When Felipe reached the age of thirty he considered himself quite a happy, regular chap. He had a good, stable job (working as a solicitor), he had a nice big family (three elder brothers Raul, Fernando and Leon), he was easy-going , with a witty sense of humour and above all he lived... let"s say, somewhere in Latin America - where there"s always good weather, lots of sun and people smile more often then anywhere else. But...here we are, at the point in any story with a conflict there needs to appear the But. In the case of Felipe it wasn"t a big conflict; he just felt that.... something was missing in his life.
Maybe it was the beginning of what they call a "middle age crisis", when a man notices he has less hair, he's put on weight, he"s lost the chance to marry an old friend who now already has two children. He"s generally missed out on many possibilities: he hasn"t tried writing anything like a poem; he"s never learnt how to dance, or go scuba diving. He"s aware that he has now passed his carefree youth, when all possibilities were ahead of him, and that this time will never come back.
But Felipe was very lively, positive, and never had a problem attracting women. He wasn"t Brad Pitt, of course, but because of his good personality and nice sense of humour sooner or later women want to be by his side. Felipe had several girlfriends, but had never felt he had found "the One". And he was so busy with his work that he literally didn"t have any time to look for her. But our Felipe didn"t feel sad about it; he knew his destiny would find him some day.
Generally our hero's everyday life consisted of three parts: work; a big, warm and noisy family; and his hobbies, which were reading and ...ok, a love of rare flowers, particularly roses. He often looked in the encyclopaedia for unusual sorts and he dreamed of having a big garden one day with many rare flowers in it.
So, what else could he have wanted in life? But (again this but), he felt his adult life was slightly different from his crazy student years. He was sometimes pretty bored writing all the contracts and formal letters from day to day. He balanced this with a passion for adventure stories which he would read in the evening.
The thing he missed most in life was very simple - a little bit of magic in his everyday life.
-"I need some spark to brighten my daily life, something to go to bed and wake up with in my mind," he once said to his brothers while on their traditional weekend by the sea.
-"When will you stop being so childishly romantic? You are already thirty. Time to be a man," said Leonsio, the elder brother.
-"That's because he is the youngest one," said Fernando, the middle brother. "Mum always used to spoil her little cutie Felipe-lippe," he added jealously.
-"Don't listen to them,
Phil," said Raul, the closest friend of Felipe (the difference between them was only a year). "I believe something really amazing will happen to you one day, because you so deserve it. It"ll definitely happen!" said Raul with conviction.
-"Any barbeque chicken wings, my romantic fellows?" Fernando interrupted him.
-"No, thanks," said Felipe and he went to the sea shore. There he stood alone for quite a while throwing pebbles in the water and smiling at his own thoughts.
-"Let's go, Romeo, it"s getting dark, we need to go back to town," Leon beckoned him. Felipe threw one last pebble and ran to the open the car door.
Life continued as usual day by day: contracts, clients, lunch, breakfast, book, computer, new sort of roses, office, contracts, clients....Then one evening Leoncio (he had an unusual occupation for the family - he was an actor) came home with a happy face.
-"Hey! I've got it!" he screamed at the door
-"What's happened now, a fire?" asked Fernando, looking through the open door.
-"No, much better - I've got a part in our new play." Leon shines with happiness.
-"What it the play? Tell us!" begged Felipe.
-"It"s Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", by a new American director," replied Leonsio, taking his shoes off.
-"Wow! When will the premier be, are we invited?" Raul reacted excitedly.
-"Of course. And it will be soon - we"re going to perform at an international festival in our city."
-"Fantastic!" exclaimed Felipe.
Some time later the whole family dressed very smartly and set off for the local theatre for the opening of the International Theatre Festival. The American director"s interpretation was very unusual, but interesting.
During the interval they drank tea with a biscuits at the buffet with their parents and they discussed Leonsio"s performance.
