Belén’s mother

            In the year 1985 Belén and I met up several times, we spent some days together although sleeping both in our parents houses. I remember it was she who came to see me to mine’s business and I escaped with her and we went to Malasaña’s quarter on a bus, and seated together on the bus I resumed to her Honoré de Balzac’s Le père Goriot’s plot. We strolled down in Malasaña and later we said goodbye at the underground station. Next day I went to see her at her place. I knew her brother already but not her parents. I had just suffered from a body’s general seizure as I was coming to her place and after I was introduced to her parents I confessed I was in a seizure. Her mother had made it out already, and she stared at me with great tenderness and told me to lie down on the sofa. I put off my shoes and lied down all along on the sofa. She began to massage me with her hands and this made me revitalize, because the truth is I was very tense and worried. I calmed down bit by bit. Belén stared at me with tenderness also. Her mother told me I could linger there to sleep if I wanted to. I realised she was indeed a woman of a heart of gold, but common sense counselled me not to despite the pleasure it would cause me because there was not room enough either. She spoke to me and made me feel relaxed and forget about the pain. Thanks to her I overcame the seizure. I was impressed by her telling me I could visit her with Belén or alone whenever I wanted if I needed a relaxing massage. Very well indeed must have Belén talked to her about me or very well indeed I must have fallen to her from the first time. Although we were tender to each other and both had similar habitudes Belén and I stopped meeting up.

            The case is that in 1988; that is, three years later, I had come out from my place at night and had gone to one of the nearest bars with the intention of having something and meet some friend. Well then, in the bar a friend of mine invited me to have a beer and when I took notice I had already drunk almost the beer entire and I had made up myself I had to go through another episode of seizure. It was late night and the bar was just being closed. Not knowing what to do in my place, since I was alone that day, I remembered Belén’s mother and started to walk along towards her place from mine, six kilometres around. Just on starting my way I suffered a strong seizure and I remained paralyzed. As I could scarcely move, it caused me a big effort to reach Belén’s place. I took not into account it was already one at night and the strange way of walking I had adopted because of the attack, it did not make me go back or stop but carry out my purpose at all costs, because something told me I had to see Belén’s mother. It lasted me more than forty minutes to reach her place walking as I could and not being possible to take the underground or the bus because I had no money. It was an enormous effort. I got there exhausted and breathless. I pressed down Belén’s parents’ flat button at two at night. Belén responded after a while. I told her I needed her mother to see me, to please ask her to let me in, that I was suffering an attack. She went to wake her up and later she told me they were waiting to see me, she opened up the door, I took up the lift and came up. Her massage newly quieted me completely. She had received me enthusiastically. She had told me with a smile it was a great illusion someone thinking about her at so late time at night. It was a great moment, she was a congenial woman with a superior Gift and I knowing it let her do what she so well knew. I went to say thanks to her the next day and she was not at home, only Belén was there. I said to her I am going to hug you for a while tenderly, for the good you and your mother are, and you tell your mother I did.