The Look of Joel (Eng/ Esp)

Joel was in high school, he began to like the girls, their smiles, their figures, but he was very shy and it was difficult to engage in conversation with them, he only looked at them from afar longingly, he did not dare to see them even in the eyes, his shyness did not allow it..., in his wildest dreams, he always saw himself as someone popular surrounded by girls, but by the way he was going, those desires remained only in his dreams.

One day, he was going for a walk in a park that he liked to go, because it was very peaceful and solitary, there he could lie down on the grass and get lost in his wildest thoughts, where he was the handsome boy, that all the girls were looking for. He had a favorite tree, which was huge, with leafy branches and thick trunk, there he usually went to read or lay down to watch the scenery; that summer afternoon, a beautiful fairy came out among its branches and began to talk to Joel.

Joel began the conversation with that tiny, little woman, happy that someone of the female sex, without having to do it, at first, for the first time, he dared to look a girl in the eyes and seeing her directly, she was smitten with him, smiled mischievously and fluttered around him. Joel realized that she apparently had a devastating effect on his eyes... although the little fairy was only there for him.

He decided to go to the park more often and learned, through his new friend, to interact with someone of the opposite sex, but he realized that he only had to look her in the eyes, so that everything would flow in his favor, of course always in the tree, because it did not go beyond it. Taking this into account, he told himself that the next time he met a girl, he would look her in the eyes to see what would happen, maybe he would have a similar effect with human girls...

The next day, he got dressed excited and went to his high school, like every day, but this time he would not go with his head down, but upright and with his eyes straight ahead; when he met the girls, each one was as if hypnotized by Joel, fascinated by him, it was as if they had been showered with pheromones around the astonished Joel; all of them tried to greet him, even one or another dared to kiss him on the cheek. The astonished Joel did not know what to do in the face of so much rapture on the part of the girls, in a word, he was happy.

Soon he began to make appointments with one and with another, until he got fed up with so much interest in him that they said no to nothing, they seemed bewitched and began to reject one girl after another and unusual things began to happen, many began to threaten him and tell him that they would kill themselves for him, if he did not allow them to be with him..., Joel was very scared, because there were even some who threatened him directly. This made him very scared, to the point that he didn't want to go to high school.

Source/ Fuente

But then, a lot of girls found out where they lived and started hanging around his house to see if they could see him. Joel did not know how to stop all that, he tried to hide at first, skipping classes, then he realized that he could not go on like that, until one of the many girls who followed him, wanted to attack him, but fortunately some people realized, helped him and managed to get rid of that attack. This fact made Joel disappear from that city.

For a long time, no one else knew about that strange boy, who made girls go crazy with desire and taste with just a glance of his eyes. His story became something like that, like an urban legend, that little by little was left in the popular beliefs, but that many in their most secret desires wished to possess a look that dominated and attracted the girls to their whims, but only Joel knew that this was not a beneficial power, but on the contrary was like a kind of curse ...

For, much to his regret, he discovered that he did not want all the girls to besiege him, that if only one girl loved him for what he was and kept her own personality, without the influence of his gaze, who was immune to it, it would be different, he would be happy. He wanted to be loved for him, not for his look that would bend their personalities, because he knew it was not something true and so he did not want to be loved or desired.

Since then, in the streets of a busy city, from time to time, a strange boy is seen walking along its avenues and parks, with a long overcoat that he wears up to his neck, covering part of his face, with huge dark glasses that barely let you see his face and a hat that covers him almost completely... walking fast and crestfallen, that when he stops to make a purchase or talk to someone only says what is necessary and always looking at his feet...

Everyone who sees him wonders, what happens to that boy, who always walks alone on his way, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, he hardly interacts with people and almost every time he needs something, he seeks to talk only with men, he has never been seen with a pretty girl, always alone..., only Joel knows the weight he carries in his soul, because he does not want to condemn anyone else to desire him, to love him without measures, without brakes, without common sense, without self-respect, without will... so it was better to be alone, to disappear....

Only an old friend waited for him from time to time in a lonely park, under that leafy tree, to speak to him with sweetness and look into his eyes with love and give him in those moments a little company, only she could distinguish her power, because she herself managed other powers such as being invisible to others and only be visible to Joel, She understood him and knew what it was like to have to hide, because they did not understand where she came from, nor could they imagine all that she could do, being so small, for this world there are incomprehensible things that only the imagination understands and reason kills. Only that little fairy and Joel understood each other.

Here is my participation in The Ink Well Prompt #75 - Plus Weekly Challenge and Prize, I invite my friends @popurri and @ismaelgranados to participate.

Fuente/ Source

𝕰𝖘𝖕𝖆𝖓̃𝖔𝖑

Joel iba en secundaria, le empezaban a gustar las chicas, sus sonrisas, sus figuras, pero él era muy tímido y le costaba entablar conversación con ellas, solo las miraba de lejos anhelante, no se atrevía a verlas ni siquiera a los ojos, su timidez no se lo permitía..., en sus más alocados sueños, siempre se veía como alguien popular rodeado de chicas, pero por el camino que iba, esos deseos se quedaban solo en sus sueños.

Un día, iba de paseo por un parque que le gustaba ir, porque era muy apacible y solitario, allí podía tenderse en la grama y perderse en sus más alocados pensamientos, donde él era el chico guapo, que todas las chicas buscaban. Tenía un árbol preferido, que era enorme, con frondosas ramas y grueso tronco, allí usualmente iba a leer o se recostaba a ver el paisaje; esa tarde de verano, una hermosa hada salió entre sus ramas y empezó a hablar con Joel.

