The waves always bring to the shore the things that fall into the sea. Many feel that the sea is alive and can hear us. But the sea is like fate. The forces of its waves can drag you against your will and take you to the depths where you will drown. Or it will bring you back to shore if you jump into the deep on your own. Fate is sometimes terrifying. Like a sea wave, it is a force that often leaves you with few options to fight your destiny.
Bernardo met Rebecca, a very kind, high-society girl who gave him a job in her greenhouse. Eventually, Bernardo and this lonely woman became close. Bernardo used to sing to the flowers to make them grow prettier. Rebecca always found Bernardo's belief very beautiful. And she rejoiced in his immense positivity. Rebecca was a young woman who hid many hardships and only found a moment of peace in the greenhouse with Bernardo's songs. She was a beautiful lady with red hair who dressed elegantly, wearing black gloves, a hat, and sunglasses. Despite working for Rebecca, Bernardo only knew her full name and that she was married. But he never met her husband. Everyone talked about Rebecca being only fourteen when she married her husband, who was three decades old. Their marital tale was not what you would expect from a love story because Rebecca did not decide on her marriage. One day, an old friend of her father's visited the house and saw little Rebecca, only ten years old, and said to her father — "Keep her for me. In a few years, I'll come for her."
Rebecca horrified, hugged her brother, a year older than her, and began to cry in his lap. Her brother, Adrian, looked the man in the eye, who had a vicious and disgusting smile on his face.
Once their marriage was finalized four years after that dreadful first encounter, Rebecca never played again, spoke to her family or friends, and smiled.
One day as Rebecca was passing by the Avenue, she caught a glimpse of a mulatto boy singing and dancing with pure joy. Intrigued by the sight, she asked her driver to stop the car and lowered the windows to get a better view of the spectacle. The boy's bare feet and tattered clothes were a stark contrast to the brightness of his smile that shone like the sun. Rebecca was filled with a sense of immense sadness as she watched him. She couldn't help but wonder,
—"What makes him so happy? How can he be so content with so little in life?"
The girl, barely fifteen years old, who was already treated like a lady for being married, got out of the car, took off her shoes, threw off her hat, and joined the show with Bernardo. The charismatic mulatto was perplexed when he saw this beautiful lady start to dance barefoot next to him, but he didn't question it and continued singing. People were laughing and clapping all around them. It was such a warm and joyful scene. For the first time after her marriage, Rebecca had been happy again. For the first time, she was a child again. Bernardo took her hand and asked — "What is your name? I will sing to your name!" Then Rebecca answered him — "I am Rebecca! Call me Rebecca, the redhead!" Bernardo then began to improvise a song, which he called "Rebecca, the Beautiful Redhead," and their friendship lasted from then on. Bernardo agreed to take care of her greenhouse, and Rebecca dressed elegantly every morning to meet Bernardo. And there, to be happy and beautiful again.
One afternoon, silence invaded the space between Bernardo and Rebecca. And she asked him — "Why aren't you singing today, my dear?"
Bernardo felt anxious and lowered his head, then said in a low voice, — "Rebecca, do you consider me a friend?"
Rebecca was surprised by his question and answered immediately — "Of course! You are the only friend I have!"
Then Bernardo, with a somber expression, told her, "Then can I ask you something that only a friend would ask?"
Without entirely understanding where the conversation would go, Rebecca told him — "Sure, ask me anything! If you need help with anything, I..."— "Rebecca," said Bernardo with a firm and deep tone of voice. Rebecca exalted and said — "What? What? Why are you so quiet and mysterious today?" Bernardo then raised his gaze and said to his cherished friend with a broken voice — "Rebecca, what are you hiding behind your fancy clothes and those sunglasses?"
Rebecca was silent for a moment. And then she exclaimed— "When did you realize? I guess it's not easy to hide it if you bring it stuck on your face."
Rebecca then removed her sunglasses, and Bernardo was finally able to confirm his suspicions. The beautiful redhead's lovely face was bruised and purple. She could barely open her eyes after the blows she received from her husband three decades her senior.
Bernardo's heart tightened with a suffocating grip as he struggled to suppress the tears that threatened to overflow. He swallowed hard, fighting to remain vital for Rebecca, but a sense of helplessness overwhelmed him. He couldn't change anything, couldn't alleviate the pain of the person he loved who was suffering right before his eyes. It was a familiar feeling for Bernardo, as he had experienced this powerlessness in his own life and the lives of those around him too many times.
