46. Back Online

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"You've been humming that song for days," said Guillermo. "Want me to play some Pink Floyd?"

Yeah, she'd been humming Wish You Were Here for three days already. It'd also been three days since her mood had finally improved, and she'd focused on helping her little sister get ready to leave.

A couple of days later, she sat her little brother down to talk. She told him that if he wasn't capable of keeping basic manners, she wouldn't either and she would pretend he didn't exist. After a whole week of ice treatment, forced to cook his own meals, do his own laundry, and being completely ignored, the boy gave up and agreed to restore diplomatic relations. Silvia cooked his favorite meal, did all his laundry and spent a couple of hours gaming with him. Truce was signed.

Mika's farewell party worked out just perfect, and Silvia hugged her little sister goodbye on a windy November morning, making the girl promise she would stay in touch often, not only if she had any trouble.

Over the next days, Silvia put videos and pictures together to edit a five-minute clip to upload to the Hey, Jay!

Jim got the update notification while they were having a drink at the hotel bar. Sean and Walt recognized the Slot Coin song and joined him, so he let them watch the video with him. It was a collage of pictures and short videos of Silvia's little sister growing up. It ended with Silvia, her brother and her whole gang waving their hands high at a bus about to leave in a cold morning. Silvia's sister was on the bus, her hand open against the window, crying and laughing at the same time. The scene faded to black as the bus left the station.

"Poor song," said Walt.

"Too corny for my guts. But guess it's okay for her," said Sean, trying a little diplomacy.

"Fuck you, both."

Jim shooed them away, because that video wasn't the only thing Silvia had posted. He waited to be alone to read her poem.

I should know by now
People pass by
On the way to their lives
They just do
Some bright look
Some heartbreaking story
Some nice talk
Some hell of a charming smile
Memories, laughter, hopes
And they pass by.

I should know by now
To just let moments flow
And try to find the truth
Hidden in every encounter
And every goodbye
Nothing too sacred
Nothing too revealing
Because they're just passing by.

The last thing she'd posted was a black-and-white picture of her little brother. Partial profile, one blue eye sparkling underneath the baseball cap and the hoodie to glare at the camera, giving it the finger.

Jim took his time to go over all of it again, nodding to himself with a mild smile as he typed a comment.

"Welcome back."

There was no mention about her lover and he didn't ask either. Not only because they didn't do asking, but mostly because he didn't care.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net