an unexpected friend

Mariana had not been able to fall asleep for hours. Even though he had class at school the next morning, he ended up jumping out of bed and heading to the computer. Since her best friend had thrown a party without inviting her, she felt humiliated and full of rage. When talking to her, he had told her that the party had been Jenny’s idea, a girl in class that Mariana didn’t talk to.

“So that a difficult situation would not arise,” he argued, “I did not invite you this time, but it has been a special situation.” While Mariana turned on the computer, a clap of thunder made the open window rumble. As he went to close it, he saw a strange figure: a young man dressed clown I was waiting at the night bus stop.

Before sitting down in front of the computer, he wondered who that clown was who came home at dawn without having been able to change. He logged into Facebook and went directly to his friends directory. He saw that there were too many. Many people I barely knew, and others I knew well couldn’t be called that.

“I have to clean up,” he said to himself as a second clap of thunder began a light rain.

He stood up for a moment to see if the clown It was still out there in the open. Indeed, he was still standing at the stop. Her makeup threatened to fall apart if the bus didn’t arrive soon. Disturbed by this image, she returned to the computer ready to clear her agenda of false friends. He started by blocking Jenny, who, absurdly, was still part of his contacts. Then he got rid of everyone he didn’t know personally.

When the number of contacts was reduced to fifty, Mariana told herself that not all of them could be called friends. How many “liked” their posts? Always the same ten or twelve. The rest was as if it did not exist. He decided to eliminate them without mercy. Then she went to her best friend’s wall. In her last post, she appeared hugging Jenny, dancing at the party where she had not been invited.

He was about to block it too when he heard the storm finally break out. He ran to the window to check if the clown it was still there. Seeing him soaked in the storm, she forgot for a moment about cleaning up friends and decided to go down with an umbrella. He realized then that he was very young. At most a couple of years older than her. After offering him the open umbrella, he asked:

—What are you doing at this time of night dressed like that?

«I’m coming back from performing at a birthday dinner,» the boy answered, «and I’m coming back by bus because they pay me very little.» Today, also, at the restaurant they stole my bag with my clothes to change into.

Mariana felt sorry for that wet clown.

—And wouldn’t you like to dedicate yourself to something else? –he asked him–. You still have time to study another trade.

«There is no better job than this,» said the clown, putting his hand over his heart. I think whoever stole my clothes to play a trick on me was at the party, but there I also saw several people laugh until they cried. Maybe they’ve had a terrible day and for a while I’ve helped lighten their load, like an unexpected friend. –At this point, the clown looked at the girl, realizing that she was just a teenager–And you? What are you doing up at this hour?

—I saw that you were getting wet and I came down to get you an umbrella. That’s all.

—Then you’re like me. You came down to help someone you don’t even know. For the sole satisfaction of doing it, without asking for anything in return.

This phrase made her reflect on the negative feelings she had harbored in the past few days. When the silhouette of the bus was already outlined at the end of the avenue, Mariana took him by the sleeve and said:

—I have something to ask you… Have you sometimes felt that you give your best to someone and then they don’t reciprocate?

—Every day, it is part of my job.

—And you’re not angry?

—No, because I have understood that generosity is not a common round trip.

—What do you mean by that? –she asked him.

—The good you give comes back to you, but not always from the people who receive your favors. “That is the magic of giving without expecting anything in return,” he said as the bus stopped in front of the stop. The universe rewards you through other friends, even through someone who doesn’t know you.

-Really? Has it ever happened to you?

The clown kissed the girl on the forehead and, before getting on the bus, confessed:

—Yes, tonight. I have given what I had elsewhere, and you have brought me the umbrella.

learn to lose

Carlos watched the last minutes of his daughter’s game from the stands. At sixteen years old, he had just signed for a youth soccer team that was winning by one to zero that afternoon.

When the referee whistled the end of the game, the players went to hug their rivals

Proud of his daughter’s debut, Although the only goal had been scored by the opposing team through an own goal, Carlos waited for her in front of the locker room to return home with her. However, when she left, already showered and changed, she told him:

—I’ll be home in an hour, Dad. We have a snack with the team.

—Sure, I suppose you want to celebrate the victory with your teammates.

—I go with them, yes, but also with the rivals. In fact, we invite them to have a snack.

—How is that? –he asked surprised.

—It’s a rule of Joan, our coach. Those who win invite those who lose to a snack.

—I understand… It’s about comforting them in defeat. A cracked voice surprised Carlos, who turned around to discover an old man in a tracksuit.