Bernardo then did the only thing in his power to do. He sang her a song, especially for her. Rebecca smiled even with a bruised face. Every time she listened to Bernardo, her soul could travel to many places far away from that place. And for that, Rebecca felt immense gratitude towards Bernardo. She believed in him and his talent and knew the world had to listen to him. That day, Rebecca hugged Bernardo and whispered, —"Bernardo, I love you and want you to sing forever. I hope you are free and happy like that afternoon when I met you for the first time. Please don't turn off your smile for me. Instead, I'd rather see you smile. Promise me you will." Bernardo reciprocated her friend's warm embrace and said through tears — "If that's what you want, I will do my best to bring you a smile daily. I promise."
Weeks passed, and Rebecca had not returned to the greenhouse since that day. Bernardo was distraught but could not go to the main house to ask about his friend. Then, a man abruptly entered the greenhouse. Bernardo was excited until he saw that it was not Rebecca but Adrian, her older brother. It was the first time Bernardo had met Rebecca's older brother. The man looked distressed and quickly approached Bernardo, grabbed him by the collar, and shouted — "Where is she? What did you do to Rebecca?" Bernardo, confused, said to him — "Sir, I don't know what you are talking about; what is going on with Rebecca?"
— "Rebecca? How dare you call her that! For you, she is Mrs. Rebecca!" Adrian replied.
Bernardo became furious, pushed the intruder hard, and said, —"What does that matter? What we should care about is Rebecca's safety." He paused and continued, "Do you know of all her pain?" Bernardo exclaimed with an expression of deep pain.
— "You're her brother; why do you let him beat her?"
Adrian then felt guilty and hurt as he listened to the complaints of a poor boy from the coasts. Then Adrian told him, —"You are her best friend, aren't you? She talked to you every day, didn't she? That's why I'm here. Rebecca has been missing for two days, and I have no idea where to go to look for her. Do you have any idea?"
Bernardo remained silent, wondering if Rebecca mentioned anywhere she wanted to go. Then, the thought crossed his mind of that time when she said she wanted to go to the ocean. A pang squeezed Bernardo's heart as he imagined his beloved friend walking to the sea with a wounded heart. So he ran with Adrian to the shore.
The hours became long and horrible; the anguish, the idea that the worst could have happened, did not leave the hearts of those who loved Rebecca in peace. The locals joined the search. They entered the sea with boats and searched all afternoon until the sun went down. The leader of the local fishermen told Bernardo that it was already getting dark, so he would have to return to shore and continue the search the following day. Bernardo refused to give up the search.
— "Maybe she is waiting for help somewhere. Perhaps she's too scared, maybe she's cold. Maybe she has yet to eat all day. We have to find her, Mr. Ronaldo." Bernardo said with tears running down his face. Bernardo's words immensely hurt Mr. Ronaldo. Everyone on the coast loved Bernardo. They were a family. Ronaldo said to him — "Then, let's search some more."
After two hours, they finally caught sight of a lonely boat in the middle of the ocean— Bernardo paddled desperately to the small ship, hoping she was asleep, waiting for help. But when he looked inside the vessel, it was empty. Bernardo jumped into the lonely boat and searched, still seeing that there was not enough room to hide a body. Anguish was overcoming his reason. Then, he saw her sunglasses in the boat. That confirmed to Bernardo that Rebecca was there. A chilling thought crossed his mind. He saw a rope tied to the boat's seat entering the water. Bernardo hugged the sunglasses and muttered — "Okay, I've found you, and I'll take you home. Okay? Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Mr. Ronaldo told him — "Bernardo, let me come down. You don't have to." Bernardo smiled and said, — "It's okay, Mr. Ronaldo. I'll bring her back home."
Bernardo jumped into the water in the dim moonlight and saw a silhouette at the bottom. It was a body floating in the water tied to the rope attached to the boat. Even with all the evidence he had, Bernardo still didn't want to admit it was her until her red hair appeared as the light reached her. Bernardo approached her. And he saw her beautiful face, with a blue hue, lifeless. The vast ocean consumed Bernardo's tears. And it was as if all the water in the sea had turned into tears. Bernardo recalled when his sister Patricia told him — "Did you know that the ocean water is salty because it is actually tears? Even today, the little mermaid's sisters mourn their sister." Then Bernardo held Rebecca's body and hugged her. He never knew if Rebecca jumped to become sea foam or if she accidentally could not return to the surface. Whatever the truth was, it was devastating. And Bernardo will never forget that day or the tears he shed in the sea.
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