Joel empezó la conversación con esa diminuta, mujercita feliz de que alguien del sexo femenino, le hablara, sin tener el que hacerlo, a las primeras, por primera vez, se atrevió a mirar a una chica a los ojos y al verla directamente, esta quedó prendada de él, le sonreía con picardía y revoloteaba alrededor de él. Joel se dio cuenta de que al parecer tenía un efecto demoledor en su mirada... aunque la pequeña hada solo estaba en ese lugar para él.

Decidió, ir más seguido al parque y aprendió, por medio de su nueva amiga, a interactuar con alguien del sexo opuesto, pero se daba cuenta, de que únicamente tenía que mirarla a los ojos, para que todo fluyera a su favor, claro siempre en el árbol, pues no iba más allá de él. Tomando esto en cuenta, se dijo que la próxima vez, que se encontrara a alguna chica, la miraría a los ojos a ver que sucedía, tal vez tendría un efecto parecido con las chicas humanas...

Al día siguiente, se vistió emocionado y fui a su secundaria, como todos los días, pero esta vez no iría cabizbajo, sino erguido y con la mirada al frente; al irse topando con las chicas, cada una quedaba como hipnotizada por Joel, prendada de él, era como si les hubiesen regado feromonas alrededor del asombrado Joel; todas buscaban de saludarlo, incluso una que otra, se atrevió a besarle en la mejilla. El atónito no sabía que hacer, ante tanto arrebato de parte de las chicas, en una palabra, estaba feliz.

Pronto empezó a concertar citas con una y con otra, hasta que se hastió de tanto interés por él a que a nada le dijeran que no, parecían hechizadas y empezó a rechazar una que otra chica y empezaron a suceder cosas insólitas, muchas empezaron a amenazarle y a decirle que se matarían por él, sí él no les permitía estar a su lado..., Joel se asustó mucho, porque incluso, hubo algunas que lo amenazaban a él directamente. Esto lo tenía muy asustado, al punto que no quería ir a la secundaria.

Pero entonces, muchas chicas averiguaron donde vivían y empezaron a merodear por su casa a ver si lograban verlo. Joel no sabía de qué forma, detener todo aquello, intento esconderse a las primeras, faltar a clases, entonces se dio cuenta de que no podía seguir así, hasta que una de las tantas chicas que le seguían, quiso atentar contra él, pero que afortunadamente algunas personas se dieron cuenta, lo auxiliaron y logro librarse de ese ataque. Este hecho hizo que Joel desapareciera de esa ciudad.

Por un buen tiempo, nadie más supo de aquel extraño chico, que logró que las chicas se volvieran locas de deseo y gusto con tan solo una mirada de sus ojos. Su historia se convirtió en algo así, como una leyenda urbana, que poco a poco fue quedando en las creencias populares, pero que muchos en sus más secretos deseos deseaban poseer una mirada que dominara y atrajera a las chicas a sus antojos, pero solo Joel sabía que eso no era un poder benefactor, sino que al contrario era como una especie de maldición...

Pues, muy a su pesar, descubrió que no quería que todas las chicas lo asediaran, que con que una nada más, que lo quisiera por lo que él era y que conservara su personalidad propia, sin influjos de su mirada, que fuera inmune a ella, sería diferente, se sentiría feliz. Quería que lo amaran por él, no por su mirada que les doblegara sus personalidades, porque él sabía que no era algo verdadero y así tampoco quería ser amado, ni deseado.

Desde entonces, por las calles de una transitada ciudad, de vez en cuando, se ve a un extraño chico pasear por sus avenidas y parques, con un largo sobretodo que lleva hasta el cuello bien alzado, cubriéndole parte del rostro, con unas gafas oscuras enormes, que apenas le dejan ver su cara y un sombrero que le cubre casi que completamente...de caminar rápido y cabizbajo, que cuando se detiene a hacer alguna compra o le habla a alguien solo dice lo necesario y siempre viendo hacia sus pies...

Todo el que lo ve se pregunta, que le pasa a ese chico, que siempre anda solo por su camino, como si llevara el peso del mundo sobre sus hombros, apenas interactúa con las personas y casi siempre que necesita algo, busca de hablar solo con hombres, nunca se le ha visto con una bonita chica, siempre solo..., solo Joel sabe del peso que lleva en su alma, pues no quiere condenar a nadie más a desearlo a amarlo sin medidas, sin frenos, sin sentido común, sin amor propio, sin voluntad... así era mejor estar solo, desaparecer...

Solo una antigua amiga le esperaba de vez en cuando en un parque solitario, debajo de aquel frondoso árbol, para hablarle con dulzura y mirarlo a los ojos con mucho amor y brindarle en esos momentos un poco de compañía, solo ella podía distinguir su poder, porque ella misma manejaba otros poderes como el poder ser invisible para otros y solo ser visible para Joel, ella lo comprendía y sabía lo que era tener que esconderse, porque no entendían su procedencia, ni se imaginaban todo lo que ella podía hacer, siendo tan pequeña, para este mundo hay cosas incomprensibles que solo la imaginación entiende y la razón mata. Solamente, aquella pequeña hada y Joel, se entendían mutuamente.

Acá les dejo mi participación en El pozo de Tinta #75 y el Reto Semanal y el Premio, invito a mis amigos @popurri e @ismaelgranados a participar.