During the rest of that day, Javier could not concentrate on anything.

The lines of the planes that were in front of him in the office seemed to blend together.

His boss was talking about a new Polish project, but the words passed by his ears without staying.

There was only a phrase repeating itself in his head.

“Do you want to watch?”

Iпsteпtó coпveпcerse de qυe пo sigпificaba пada.

Perhaps Leticia was just being ironic.

Perhaps she had felt uncomfortable upon realizing that he was watching her.

Perhaps that smile was just an elegant way of closing the moment without making it uncomfortable.

But the more I thought about it… the less sense it had.

Because she hadn’t shown discomfort.

No shame.

No problem.

It had been quiet.

Almost curious.

And that was what bothered him.

That night he returned to his apartment earlier than usual.

The sky was dark and the lights of the buildings illuminated Santa Fe like a small artificial universe.

Javier left his backpack on the sofa.

Dυraпste υп momeпto peпsó eп salir al balcóп.

But he stopped.

He felt ridiculous.

He was a thirty-five-year-old adult acting like a confused teenager.

He poured himself a glass of water and tried to forget about it.

But around nine o’clock she heard something.

A soft knock on the wall that separated both departments.

Toc.

Toc.

Toc.

No fυe fυerte.

But it was clear.

Javier frowned.

He walked towards the door of his apartment.

She opened it.

And there she was.

Leticia.

Standing in front of him.

She was wearing a light gray sweater and jeans.

Her loose hair fell over her shoulders.

And he held a small tray with two cups of tea.

—I thought maybe you wanted one —he said naturally.

Javier stared at her for a few seconds.

—Thank you… —he finally replied.

She entered the department with surprising tranquility.

He looked at the boxes still unpacked.

—It seems you’re still set up.

—Yes… I’ve been busy.

Se septaro eп el pequeqυeño sofá.

The silence between them was uncomfortable.

But it was loaded with something that was disturbing.

Finally, Leticia spoke.

—This morning I scared you a little… didn’t I?

Javier let out a small, servile laugh.

—A little.

She watched him with attention.

—I wasn’t upset.

—I imagined it.

—I just found it curious.

Javier looked up.

—Curious?

Leticia agreed.

—The way you looked at me was like someone who wants to invade another person’s privacy.

Javier felt the heat rise to his face again.

—What?

“No,” she replied. “It seemed more… as if you were remembering what tranquility is.”

That phrase took him by surprise.

Because that was exactly what I had felt.

Javier looked down at his cup.

—My life has been a disaster lately.

Leticia knew it.

She had seen her daughter’s marriage deteriorate over the years.

—Sometimes —she said softly— when a life breaks down… all we need is silence.

They looked at each other for several seconds.

There was a strange hospitability at that moment.

Yes, I am judging.

Yes, past.

Only two people separated in the trap room.

—This morning —Leticia continued— I asked you if you wanted to watch.

Javier swallowed hard.

-Yeah…

She smiled slightly.

—It wasn’t a provocation.

—So… what was it?

Leticia got up.

He walked towards the balcony of Javier’s apartment.

He opened the glass door.

The cold air of the night estro.

—Go —he said.

Javier approached.

From there you could see the city lights stretching to the horizon.

—Do you know why I always leave my blinds open in the morning? —Leticia asked.

—No.

—Because for years I lived in fear of what others would think.

She turned towards him.

—Until one day I stopped something.

He made a pause.

—People are always going to look.

Javier watched her in silence.

—But looking doesn’t always mean invading—he continued—. Sometimes it just means that someone needs to remember that beauty still exists in the world.

Javier felt something inside his chest relax.

Something that had been tense for months.

Leticia rested her elbows on the railing.

—You were looking with desire with bad taste.

—¿No?

She hit him on the head.

—You were looking like someone who had been feeling lonely for a long time.

The silence between them returned.

But this time it was warm.

Finally, Javier spoke.

—Sυpoпgo qυe tieпes razóп.

Leticia smiled.

—And that’s why I asked you if you wanted to watch.

—Look what?

She pointed to the October sky.

Among the buildings, some faint stars could be seen.

—Remember that the world is still great… even when a part of your life ends.

Javier breathed deeply.

For the first time in months, that weight was felt in the chest.

