3 The reason

I stride towards the shops, where I was going to forget that I came across the biggest idiot on the planet. Yes, I'm probably exaggerating, but I'm really tired of these guys who feel like they have the absolute truth and can't accept an opinion that contradicts theirs. Thinking about it ... maybe I'm the one who can't accept another opinion, but honestly now, what people of the 21st century continue to live in a darkness of the mind, which doesn't let them see the way times have evolved, the way women emancipated themselves? And here I am talking about women who work and support themselves, women who can decide what they want to wear or how they want to put on make-up, women who can decide when and if they want to get married or have children. The right of women to choose what they want and to build their own lives, not to be imposed. And out of nowhere ... someone appears who overturns all the ideology behind feminism.

Hell, it has nothing to do with a fucking coffee. As time goes on, I realize that most likely this man not only thinks I'm off the hook, but also antisocial. "That's it," I tell myself, heading to my favorite store to buy my favorite body cream and spray. Smelling various aromas, I feel a breath that blows directly into the back of my neck. "But hasn't this saleswoman heard of personal space?" I wonder, being ready to come back and tell her to step back, it's really not the case to get so close to the customers.

"Excuse me, but I don't think ....... " and my voice instantly fades when I see the big brown eyes looking at me.

"Don't you think what? That you should be nicer and not leave me alone at the table or that you're sorry you didn't hear about irony?" Michael asks me clearly proud of my totally amazed face.

"Uh ... I never expected to see you again, Michael." I say realizing that I chose the words in a totally uninspired way.

"That was a little hard, Sofia, considering we'll be on the same plane in less than an hour. But that's what you wanted, to stop seeing me? Are you so upset?"

"Well, I don't care if I see you again or not. Apparently ... it wasn't the same for you, since you came looking for me." I tell him trying to seem as self-confident as possible, so he shouldn't notice that I regret reacting like a fool at the table earlier.

"I wouldn't want to destroy your hopes, but I want to let you know that I came to bring you the phone you forgot on the table."

Oh, fuck! I have just made fun of myself. I could shut up, but I had to play a schemer, now play this one, Sofia. I didn't even realize I had forgotten my phone on the table, nor had I realized that I would have taken it out of my purse at some point. When I look him in the eye, I see him laughing hysterically.

"Did you believe me? Oh, Sofia, how naive you are. You didn't forget your phone at the table, I was just looking for a reason to approach you again without slapping me. Before I say anything, I want you to know that I am an ironic manufacture and I did not realize that you, not knowing me, will not catch on to this. I know what it looks like, but believe me, I can be anything, but not a misogynist. "his gaze inspired me he speaks seriously and in the end, although I would never show him, I knew I was overreacted.

"It's okay, Michael. Relax. As I said earlier, I did not have the best day, a long flight awaits me and I am already tired."

"And did you think of resting by buying a body cream to impress your boyfriend?"

"I know what you want to do, but you could ask me directly. The answer is no, I don't have a boyfriend. " I answer the question that did not take place, but I really did not feel like breaking up another controversial topic.

"Noted." he says with a wide smile.

I wonder what's wrong with this mysterious guy who clings to me insistently and nicely at the same time.

"So, does Midnight sun smell good?" he asks me, reading the aroma of the cream in my hand.

"Hmm, it used to be my favorite, but now I'd like to choose another one, but I can't decide."

"Do you need a masculine opinion?" he says, winking at me.

"Honestly not. I doubt you're good at body creams, it would be really weird if you were."

I see him smiling so innocently that his eyes caught a special gleam. After all, it wouldn't be so bad to have someone in New York to help me feel less alone.

"Sofia, go pay and come get ready to board. New York can't wait to meet you."

"Wait a minute, I still have a perfume to buy. I have to go to the store next door. It will not take long." I say, noticing the way he rolls his eyes.

"You realize there's a huge queue in that store, don't you? You will miss the flight. We'll miss the flight, actually. That I'm not going to leave you in Tel Aviv alone."

