The Crystal Cup - Chapter One

 The Crystal Cup

Chapter One

 Tick, tock, tick, tock... The annoying sound of the clock reminded Cecilia that she didn't have much time, that she should hurry. All right, it was only eight o'clock in the morning and Ricardo wasn't supposed to return from his work before ten o'clock, since it was unlikely that he would leave work and go straight home. No. It was certain that, after working hours, he would go to the bar with his friends...

Still, she should hurry. She would miss work... maybe even resign that day, because she intended to disappear around the world, so Ricardo couldn't find her...

While she was packing her bag (she didn't intend to take much, just the essentials), even though she didn't want to, she felt memories of a not-so-distant past surface in her mind. She remembered when she first met Ricardo. She had gone to the movies with her friends, watching a movie. What was the name of the movie again? She didn't remember. Nor could she remember what she and her friends did after the movie session. The only thing she could remember was the moment she saw him for the first time in the diner... wow, what a handsome boy, she thought...

They didn't talk that day, they didn't even introduce themselves. But the image of the boy from the cafeteria was marked in her memory. And, without even realizing it, she would sigh when she remembered him...

Cecília put another dress in the suitcase. It was a blue dress, one of her favorites. In fact, she liked the dark tones more than the light ones. Blue, green, black, brown… no, she wasn't goth. She just didn't like rose and its derivatives that much. Red, depending on the tone, she even liked it. But her clothes were predominantly dark. White, just her service uniform blouse. She worked as a saleswoman in a store, and her uniform was a white blouse and pants... or skirt... black. It wasn't her favorite combination, but a uniform is a uniform. She always said that whoever chose the patterns for the uniforms only chose them that way because they never wore them...

When she went to open the drawer, to get other pieces, her eyes landed on the little ballerina of the music box that she got from Ricardo on their first date. She took the piece and wound it. She closed her eyes as she listened to the melody and began to dream of the past, when things seemed simpler... well, when you're sixteen, although it doesn't seem like it, things are actually simpler.

Finally she finished packing her things. She looked around the room one last time. A stubborn tear decided to roll down her face. She went out, locked the door and gained the world. What would happen from now on? She didn't know... but she hoped that things would at least get better and that her life would be a little easier.

She put her suitcase on the floor while she waited for the bus. Where would you go? She had no idea. Her parental home was not an option. Nor that of relatives or friends. She took a cigarette, lit it and, as she watched the smoke rise to the heavens, she was thoughtful... the bus was coming. She threw the cigarette on the floor, boarded. As she looked out the window at the life she left in the past, she became thoughtful, trying to imagine what her life would be like from that moment on...