I didn’t know what would become of his life.

I didn’t know if I would ever fall in love again.

She didn’t know if she would ever stop thinking about her failed marriage.

But at that moment something simple was observed.

Sometimes people appear in the most unexpected places.

Not to complicate your life.

Yes, to remind you that you can still start again.

And that night, while the lights of Mexico City shone in the distance, Javier felt something he hadn’t felt for a long time.

Peace.

Generated image

The night continued to advance with a calm that some of the two wanted to break too soon. The fresh air gently moved Leticia’s hair while they both remained leaning on the balcony railing.

 Below, the city continued with its unending rhythm: cars that passed like small lights in movement, distant voices, some lost clapper among the buildings.

But up there there seemed to be another dimension, a suspended space where time moved more slowly. Javier thought that, amidst all the noise of his recent life, this shared silence was the closest thing to a refuge he had found in months.

Leticia took a small sip of her tea, which was almost cold. She didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave. She looked at the city with a serenity that Javier was beginning to recognize as a natural part of her.

 It was a distinct trap, for the calmness of someone who has suffered, but that of someone who has learned to cope with what he has.

Javier wondered how many stories there were behind that woman who had arrived with two cups of tea as if that gesture was the most normal thing in the world.

—When I was younger —Leticia finally said— I thought that life had to follow a very clear plan.

Javier turned his head slightly to listen to her better.

—¿Up plaп?

—Yes. Study, get married, start a family, do everything “right”. As if there were some kind of map that we all had to follow.

He smiled slightly, but there was something melancholic in that smile.

—And then you discover that life follows maps.

Javier let out a small, soft laugh.

—I’m learning that now.

For a moment he spoke. The silence was uncomfortable. On the contrary, it seemed that each pause allowed what he said to carry more weight.

Javier thought about the last months of his marriage: the repeated arguments, the words that were said with disgust more than with anger, the final moment when they both agreed that continuing together would only prolong something that was already broken.

For weeks he had felt that everything he had built had suddenly crumbled. But now, standing on that balcony, the idea of ​​a new beginning didn’t seem so impossible.

Leticia glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

—Sometimes we think that the end of something is a sign of failure—he said—. But many times it just means that a part of our story has run its course.

Javier agreed slowly.

—I suppose I’m still trying to understand that.

—It’s normal—she replied. Nobody learns to close chapters of their lives overnight.

The wind blew a little stronger and Javier rested his forearms on the railing. He looked at the dark sky above the buildings. The stars were few, but enough to remind him that there were things bigger than everyday problems.

—Do you know something curious? —Javier said after a while.

—What is what?

—This morning, when I saw you on the balcony… it was the first time in a long time that I had thought about the past.

Leticia looked at him with attention.

—And what were you thinking?

Javier doubted a second before responding.

—It’s complicated. Only… the day had begun.

Leticia smiled with a warm expression.

—Sometimes that’s more important than it seems.

The city continued to shine around him. From another nearby building, a distant laugh was heard, then a door closing. Life continued with its usual movement, but for Javier, something had changed almost imperceptibly.

It wasn’t a dramatic transformation or an epic moment. It was something simpler.

A sense of space.

As if his life, which for months had felt closed off in a single painful story, was slowly opening up again.

Leticia finished her tea and left the cup on the small balcony table.

—Well —he said softly—, I don’t want to steal all the night.

Javier hit his head.

—You’re not stealing it.

She laughed softly and calmly.

—Tomorrow we have another long day.

Camiпaroп returned to the living room. When they arrived at the door, Leticia stopped.

—I’m glad you moved here, Javier.

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

-Yeah?

—Yes —she replied—. Sometimes the right neighbors appear just when you most need to remember that you are not alone in the world.

Javier felt again that calm that had begun to settle in his chest.

—Thank you for the tea.

—Whenever you want —she said.

Leticia went out into the hallway and headed to her apartment. Before closing the door, she gave him one last peaceful smile.

Javier closed his a few seconds later.

The department was still full of unopened boxes, but for the first time they didn’t seem like a reminder of the chaos.

They seemed like possibilities to him.

And as he turned off the lights and prepared to sleep, Javier had a clear feeling that something new —although still small and silent— had just begun.