The Love of An Invisible

[ Iuri Stevens’ Vision]

“Finally, my boy is back!” my father hugs me tightly and I reciprocate in the same way.

Seven years away from here, from my parents. During the vacations from one semester to the next, I dedicated myself to the academy and to learning martial arts. I worked hard to improve physically, and I am happy with the result. Today I look in the mirror and feel handsome, even though I am still tormented by Aya’s words that insist on hammering in my head day after day.

“You have become a very beautiful man, my son,” my mother also hugs me, and I lift her off the ground by the waist and spin around with her in my arms. How I have missed her.

“You look even more beautiful, Mom,” I speak and release her.

“The years have favored us, honey,” she smiles openly.

“How about we go to a pizza place, the one we used to go to when you were a teenager,” my father suggests.

“Come on!” smiled, I really missed the pizzas there. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“You guys don’t really change, let’s go for pizza lunch? Really? When are you going to become adults?” my mother hasn’t changed a bit.

“Once in a lifetime won’t kill you, honey.”

“Yeah, Mom, when was the last time we had pizza together?”

“Okay, this time I’ll let it go!” she says smiling and we head for my dad’s car.

I still like anime a lot, one of the few things I still keep from the past. But of course, I only watch it when I finish my responsibilities. My father has made the Stevens name grow a lot in the construction business, and I already have plans on how to make this name even more prominent.

The way to the pizzeria takes about five minutes, as soon as we enter the establishment, we choose a table. It is no longer as rustic as before, now it is modern, I remember the sound system that used to be here, where people would choose the music they wanted with chips, now there are only two televisions that are showing the newspaper, the same newspaper on both.

“It’s a pity that this place isn’t like it used to be,” I say, observing the place.

“Yes, technology comes in everything. But the pizzas are still a delicacy, my son!” comments my father smiling.

I have missed them both a lot, they have always been loving and companions, I have perfect parents! I always wanted to have a relationship like theirs, but I have accepted that I won’t be so lucky.

“What will you have?”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Family size four cheese pizza,” my father answers the waiter, the same order as always.

In less than ten minutes we are served. During the meal we talked a lot about how I went to college, if I met any special girls and stuff like that, I noticed the sad look on my mom’s face when she said that I haven’t met anyone worthwhile. I know how much she wants a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter. But this will take a little while yet.

After eating the last piece of pizza, we went back to my parents’ house. Tomorrow I will get my own place, I don’t want to go on living with them, I am already twenty-five years old. I need to hold the reins on my life.

“Have a good night, honey,” my mother kisses my cheek and leaves the room.

I look around, nothing has changed, my anime posters are still here in the same place. Sigh, I am still a big anime fan, but now I don’t have as much time as before.

Seven years ago, Aya was sleeping right there, right in the next room… No! Don’t think about her! I close my eyes and in a short time I manage to fall asleep.

The alarm clock goes off at half past six in the morning, I stretch out on the bed and after a few seconds I get up, with lazy steps I go to the bathroom and do my morning hygiene. The cold water from the bath rouses me from my sleep, I dry myself and put on the suit made by my tailor, with the comb I put my hair back. I look in the mirror once again, I let my beard grow because I read in a magazine a survey asking women if they like men better with or without a beard.

“Son, coffee,” I hear my mother shout, I finish putting the watch on my wrist, come out from inside the bathroom and go to the pantry of the house.

At the table my parents are already setting their plates.

The meal lasts ten minutes, and as soon as my mother is finished we get up from the table and leave the house. I still remember the last social party I went to, I always found it so boring, I only went to see Aya, but she only went twice. That doesn’t matter anymore, I would probably never see her again, and that’s good.

It doesn’t take more than twenty minutes until the car is parked in the company parking lot, I take a deep breath, from today on I will be in front of all this. I walk in front of my parents, the tinted glass doors don’t let me see anything from the inside, however, they saw me coming and opened the door for me, Juliana, Aya’s mother, I had forgotten that this woman worked here, she should have retired by now.

“Welcome, Mr. Iuri Stevens,” she speaks softly, but it annoys me just to hear her voice.

I enter without answering, she swallows dryly, all the leaders of each sector are present, but I don’t have time to notice the faces of any of them.

“Let’s go to the presidential office” my father gives the order.

My parents and I go to the private elevator. They don’t stop smiling for an instant, they are probably already planning the first country they will travel to on vacation. The doors open and we go to the president’s office, which from now on will belong to me. Everyone enters and settles in, I observe the view from the glass wall, everything is more beautiful when you look from above.

“Well”, my father begins and I turn to pay attention. “From today, my son will be the president of the Stevens company, he was away for seven long years, studying to be able to occupy the position and my wife and I can finally rest and enjoy our retirement, it’s been a long thirty-five years here, working with each one of you was very good”, he turns to me “Son, in these years that he was away, new employees entered the management of the company, I will introduce them, step forward, Marcos Decapri, director of HR and Leandro Silva, director of the economic development sector.”

You have to be kidding me, I can’t believe that the guy who spent his childhood bullying me is now one of the directors in the company. How did he get this?

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Stevens,” Marcos extends his hand and I shake it.