-"He was just brilliant with his monologue in the first act," said their father. "Did you like it, Felipe?"
But Felipe was distracted by something else: he was looking at all the attractive girls that had come to the festival. He caught sight of a melancholic brunette sitting at the opposite table. A few minutes later a pretty blonde girl joined her. The brunette smiled radiantly at her and Fil continued to admire the girls. Raul noticed the way he was looking and smiled lightly.
-"Sorry, what?" Felipe again asked inattentively. "Oh, yeah, it was brilliant," he added.
The show was a great success and all the family celebrated at home with a big meal. Many toasts were made for Leon, wishing him further success with his theatrical career.
A few days later the first strange thing happened. When Felipe arrived home after an exhausting day"s work he discovered an enveloppe.
-"That's for you," said Fernando at the door.
-"For me?! From whom?" asked Felipe in surprise.
-"I have no idea!" replied his brother.
Felipe thought it could be the letter from one of his old university friends. But it wasn"t. It was a very strange letter in general. Here it is:
"Dear Phillip!
Sorry for my curiosity, but I saw you at the buffet at the premier of the new production of A Midsummer Night"s Dream. You look just like one of the actors (are you related?).
I didn"t have any time to ask you about it there. I was only visiting for the day to see the play as I study all modern interpretations of Shakespeare. Friends of mine also perform this play. I would really like to talk to you, especially as I noticed the way you looked at me...
To tell you the truth, it was something in your eyes that encouraged me to write this letter. Fortunately, a friend of mine is a client of your practice and he has told me many good things about you and he gave me your address.
It would be so nice to have a friend in your country and maybe you can visit mine one day.
I hope this letter will not be of any inconvenience for you.
I"d be happy to receive a reply.
All the best!
L. R - F
"It can't be true," was Felipe"s first reaction. "Is such a romantic thing really possible these days? Just see a person once and then to write to him?" he wondered. But then he thought back to that day and he suddenly remembered that melancholic looking girl who was sitting just opposite him at the buffet and also drinking tea. He remembered the desire he also had to talk to her and ask her why she was looking so sad. The play was a comedy after all. But then the bell signalled the end of the interval and the brothers made their way to the auditorium. After the performance they all went to congratulate Leonsio and Felipe forgot about the tranquil girl with the dreaming eyes.
"But why me? I am absolutely ordinary. What if I stared at her like a fool, too attentively?And what is her name? Laura Rodriguez-Flores or Lucia Ramirez-Fernandez? Her probably sounds like a flower," he continued to think. "And she is like a flower with a pale face and gentle smile." She appeared in his memory like the rare rose he had seen at an exhibition. It was called "Moonlight", a delicate and beautifully sad flower. Then he thought of the blonde girl who had joined "his moonlight rose". She didn"t look so mysterious and she certainly didn"t look at him. Or maybe she was hiding her interest?
"I'm going mad. I need to go to bed," thought Felipe. What can such interesting girls find in me? I am nothing special; maybe they just want to use me to meet Leon, our local famous actor? But then she wrote "the way you were looking at me..."
With all these happy thoughts he fell asleep. He dreamt that there were two girls: a blonde and brunette who tried sitting on the same chair and argued who he had looked at first.
In the morning Felipe felt very bright and fresh. He sang in the shower and almost skipped on his way to work. He decided to write back to this mysterious Louise-Laura Moonlight-Rose.
He wasn"t in the habit of writing letters to girls that he had only seen once and he thought it could be exciting.
"My dear L!" he began to write on that same evening.
"It was so kind of you to write to me. I also wanted to talk to you at the play, but, unfortunately, I didn't have the chance. So, I"m very glad that you got in touch. May I ask what your full name is? What do you study at your performing school? In which state do you live? Do you know my brother Leon?"...
That day marked the start of the happiest period of his life - the secret correspondence had begun. The family noticed the difference in Felipe, but he didn't even give his closest friends any clue as to why. Their relationship became more and more magical.