"Ok, fine. Let's go. Just because I don't want to make you conscious if you say you missed the flight because of me." he smiles, he feels victorious in this little contradictory discussion.

I'm heading to the cash register, and the saleswoman smiles nicely at me, wondering if my boyfriend is the kind of man who doesn't have much patience when it comes to shopping. I look at her with serious doubts, I don't know what she saw, but it was clear that Michael and I didn't have that kind of connection and I made sure to tell her that we had just met at the airport.

"It's probably none of my business, but the way you look at him transmits chemistry into the air."

Probably not her business? Of course it is not her business but I wasn't going to say mean things to the girl I don't even know, so I grab the bag of cream and head for the exit of the store, where Michael obsessively buttons his phone. Like any young woman, I am curious to know what he was so focused on, but I couldn't ask him. I'll stay with the suspicions, I guess.

"Are we going?" I ask him, noticing that he didn't even realize I was next to him.

"Yes, excuse me. I didn't even see you when you came out. What place do you have on the plane?"

Of course he didn't see me if he was too busy.

"3A, I think. I finally answer, trying not to seem too bothered by the fact that he wasn't even paying attention to our conversation."

"Me 3B, what a coincidence!" he finally answers me, after a few minutes of silence.

"Michael, if you keep looking at that screen, you might be hit by the hurried crowd." I had to tell him something, I couldn't help myself.

My mother taught me from a young age, since I received my first phone at the when I was 13, that it's not nice to ignore the world in favor of the small screen and although, we are the generation obsessed with social media, everything that means virtual environment, I grew up knowing that when I interact with someone, if it's not an emergency, the phone has nothing to look for in my hands.

"Forgive me, I have some problems at work that I keep trying to solve." his gaze says more than that, his eyes suddenly became dark in color, as if something upset him very much, but I wasn't going to enter the life of a man I had just met with my boots on.

We walked silently to the boarding gate for New York. Suddenly, I realized even more how real everything becomes. I embark on the adventure of my life, and my soul was wounded. Everything Antonio did made me realize that my father's words, when I was little, were nothing more than pure truth. He used to tell me that no matter how long it took, you couldn't know a man completely. People show you only what they want to see, their most convenient part of character, the one that is most pleasant and that makes you want to stay with them. This was one of the lessons I will never forget.

My dear father ... After his death, my life has never been the same. The nightmares with the black man haunted me almost every night, and the evenings became a real torment. I think that was the main reason I chose to stay with Antonio. Although our relationship was toxic, it gave me the security and protection I thought I needed. I'm sure the mistake he made was just a pretext for me to have a real reason to escape from the cage where he had locked me. I couldn't stand his jealousy, nor the hundreds of messages when I went out. I couldn't bear to comment on how I dressed, what lipstick I chose to use, or whether a boy would look at me in a certain way. He was never proud to have me, he didn't feel lucky except when his family praised me or one of his vulgar friends made a remark to me that made him feel "blessed with such a lover." he always said after going out with those bastards.

"Sofia, are you okay? You look sad." Michael asks me, seeing that I'm lost in my thoughts.

"Yes, I'm fine, just very tired. I didn't get much rest the night before." I answer without lying, because in the end it's a small part of the truth.

"Leave it, you'll be able to sleep on me all the way to rest in New York. By the way, I haven't asked you yet, but what are you doing in New York? Did you come to college?"

"I wish I was so inspired that I came to New York to go to college, but no. This year I graduated from the Faculty of Letters in Romania and I decided it was time to make a change." I recognize them with a smile on my face, I'm really proud that I made this choice not at all easy.

Of course I wasn't going to tell a stranger that the main reason I came here was to find out who killed my father. I didn't even admit to my mother that I was after those soulless criminals. And if I'm still here, I was thinking of trying some publishing houses to see if I could publish a book, even though I knew it was an impossible struggle. It worths a try, I thought to myself the day I decided to buy my plane ticket.