January 15 I: The Forgotten Day.

Lola arrived at her office and went about her business as usual.

After work, Lola rested her right arm on her desk and rested her face on her right palm, staring intently at her phone.

A soft knock on the door jolted Lola out of her thoughts.

" Come in," She ordered.

"I will be off now, madam," Marco said as he walked in.

She nodded as she looked at Marco.

Marco nodded and exited.

***

On his way out, Marco notices Luis standing in front of his car in the company parking lot. Luis smiled at him, and Marco returned the smile and walked towards him.

"Thank you for assisting me, I owe you one," Luis said as he approached Marco.

"It's all right, it was for Madam's sake. Anyway, she's still at her desk."

"Sure ."

Marco walked away, and Luis entered the building.

***

Lola stood up, took her handbag and phone, and walked towards the door, pulling it open to find Luis standing right in front of her.

"Did you have to wait long?" He inquired, a smug expression on his face. Lola frowned and pushed him aside, but before she could proceed to walk away, he grabbed her hand.

"I apologise for not texting or calling; I've just been extremely busy recently. Can you accompany me somewhere?" He stated, his face changing dramatically into a solemn expression. "There's a place I haven't been to in a while, and I don't want to go alone," he said, looking at Lola.

Lola turned around and locked eyes with him; she could tell he was serious. She inhaled and exhaled before responding, "OK, I'll come with you."

She called her driver and told him she was going somewhere and that he should not come pick her up.

When she finished the phone call, Luis grabbed her hand with a bright grin on his face and dragged her out of the building with him and into his car.

Lola noticed a lovely bouquet of flowers in the back seat of his car.

"Where are we going?" Lola asked Luis, who turned on his car's engine and drove away.

After an hour of driving, Luis pulled over beside an ice cream shop. Lola raised her eyes to the ice cream sign. The shop was crowded with people waiting their turn, indicating that it was very popular. They waited patiently until their turn came, and Lola noticed they were the only ones there besides the employees working the counter.

They each got two small cups of vanilla ice cream and walked over to the table by the window.

"Do you remember we used to come here back then, you, me, and Maria," Luis said, playing with his spoon. Lola looked at him, pursed her lips, and looked around the room.

"I didn't recognise this place; it's changed a lot."

"They renovated it," Luis said, putting a spoon of ice cream in his mouth. The flavour was sweet and creamy, and it spread a warm sensation throughout his entire body as the coldness from outside seeped through his pores.

"So, why did you bring me here?" Lola inquired, taking a bite of her vanilla ice cream.

Before responding, Luis licked his lips and shrugged.

"Just to relive the old days, we had both good and bad memories in this shop."

H paused for a moment before finishing off his ice cream. Lola's lips formed into a soft smile as she took another bite of her ice cream while watching Luis eat. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him eat and saw how much he was enjoying it.

"You know, I used to tease you about eating like a pig," she mumbled.

Luis smiled at her and said, "I can't help it," chuckling at the memory.

Lola smiled as well, remembering how amusing and innocent he seemed back then. Lola's smile faded quickly, and her face became solemn.

Their gazes locked as they finished the rest of their ice creams. For a few seconds, they exchanged glances. The silence between them seemed to last an eternity.

Luis finally broke the silence.

"Today is our breakup anniversary, the ninth year," Luis said, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Just then, lightning struck, and rain began to drizzle outside. He laughed bitterly and leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table and his face in his hands.

His voice was shaky and quiet.

"It's raining today, it also rained that day."

Lola's eyes widened, she completely forgot today was the exact date, She called it quits with him. She gazed down at her fingers, unsure what to say.

Luis sighed and fixed his gaze on her.

"It's no surprise you didn't remember, you've been busy after all," he mumbled.

Lola furrowed her brows, and turned away. She wasn't expecting him to remember or for him to bring it up.

"Ah, I guess I made you uncomfortable; forget what I said," Luis said, looking away.

"You are correct. I completely forgot about it "She mumbled, wanting to say more, but Luis stood up on his feet, ready to leave.

He looked at her with a warm smile that completely concealed his pain, "I have an appointment with someone. Goodnight, I'm leaving now."

Lola couldn't even look him in the eyes for some reason.

What was this sensation again?

Was it remorse?

Lola shook her head pushing that thought aside.

Luis let out a deep sigh and walked away, leaving Lola alone.

'He seems different today... As if he is grieving,' Lola thought as she picked up her phone and dialled her chauffeur's number. She then turned around to see Luis get into his car and drive away.

***

Luis pulled over in front of the New Mexico City Cemetery after a one-hour drive.

He exited his vehicle.

He opened the back seat door and took out the bouquet of flowers he had brought. They weren't as good as they could be, but they sufficed for the occasion.

He walked into the small cemetery, scanning each gravestone as he passed by until he found the one he was looking for.

He sighed deeply as he placed the bouquet on one of the gravestones, rain dripping from his face into his shirt. He took a moment to contemplate the gravestone. The gravestone had been worn by time, with a few words etched on it over the years

|' Lucia Borbón, beloved mother. |

|From 1984 to 2014 |

As the rain began to fall heavily, it dripped off his head.

He sat at the grave's edge, leaning against the stone. " It's been years, mum," he murmured, "and I'm all grown up."

"I'm a super rich entrepreneur, just like I've always wanted to be."

As tears welled up in his eyes, light footsteps approached, bringing an umbrella above his head to protect him from the rain.