With a slow step, and without knowing where to go, Eduardo walked with sadness imprisoned inside his chest. His thoughts did not coordinate with his steps since he knew that he could not ask any of his friends for help. However, his brain instinctively began to guide him towards Susana’s house. The road was long, and the shadows of the night began to appear out of everywhere. Eduardo walked for four hours until inadvertently he was standing in front of Susana’s door. He wanted to knock and ask to be allowed in, but he didn’t dare to do so. Eduardo was afraid of rejection by Susana. He was embarrassed too because he had nothing to offer. Feeling sorry for himself, he allowed himself to be overcome by the feeling of helplessness that he had dragged alongside him between his feet since leaving his parents’ house, which felt like a heavy burden. Feeling that he had no hope of obtaining the approval of his parents to marry Ana, he slowly slid onto his back, leaned into in the doorway until he fell asleep on the floor hugging his school bag.
Susana’s house had large transparent glass windows through which sunlight penetrated, illuminating the entire interior. Susana used to get up very early to prepare breakfast so she would be able to eat every day with Ana before taking her to school. Ana had planted a variety of roses in the front and back of the house, which she always watered before breakfast. That morning when Ana opened the door, she was scared when she felt something heavy fall on her feet. The expression on her face was one of consternation when she saw that it was Eduardo. Ana immediately called Susana. Eduardo woke up when the door opened. Then, when he heard Ana’s voice, he wanted to stand up, but his legs trembled, and he remained lying on the ground.
Susana arrived at that moment. She was still angry with Eduardo since she considered him guilty of having motivated Ana to marry him; while Susana knew that the decision to marry had been Ana’s, she did not want to accept it because she found it easier to blame Eduardo. However, when she saw him lying on the ground, with watery eyes, a split lower lip and part of his face purple because of the blow he received, Susana’s heart softened. Eduardo looked so helpless that the anger that Susana felt disappeared completely. At that moment, Susana saw him for what he really was, “A boy wanting to become a man.” Susana was moved, so she approached Eduardo, helped him stand up and hugged him. Eduardo could no longer contain his feelings and cried.
With a broken voice Eduardo said, “I have lost my home. I have nowhere to go. ” Susana hugged him so tightly that the feeling of empathy that was born between them united them heart to heart. From that moment on, Susana received him as if she were receiving her own child.
That day they stayed home. Ana and Eduardo did not go to school and Susana set new rules, which included that Ana would sleep in Susana’s room until she married Eduardo.
The days passed quickly, and the wedding was held two weeks early. Ana looked beautiful in her white dress. It was a simple dress that highlighted her beauty. Her hair was adorned with three yellow roses. In her hands she carried a bouquet of autumn flowers tied with an orange ribbon forming a bow, decorated with the colors of spring. At Ana’s request, Eduardo was dressed in white with a yellow rose on his suit.
The ceremony was short, they had no guests and they got married with Susana and her friend Irene as witnesses. After the wedding they went on their honeymoon for a whole weekend to a hotel ten miles from Susana’s house. Where Ana and Eduardo gave themselves to each other with the passion and innocence of their first love.
The following days were full of happiness. With intimate moments where Eduardo and Ana learned to kiss overflowing their love without limits. They learned to know each other to feel and live their love without measure. They learned to be one in marriage for better or for worse. Eduardo learned to defend, support and care for Ana in all her shenanigans. Ana learned to respect and love everything that Eduardo loved and respected. They learned to communicate with their eyes, to overflow all their feelings with the roses of their fingers. They learned to face the conflicts of the world with wisdom and when night came, they learned to feel fully enveloped in their fantasy with real and deep feelings.
Susana was also very happy to have Eduardo with them. Susana felt that she had regained complete happiness, as if Juan and Nora were alive through the presence of Ana and Eduardo in her house. There were times when Susana went away on a weekend with her friend Irene to have fun with people their own age. This also gave Eduardo and Ana space so that they could enjoy their marriage freely.
One night when Susana was away, Ana prepared a special dinner. She decorated the table with roses that she cut from the garden of the house. She put on a suggestive dress that made her look very sensual, placed candles around the dining room and turned off the lights. That night, Eduardo and she were imbued with the strength of true love and the passion of youth. That night Ana became pregnant.
As the days went by, the symptoms of her pregnancy became noticeable, so Ana underwent a test that confirmed it. Eduardo was so happy that he thought that a child would complement their happiness in an eternal way. Susana glowed with the excitement of having a baby at home. Ana cried with happiness because Eduardo made her feel alive as she had never felt before. Eduardo enervated her senses until she exploded in ecstasy. Next to Eduardo she felt safe, strong, loved and a son was the confirmation that her love for him would last forever.
Ana and Eduardo’s marriage was not an impediment for them to continue in their studies. Ana began to have regular medical attention and almost at the end of the third month of her pregnancy the doctor gave them great news, “Ana is expecting twins”. Susana paled when she heard what the doctor said, she never told Ana that she had had a twin sister, who died the same day her parents died. Susana believed that it was not necessary for Ana to know since the little body of her dead twin never appeared. And although that had been the opportune occasion to tell it, Susana preferred not to say anything.
Ana and Eduardo celebrated the news with great joy. From that moment on, Eduardo showed his love and care towards Ana at every turn.
Ana did not stop attending school. Almost at the end of the school year, when she was taking her final exams, Ana was answering a history question when she felt her legs get wet. Full of shame she screamed, causing the astonishment of her classmates, “I think I urinated”.
TO BE CONTINUE…
EMOTIONS AND PAPER STRIPS 
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