...

Borders are closed. No problem, we can travel to England. That will be easier. I dial the corresponding number and after several rings, a female voice whose accent reminds me of Harry Potter’s, answers.

"Rules require that passengers from the US carry a certificate proving a negative result for COVID-19 and isolate themselves for 10 days upon arrival, Miss.” she explains monotonous and somewhat mechanically.

I don't blame her, I wonder how many times she must’ve repeated the same thing in the last few months. "Thanks a lot." Then, I grab my ever-present little black notebook, where the only thing I haven’t written yet is the times I go to the bathroom, and add the process to my list.

Lawyer

PCR for Joey and me

Suddenly the doubt assails me, will I be able to buy flights on such short notice and in times of pandemic? Without thinking, I grab my laptop and type in Cheap Flights from Missoula, MT...

My hands stop and a smile forms as I correct my search Flights from Missoula, MT to London. The options are always greater when you aren’t looking for bargains.

Yet, there’s not a single result that doesn’t include the word "Cheap". I try the first one and, after a few seconds of searching, the first result reads: $1699, round trip.

"God! That’s cheap?" I bring my hands to my head before remembering that this is no longer an impediment and, after a few more searches with similar results, I save the page with the shortest nonstop flight I can find, something that in this case is essential, no matter the price.

Lawyer

PCR for Joey and me

Airplane ticket

Ten days quarantine, Hermione said. I have seen worse things than a forced stay in London. I say to myself with a half-smile, considering the possibilities of a trip to the Warner Bros amusement park, the Wax Museum, Legoland, or a visit to Hamleys, the largest toy store in the world! Or in the country, I’m not sure.

Suddenly my enthusiasm is cut short by the realization that we are talking about a pandemic after all and not a vacation. Change of plans. If we cannot leave the hotel to have fun, we’ll have to find one with fun included.

"Hotels in London to go with children," I write, and I get endless offers just a few meters from the main family attractions of the city. Attractions that are closed, as announced by the page and that, even if they weren’t, we wouldn’t visit because we’re in I-S-O-L-A-T-I-O-N. Rooms with cribs, nursery and complimentary teddy bears, follow.

My eyes light up when I find the Chessington Safari Hotel, which promises beautiful rooms that look little less than a jungle, with views of the animals, and which also claims to have a pool and jacuzzi. All for the modest amount of £99. Seriously? It's funny how I've stayed in more expensive hotels when I was broke and looking for something "cheap." Life is a scam...

Ten days in London solved for now, and the short flight to Gibraltar soon after, from where we can walk home. The advantages of living in a strategic place, with literally one foot in each country.

Lawyer

PCR for Joey and me

Airplane Ticket

Hotel Safari

Plane from London to Gibraltar

The list is getting longer. Thank God, $20,000 goes a long way.

After that, I stop to think about everything we’ll do together and wonder if he’ll like the house, whose empty kid’s room has been waiting for years. I run up the stairs, open the door and windows to air it out, and look around me. My eyes rest on the little superhero bed that I prepared for him upon my arrival to Spain, after my deportation. I search the walls full of posters and children's images, I see his small chest of drawers, on which the figurines we used to play with rest, and a closet full of clothes, shoes and accessories... for the 8-year-old boy I left behind.

My eyes fill with tears because that child no longer exists. Now, at 11 years old, he’s possibly taller than me and prefers video games, rather than the toy figures I’ve kept. I let a choked sigh leave my lips, before deciding it will be the last. No more tears. $20,000 can change a lot… and to begin with, all the diminutive words that describe my son's room are going to change. I do a survey of the place, and I see that it needs... EVERYTHING.

I call Joey. “Honey, what size clothes are you wearing now?”

I wait a moment in which he’s probably checking the tag. "XL for kids, mom.”

"Extra Large?" My heart sinks.

"Yeah, in children's size. I’m an M for adult.

For adult... I'm gonna cry now.

"And, is there any… character you like?" I was going to say hero or cartoon, but I corrected myself on time.

"Anything with Ori and the Will of the Wisps"

The what of what...?

