His eyes concentrated on the girl whose hand he was holding and who was looking at me curiously.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Her name’s Cristina,” said the boss.
I looked into her eyes and she nodded. I could only guess at the features, but the look was unmistakable.
“Cristina, say hello to my friend David. From now on you’re going to live with him.”
I exchanged glances with the boss but didn’t say a word. The girl stretched out her hand to me, as if she had practiced that movement a thousand times, and then laughed in embarrassment. I leaned down toward her and shook it.
“Hello,” she said in a quiet voice.
“Very good, Cristina,” said the boss approvingly. “And what else?”
The girl looked as if she’d suddenly remembered something.
“I was told you’re a maker of stories and fairy tales.”
“One of the best,” the boss added.
“Will you make one for me?”
I hesitated a few seconds. The girl looked anxiously at the boss.
“Martín?” the boss whispered.
“Of course,” I said at last. “I’ll make you as many stories as you want.”
The girl smiled and, drawing closer to me, kissed me on the cheek.
“Cristina, why don’t you go down to the beach and wait there while I say good-bye to my friend?” the boss asked.
Cristina nodded and walked away, looking back and smiling with every step. Next to me, the boss’s voice sweetly whispered his eternal curse.
“I’ve decided to give you back what you loved the most, what I stole from you. I’ve decided that for once you will walk in my shoes and will feel what I feel. You won’t age a single day and you will see Cristina grow; you will fall in love with her again and one day you will see her die in your arms. That is my blessing, and my revenge.”
I closed my eyes, saying no to myself.
“That is impossible. She will never be the same person.”
“That will depend on you, Martín. I’m giving you a blank sheet. This story no longer belongs to me.”
I heard his steps fade away, and when I opened my eyes the boss was no longer there. At the foot of the jetty, Cristina was looking at me intently. I smiled at her and she hesitated, then came over.
“Where’s the gentleman?” she asked.
“He’s gone.”
Cristina looked around her, at the endless, deserted beach.
“Forever?”
“Forever.”
She smiled and sat down beside me.
“I dreamed that we wer