He discovered that Liz Rose-Ferguson (He almost jumped when he learnt of her name) had so much in common with him. They seemed to have read the same books, to have been to the same places on holiday and she even knew what he dreamed about. She also loved ancient history, Shakespeare and nature. She described to him her favourite things in life, and she would always send him such positive messages that cheered him up so much.
She also had a witty sense of humour and after reading each letter Felipe was in a good mood for several days. He had made a real friend.
The letters changed him a lot. He began working with more enthusiasm; he got back into sport; and he even changed his wardrobe! He would smile at all the girls in the street and dream about what he would say to Liz upon meeting her face to face... (she promised to visit him soon).
He even knew now which sort of rose she liked and exactly what to buy when she came.
His birthday was approaching and he decided to invite Liz to visit at that time, without telling her of the occasion. He wanted to surprise her!
It was the happiest moment for him when Lisa-Rose confirmed she could come.
On that day Felipe felt like he had wings on his back. However, at lunchtime his boss informed him that he needed to talk to him. His boss suggested going to a cafe. Felipe was somewhat weary, but he was in such a good mood and he felt so happy inside nothing can disturb him.
-"Look Phil," started his boss. "I am very satisfied with your work over the last few months, especially with those American contracts. It was hard work, but your diplomacy, optimism and knowledge was really useful. So, do you think we can work together? I can send you for extra training and you can become my deputy. And who knows, a few years from now, when I retire, you might run the company!"
Nothing surprised Felipe any more; he just smiled agreed.
After work he ran to the best flower centre in town and bought yellow roses to meet Liz at the station. He popped home to change his shirt and put on a new navy-blue suit.
Everyone was at home. After having a quick shower he was getting dressed when Fernando appeared at the door.
-"Here's a postcard for you," and he handed it over to him.
-"Just a second," said Felipe, taking the bunch of roses. "Who's the postcard from?"
-"As usual," replied Fernando.
Felipe put the roses on the table and read:
"My dear Felipe!
Unfortunately, I can"t come tonight.
It was a great pleasure to read all your letters and you"re a really nice and unique guy!
Happy Birthday!!!
Yours,
L R F
(leonsio raul fernando)"
Felipe burst furiously into the hall where the whole family was sitting and he shouted: -"What is the meaning of this?!?!!"
-"It means," Leonsio calmly replied, "We wanted to make a surprise for you, little brother. But we really didn"t know how and Raul suggested writing the letters to cheer you up. It was actually quite a hassle sending all those letters to California to my actor school-friend, who then had to send them back. We just wanted to entertain you a bit, bring some sparkle to your everyday life! We didn"t expect you take everything so seriously!"
-"But...."Felipe was breathless with indignation and almost threw the bunch of roses at them. It almost made him cry, the thought that his beloved Liz-Moonlight Rose had never existed it was all a cruel joke.
-"But...my new suit and promotion at work, these roses, all my dreams at last!!!" cried the devastated Felipe.
-"Is this all so bad?" replied Fernando. "Look at you, you"re a brand new man. You've changed a lot and you"ve been so happy all this time. This has helped you change your point of view on everything - is that so bad?"
-"But the most important thing," added Raul. "We would like to demonstrate to you the power of dreams and the importance of putting it into practice! So why we are all still here, let"s go and celebrate your birthday with a good glass of wine. There's live music round at the local restaurant tonight!"
The brothers grabbed Felipe, who was still confused as to whether something good or bad had happened to him. They all went outside together. At the restaurant they drank nice French wine with good food and Felipe"s disappointment faded away. He almost felt happy. The brothers recalled together his reaction to the letters. Joking, laughing a lot and after several glasses they moved into the bar with a dance room where Felipe noticed a pretty girl standing alone looking over at him. And even though he had never danced before, he suddenly decided to invite her to dance. The girl smiled in return accepting his invitation and.....