—On the contrary, what it is about is learning from those who losethat’s why my girls will pay for the snack. By the way, are you in a hurry? I usually climb that mountain after games at our field, and I like to be accompanied.

Carlos snorted, overwhelmed, while appreciating the small mountain right next to the stadium. It wouldn’t be more than two hundred meters high, so you could go up and down in an hour. Not to be impolite, he accepted the invitation and the two walked silently down the path.

When they had covered most of the hill, Joan explained:

—Once a month I ask the girls to go up and down this mountain. It is part of their life training.

—Just like inviting the losers, right? –said Carlos, who did not understand the meaning of going up and down a mountain, beyond physical exercise.

—In fact it is about the same thing. The mountain is a metaphor for life and teaches us how to win and lose. During the first half of life, we climb the mountain and gain things along the way. We accumulate knowledge, possessions, successes… We are young and energetic, and when we reach the top we look at the world from above and shout: «I have made it up here! I have achieved this and that!»

That shout coincided, indeed, with his arrival at the top of the mountain, from where the stadium could be seen from a bird’s eye view. At that moment, the gardener was watering the field.

The old man’s voice brought Carlos out of that calm after the effort with an indiscreet question:

—How old are you?

—Fifty-four. I had my daughter when I was older.

—That’s fantastic… Then he has already started to go down the mountain, “Like we will do now,” he said, inviting him to begin the descent. Are you prepared to lose?

—What exactly do you mean? –Carlos asked, somewhat irritated.

—Unless you are going to live one hundred and twenty years, you have probably already reached the top and shown the world your achievements. Are you satisfied?

«I guess so,» he said as they went down a different path. I have managed to work in what I like and I am respected in my sector. I have my house paid for and my daughter is already flying alone. In a couple of years he will go to university and I will see little of his hair, because he wants to study abroad.
Assuring each step, the old man responded:

—In this phase you will have to learn to lose, and not just your daughter.

—Are you trying to depress me, Joan?

-No! Just enjoy each stage. Or is it that going up a mountain is more beautiful than going down?

Carlos did not answer.

—When we descend the mountain of life –the coach continued –, not only do we see our parents leave while our children begin to emancipate themselves. Along the way we leave friends, people with whom we had a lot in common and who have chosen other routes…

—But it hurts to say goodbye to what we love.

—Of course it hurts, but pain proves that we are alive and constantly evolving. On the way down the mountain we say goodbye to people, our body does not function as before… although we gain other things in exchange.

—What things?

—Greater understanding of life. On the way up we accumulate things and on the way down we lose weight to walk lighter. If we have learned the lessons along the way, we will need less and less and we will enjoy every moment.

As he said goodbye, the coach put his hand on Carlos’s shoulder and said:

It is true that no one teaches us how to lose in life… but for our happiness it is as important as knowing how to win.

The inner bag

Alfonso blew out the two candles with 4 and 0 on the cake with sad resignation.. He had never been a fan of parties, but he was hoping for something brighter for his entry into quarantine. He had summoned half a dozen people, but their invitations had been rejected with all kinds of excuses. All he had to celebrate his birthday, in addition to that cake, were two formal congratulations – one from his bank, another from his manager – and a gift from a distant relative who had hurt him deeply: a weekend for two at a spa.

He put the coupon in his back pocket to throw it in a trash can when he went outside. Alfonso had no girlfriend or friends who wanted to share a boring weekend at hot springs. He attributed his lack of social life to overwork. Since the crisis had broken out, his profession as a financial analyst required him to be in front of a screen full of figures from dawn to dusk. His own numbers were not bad, he told himself as he went down to the street for an evening walk. At 40 years old, he had almost paid off the mortgage on the apartment.. He also had a private parking space, a sports car and a motorcycle that he had only taken out a couple of times. His pension plan was beginning to be full, and a cash inheritance that he had for a fixed term guaranteed him good interest.

Despite having all that, on the night of his birthday he felt empty. Maybe it was because the few bars in his neighborhood had already closed that Sunday. Alfonso wanted to have a beer before going to bed, with the murmur of lonely bar patrons chatting with the waiter.

Looking for a place with life in the urban desert, he realized that he had gone a long way from home. He looked at the clock and saw that it was already midnight. That long night walk had been a sad birthday celebration. Resigned to starting another week as a forty-year-old, Alfonso suddenly felt tired and decided he would take a taxi back.

While trying to…