I notice Leandro’s hesitation to approach me, he must think that I will fire him as a way to get revenge for everything he did to me. Maybe I will fire him, but first I will see if he has changed and if he is a good employee and leader, I can’t start by firing good employees.

“Sir…”

Her voice is cut off as the doors are opened simultaneously, a woman of short stature enters with her head bowed, who is she? I wonder if it’s someone from the management who was late, she already started off on the wrong foot with me, I hate being late… What is she doing!? She kneels down and sticks her forehead on the floor, I have seen this position before, however, only in anime. Who is this woman? She must be a deranged madwoman.

“Good morning Mr. Gustam, forgive me for entering your office like this, but I didn’t know what to do or who to turn to, I’m desperate, I urgently need help, and …”, she shuts up for a few seconds, her voice sounds soft, “I know it’s a lot of abuse on my part, but please, BUY THE ZAIN ORFANATE”, she shouts the last part, what does she think she’s doing, “I know I have no right to ask this … But the children… They… They are amazing… They’re very special…”, the voice gets whiny, and I don’t understand why, but it bothers me much more than it should “She can’t…”

“Aya…,” Leandro calls her.

This can’t be a coincidence, the world has to be playing with my face! This can’t be the same Aya I asked my parents to take care of. She slowly raises her head, her big round violet eyes leave me in no doubt, it is her. I have worked so long to get her out of my thoughts, and now she is standing right in front of me! On her knees and crying. Her eyes look at me startled, surely she didn’t expect to see me here. Denying with her head and crying eyes she gets up and runs out of the room, Leandro runs after her.

“She must have heard that the heir is single, manhunter,” Marcos mutters, but I can hear him well.

“Well, you can go back to your sectors, I want only Mr. Marcos to stay,” I speak giving myself up, I need information.

“Goodbye Mr. Stevens,” they say goodbye and shake my hand.

“Goodbye son, and well … Be wise in your decisions,” my mother hugs me, and I hug her back.

“I will, Mom.”

“Success, my son,” my father hugs me too, then hugs my mother by the shoulders and they walk out together closing the doors.

I adjust my jacket and walk to my chair behind the table, Marcos remains standing, I signal with my hand for him to sit too, so he does.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Stevens?”

I take a deep breath, I know I didn’t want to have any information about her, but now she works here, I may have to see her every day. I will have to have information about her, all these years that I have stifled this desire, have gone down the drain as soon as her eyes landed on me.

“Why did you say that about Miss Aya?

“Are sr. a friend of hers?” he asks with wide eyes.

“I’m the one asking the questions,” I speak firmly.

“Well… For over a year now she has been dating over two hundred men, a different one every night or every week.”

“Were you one of them?”

“Yes, Leandro introduced us last month,” he pauses and scratches his head, “She wanted me to marry her in less than a month.”

“Right,” I feel disappointed. This information hurts too much. I should have gone on without knowing anything about her, “What does she do here at the company?”

“She works in the economic development department, as Leandro’s secretary for two years.”

I have actually lived to see them work together, which has happened in the years that I have been away.

“She has been making donations to the Zain orphanage for two years now, after she moved up in position, the orphanage can’t get any more donations and things got critical, since then she has been manhunting. However, the building has been bought and the children will have to be relocated. Leandro’s wife is the director there. I believe that’s why she came here, because she couldn’t get a richer husband than her competitor.”

“Thanks for the information, you can go now.”

“Okay,” he gets up and leaves.

I spin in my chair and watch the cars rushing down the street, I just wanted distance from her, I thought I would never see her again and to increase my surprise even more, besides seeing her, I also saw Leandro again and from the scene, the two of them are now friends.

She is even more beautiful than before, her body has many curves, her breasts before hidden by the wide blouse of the school uniform, are now almost protruding through the small buttons of the white blouse, her hair is even bigger, but her eyes? Although they stared at me in a frightened way, they still seemed to be innocent, but I know they are not, she is a man-hunter, she is now a slut. Sigh, I really didn’t want to know about these things. I didn’t want to be bothered like that, it’s her life and her body, she who decides what to do.

“What are you talking about!”, I ask confused, “Our parents are friends,” I try to justify myself. “They always had dinner at home, and for me it was also a surprise when you showed up….”

“You’re a liar!” He rolls his eyes, “That dinner?” tears fall from her eyes again, my heart clenches, even more because I don’t understand the real reason, “My mother made me go, just because the spoiled son of her bosses was in love with me. I’m sure you just wanted to use me like Leandro did, you must be the same, two unscrupulous bastards who think they can do whatever they want without….”

“Don’t compare me to him!” I never lie to you, I have never thought of using you, because I don’t….

“Because I never gave you the time of day,” she screams hysterically, “I never even noticed you in the room, a prickly ugly man who thinks he has money and then wants to manipulate everyone around him! All you’re going to get in life are women who only want you for your money, because you have nothing else to offer!”

“I’ve never thought I was better than anyone,” I say wearily- “nor have I forced you to do anything, I know I’m not the prettiest, but…”

“Go to hell, you invisible piece of shit!” she interrupts me, with a sad face, “I want to fuck you and all the others!”

“Aya…, ” I shake my head, this is no time to remember these things.

Aya, Aya, what am I going to do with you?