Paulo’s heart beat faster by merely realizing there was a new message on his WhatsApp chat with Mariana.
He was head over heels with the beautiful curly haired young woman and quit whatever he was doing to answer her. And Mari, as she liked to be called, felt just as in love with him and kept waiting for the ticks to turn blue, signaling her boyfriend had read the message.
Their conversation had emoticons and sweet commentaries all over. Friends said they were likely to get dental cavities such was the sweetness of their relationship, but theirs truly was a great passion, an unexplainable feeling, that fades over time.
The young couple set their plans through the chat and their date, going out to the movies Wednesday, was a sure thing.
When he was standing in front of Mariana’s building, Paulo sent her a text and, while waiting for her reply, called a cab. Both his girlfriend and the car arrived at the same time, but, in Paulo’s eyes, the whole world stopped to gaze at Mari’s beauty. The young man opened the door for the lady, got in and gave the address of the town’s shopping mall to Edgar, the driver.
Looking to be in his thirties, Edgar headed towards the mall, continuously watching the couple through the rearview mirror. Lovey dovey laughter, kisses and whispering caught the driver’s interest and he needed to check if they were the right couple for that night.
Edgar was a cursed man. His forefathers were warlocks. For centuries, he lived in promiscuity, promising women undying love only to, later, break their hearts. An elder punished him by casting a spell that made him impotent, but he appealed to the dark lord and reversed it.
Edgar got eternal life in exchange for stealing young couples’ true passion in order to feed his virility and remain on Earth.
That night, Paulo and Mariana would be his next victims.
***
Across the city, Sara, the receptionist of “You call the shots” Motel, had a slightly different mission.
She was a very pretty young lady, single, who never found someone to really touch her heart. An evil came over her body, a force she didn’t know how to escape from. Every once in a while, unconsciously, she got close to a man that held true love for a woman and stole that feeling of his. She didn’t always find a victim though, since it was complicated to find men who truly loved their partners.
Sara was possessed by an abominable being whose sole purpose in inhabiting our world was to exterminate the prettier feeling there is.
That night would be no different, she had to find someone. The creature needed to feed.
***
After dropping the couple off at the mall, Edgar parked his cab and followed them.
He needed only a moment alone with the girl to steal her passion. The meanest part was that Mariana would fall out of love with her boyfriend, but Paulo would still love her. The point was to make the young man suffer. It has always been this way; for centuries Edgar has being killing passion and seeding doubt between couples as to the real reason for their breakup.
The driver watched as Paulo left for the bathroom and realized it was time to approach Mari.
He came up to the girl and showed her a female wallet, claiming she’d left it in his car. Mariana denied it, but upon looking into Edgar’s eyes, the world around her started moving in slow motion… The man’s gaze hit her and seemed to pull something away from her chest. Cupid’s arrow being removed.
Edgar was gone.
Mari was confused.
Paulo found her and moved towards her for a kiss.
Mariana turned her face away.
***
The next night, Edgar was in his usual place, waiting for a client, when a couple got in his cab. They asked to be taken to “You call the shots”.
On the way there, he realized the woman was one more potential victim and that it wouldn’t be a night of sex for that couple. The only problem was to get her alone; however, that night, Edgar was all about the adventure.
Sara received the couple. The driver moved the car a little further ahead from the front door, aligning the back window with the reception’s window.
Sara realized the couple was in love and that man would be an excellent victim. She couldn’t let him get away.
Edgar left the couple at the suite and found a service sparking space near the reception. He went to the door and knocked. Sara opened and asked if there was a problem. The driver said his passenger, the man, had lost some money in the car and asked if she could return it. Sara saw, in that moment, the opportunity to be face to face with her victim. Edgar then asked for the bathroom. Sara told him where it was.
As the receptionist called the couple’s suite, Edgar hid next to the front door and, as soon as the man left to collect the money, Edgar got in. The door was unlocked and the woman was leaving the bathroom when, before she could scream, Edgar put his hand over her mouth. He looked into her eyes and she saw things in slow motion…
A man knocked on the reception door (he only came down after he was told how much there was) and, seeming dissatisfied, put forth his hand so Sara could give him the money. She caught his wrists. He was paralyzed looking straight into the young woman’s black eyes, which sucked away all the feeling he had for the woman waiting for his return at the suite. As soon as it was finished, the man, a little dizzy, said he felt as if his blood pressure had dropped. Sara gave him a glass of water and he drank it while undressing her with his eyes. Before going back to the suite, he even said “You are very hot”, to which she just answered “yes… I know”.
Edgar headed back to his car and, before getting in the cab, went to thank Sara.
As soon as she opened the door, the driver’s heart beat faster. He hadn’t felt that when he first saw her. His mouth hung a little open while he gazed at Sara, who he saw as if surrounded by light. In that instant he noticed her good looks and the beautiful smile she had.
Sara wanted to know if he was ok. He nodded his yes.
Edgar thanked and inquired at what time she left work. The young lady answered, with a shy smile, as she took the card he offered. She sighed. Sara pressed the card against her chest while Edgar left and she went back to work.
At the couple’s suite, instead of sex they were having a heated argument over the relationship. All the love the man had for his partner was gone. She could see that in his eyes. The woman, too, no longer felt about him as before. That which she believed to be passion was much more, but had also being taken away by Edgar, who weirdly confused the feeling.
The driver had a busy shift that night. He had several rides, always thinking of Sara. He didn’t know what he felt. It was about time to go home. But he wanted to see her.
Sara was getting ready to leave. She had also thought of Edgar during her business hours. She found his card and stared at it a little. He’d told her to call. A sense of freedom the young woman had never felt before took over her. Nervous and a bit shaky, she picked up her phone and called Edgar.
As he drove home, Edgar heard his phone ringing. He thought it could be one more fare and hesitated to take the call, but he remembered Sara and answered the phone.
The young woman’s sweet voice, from across the line, made Edgar’s heart beat differently.
They both stuttered exchanging a few words, but there was no doubt in his mind as he turned his car around to go get Sara.
[divider style=”dashed” top=”10″ bottom=”10″]
Comments are closed.