"Oooh, ok. I’ve never heard of it.

"WHAT? YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF IT?”

I can tell the shock in his voice.

"Noooo." I confirm laughing. "But, now I have!!!”

"OK, OK. Good.”

"Anything else?" I ask.

"Five Nights At Freddy's. Anything from FNAF!" His enthusiasm tells me that I shouldn't even ask what that is, or he’ll disown me.

"Got it! Love ya!" I got away with it.

"Love you more!”

Thank God for Google!

I take out my little notebook again.

Lawyer

PCR for Joey and me

Airplane ticket

Hotel Safari

Plane from London to Gibraltar

New bed

Chest of drawers

New clothes

Nintendo Switch

Life can be wonderful. To hell with whoever said money isn’t everything! Surely he didn't have a son 5,199 miles away...

I lie in bed excited and, for the first time since I've lost everything, I take a deep breath and know what the world around me calls "peace." I close my eyes and feel the tears running down my cheeks like so many times. Only today, I cry with joy and not with pain. Images of the past mingle with dreams of the future as the ticking of the clock hypnotizes me into a stupor.

The world falls asleep, silencing my thoughts, my memories and, for a moment, almost the soft alarm that seems distant, but keeps approaching, overtaking my senses.

A familiar and often unpleasant sound telling me to wake up from my dreams, but that today, reminds me that it’s time to check the results of the short story contest that, perhaps, as in my many visions, could finally make those dreams come true.

I stand up and look at the photo of Joey, watching me expectantly. Waiting for that phone call I've rehearsed so many times. I take a deep breath, as my hands open the laptop and my trembling fingers refresh the page once more, announcing the results.

I close my eyes...

"I'm missing a page!”

After rereading the last paragraph a couple of times, Matías narrowed his eyes and looked up from the paper to stare at his friend.

Katerina, anxiously awaiting any comment on her latest literary work, shook her head with a smile.

Doubting her, the boy took the pages of the last chapter and went through them one by one, hoping to find some discrepancy in the numbering confirming that the true ending had been misplaced. Having no luck, he looked back at her. "No, I'm sure you must have dropped a page, dude. This ends mid-sentence,”

"I know," she interrupted. "I did it on purpose.”

"In purpose?" Matías reviewed the last words of the book. "So, we don’t know if she wins the competition, in fact, you don’t even make it clear that any of this really happened…”

She shrugged. It was entertaining to watch him react. "Well, no, not necessarily.”

"So, you sent the story like that, unfinished? And please, don’t tell me you added the cliché that it was all a dream…”

Katerina laughed. The literary background of that novel was more complex than most of what she used to write. "That’s up to the reader.”

"Seriously? But no-one likes to invest their time in a story that doesn't end!

"It does end, Mati. It’s an open ending. Many authors do.”

"I am not saying they don’t, but it doesn’t seem professional to me. The author owes it to his characters and his readers.” Clearly, her friend was looking for a reaction. "So, in my opinion, you're letting everyone down.”

Far from taking offense, Katerina smiled slightly with a sigh. Of course, Matías knew that her friend would give anything to win this competition, maybe that's why he was pressuring her.

"You’ve repeated "so" three times. You should use synonyms.” she replied calmly.

Rolling his eyes, Matías shook his head. "Make fun of me all you want, but I can't believe you did it. You won't win like that.”

"Why? That makes no sense. It's a good story and even if I wanted to, I couldn't bring it to an end yet.” The girl took the pages from the table and carefully placed them on the desk.

"What do you mean why? You've worked on the plot for months, that girl's story is heartbreaking and it shouldn’t end... in the air, like the rest of her life.” He remembered, suddenly sad. "Why couldn't you give it a better ending than...?”

"Than mine, Mat? Because I don't have it yet.” His friend smiled at him as if he were the one in need of comfort. "My story isn’t over yet; my story ends today, and only then can I finish hers.

"And how does your story end, Katerina?"

Rising, the young woman went to her laptop. "Let’s find out.” she said with a hand motion, while refreshing the page with the final results, one last time.

They both looked at the screen and closed their eyes...