Later that same night after dinner, which had actually been quieter than usual even with Elvira's visit, Alan decided to go for a walk to help with digestion; or at least that's what he told his parents, even though he had barely eaten a bite.

It was past ten at night, and there wasn’t a soul on the street. He was alone, accompanied only by the streetlights and the buildings. After walking for twenty minutes under the cold Sunday night, he arrived at the harbor where the cruise ships with all the tourists usually docked.

He gazed at the horizon, fixing his eyes between the end of the sky and the beginning of the mountains for a few minutes. He took a deep breath, the cold air freezing his lungs completely, and leaned against the safety railing on the dock designed to prevent people from falling into the water. He gripped the railing tightly with his head bowed, and as he loosened his grip and lifted his head, he began to cry. The tears flowed from his eyes incessantly, almost as if it were impossible for a person to contain so much sorrow within themselves.

That day, he had felt a single, innocuous comment pierce through his chest. He knew perfectly well that his grandmother’s remark about a “possible” girlfriend wasn’t ill-intentioned, but he couldn’t shake the pressure it made him feel. Although it pained him to admit, he considered himself gay. From a young age, he felt there was something “strange” about him that didn’t fit with the “normality” of his family and friends. He had never spoken to anyone about his sexual orientation, fearing that everyone would judge him or even stop talking to him. He was certain that when his family eventually found out, and only if they found out, they wouldn’t react well. Both his grandparents and his parents and uncles were very religious, and there was no room for homosexuality from any point of view; it was considered a mortal sin.

After crying for a few minutes, he wiped his face and sat on a bench near the shore. He set out to admire the beautiful night and the moon's reflection on the Beagle Channel. With his gaze lost on the horizon, he tried to calm himself, searching for alternatives and ideas he could pursue to have a “happy” life and not feel miserable for being who he truly was.

After a few minutes of introspection, he concluded that it would depend solely on him to take control of his life and live freely. To do this, he needed to finish his secondary education, find a good job, save money, and move to another city on his own. This was the only viable way he saw to discuss his sexual orientation with his parents, once he had secured his own place and no longer needed anything from them.

What Alan didn’t plan for was that life would surprise him sooner than expected and with events he could never have imagined.