44- Felt so right
After emphatically shaking my head, I replied:
-I want you to come with me.
-But...
-I want to show you a special place that I'm sure you'll love.
- And what about the photographs?
-The place I'm talking about is perfect for that, believe me.
And he didn't need any more than that. For a couple of minutes he followed me in
complete silence, without asking any questions. When we reached the shore and
he saw that I was borrowing his boat from one of the fishermen, he didn't say
anything, and neither did he say anything when we found our way to my special
corner of the beach, the one where I used to go alone to be in peace and to be
able to swim the way I liked. It was the first time I took someone there, so I was
very nervous. Shortly before we arrived, curiosity managed to break Erick's silence,
who asked me:
- May I ask a question about where we are going?
- What exactly do you want to know?
-Well... everything. Where is it, why so much secrecy and how did you discover it.
I could have answered him, of course I could have, but since we were very close, I
decided to wait a bit. He was much more impatient and curious than at the
beginning, but when we finally arrived, I could see in his eyes that the wait had
been completely worth it. His whole face lit up like a Christmas tree, with a
beautiful glow that I myself knew how to recognize, for it was the one I felt rising
from within me every time I went to that special place. The sun was at its exact
point, as well as the tide and the sounds of the seagulls; it seemed that everything
in that place had agreed to make the moment perfect in every sense of the word.
- What do you think," I asked him after a while, when I couldn't hold back any
longer.
-It's...beautiful," he acknowledged, his eyes still sparkling and a crooked smile on
his lips. I've never seen anything like it.
-And that's nothing.
When he finally looked at me, intrigued of course by that comment, I stripped down
to my swimsuit and jumped into the water, taking care not to do it too far out so as
not to splash him. I swam back and forth for a few seconds, waiting for the perfect
moment, and when the sun finally reached that point I knew was right, I dove into
the water and let Erick watch the last rays of the day penetrate the surface of the
sea, pulling beautiful multicolored sparkles from the reflective corals below. Equal
parts thrilled and impressed, Erick was stunned for a few seconds, until he knew
he had to seize the moment and started snapping pictures left and right. Since I
knew how to move deftly in the water, and could hold my breath long enough, the
job was much easier. When he finished, he beckoned me over, and happy with the
job we had just done, I surfaced and returned to the boat.
- They are beautiful," I exclaimed, amazed, when he showed me the wonderful
photographs he had taken.
With a huge smile that made me tingle again, he replied:
-And all thanks to you. I don't think I've ever, in all my time as a photographer,
found a model and a setting that matched so well.
Oh, it's nothing...
- On the contrary, it's a lot," he said vehemently. I don't want to jump to
conclusions, but this could certainly be the best work of my entire career. We're
almost certain to get the cover of that magazine, and we might even get a special
award.
I was so flattered that he was considering the job for something so big, I couldn't
say anything for quite a while. When I realized that it was getting late, I started the
boat and began to take us back towards the main beach. Shortly before we arrived,
when we could see the boardwalk in the distance, with all its noise and hustle and
bustle, Erick looked at me and said:
-By the way, you swim very well.
- Do you think so?
-He nodded, "You've never thought of doing that professionally?
- Professionally? What do you mean?
Incredible as it may seem, at that time I knew nothing about world competitions,
Olympics or any of that. I swam because I loved to do it, because when I entered
the water I felt much freer and alive than I felt at any other place and time, but that
conversation with Erick opened before my eyes a huge window of possibilities that
of course dazzled and conquered me instantly. According to what he told me, in his
native London there was a sports talent school specialized in training high
performance swimmers, where they also gave them the opportunity to apply for the
Olympics, an event that, as he told me, was one of the most important in the world
of sports.
All the way back to the beach, and later to the beach bar where we had met before,
I spent the whole way back, listening attentively to every word of what he was
telling me. He even showed me pictures and videos of the biggest swimming
competitions, which only made me fall more in love with the idea. In the end, when
it was time to go home, I said goodbye to him with a huge smile on my face, as
well as the promise that I would ask my parents about the possibility of starting to
carve out a position for myself in this newfound world that was so wonderfully
enchanting to me. What I did not count on, however, was the last trick that fate had
in store for me. Because on that occasion I was not the victim of a punishment or
anything like that, but I had to see how my parents, who had always supported me
in everything despite how strict they could be at times, decided to oppose
categorically the only great dream I had so far wanted to achieve, thus truncating
one of the paths that could easily lead me to success and worldwide fame.