《With Your Last Heartbeat》


 To whom his love commits me here

    They say that the heart was discovered thousands of years ago, and since then, the human being has given it many meanings. For Christians and Jews it meant the throne of God, for the Egyptians emotion and will, and for Chinese culture it represented the mind and intention. It is loaded with values ??such as tenderness, compassion, hope and, above all, love. That love that people learn to feel for others, which is so beautiful and pure, so warm and joyful. And it is precisely this same heart¡­


    "Ah... five more minutes, please... mh? Heh?!" I said while opening my brown eyes in surprise while I stared at something over my light table.


    ¡­ the one that was going to be the heart of my story.


    "Oh! I''m going to be late!"


    I was pushing the pedals of my bike as hard as I could, just a couple of minutes after my day started abruptly. The morning was beautiful and the weather was ideal, and in the warm morning sun I was speeding through the streets of the neighborhood. With my backpack on the back, my short summer clothes, my childish face and my yellow bicycle, I felt like a racing driver driving his supercar. And while leaving everyone behind as I cruised the streets, I couldn''t stop thinking about the unbelievable bad luck I was having.


    "I had to wake up at six in the morning to have breakfast, wash and fold my clothes, prepare everything and travel, but my cell phone ran out of battery!"


    I remembered the panic I felt when I looked at the time on the digital clock in my room, still in a drowsy state, just to then discover that my phone would not respond at all.


    "Now I have to arrive to college in¡­ twenty minutes! Damn, on my first day."


    To get to my new college, in the north of the city, I had to travel across more than fifty blocks from my neighborhood, which was at the other end. Being a meticulous person, I had checked my navigation app several times the previous days to find out how to get to my destination. I couldn''t help but intermittently close my eyes and lament the situation.


    "Normally it would take me half an hour to get there, so I had to leave my house a little while before, but¡­"


    I shot a determined look ahead, which penetrated the road.


    "I have calculated it. If I hurry up and I''m so lucky all the traffic lights are green, going this fast, I can be there in¡­ twenty minutes!"


    Thinking about it again reassured me. It was always comforting to feel strong.


    "I still have a chance!"


    As I let out this scream, I applied even more force to the metallic pedals and went through another section at high speed. After two streets flat out, I came to an intersection with a busy street.


    "Let''s go! I can''t waste any sec-"


    I was overjoyed when I saw that the traffic light was red. Instinctively, I looked to the right, sensed where the traffic was coming from. The first thing I saw, unmistakably, was a green and white bus going at full speed.


    "Aaahhh!"


    I applied the brakes of my wheel with full force, and thanks to the sudden change of speed, I was almost thrown forward over my bike. The rear wheel skidded to the left, opposite the way my handlebars had turned, as the bus honked its horn vigorously.


    Luckily, and in a terrifying scenario, I braked just above the pedestrian lane and the bus passed about two meters away in front of me. I was still shaking a little due to the drag that almost sent me directly underneath that bus'' front wheels.


    "Oh! I''m sorry!" I yelled in vain at the driver.


    I wasn''t the kind of person who broke the rules, and I even felt a little guilty for having been in a borderline situation involving another person. In addition, I used to know some of the drivers on the green bus line, and possibly I would have been hit by a familiar driver, one of those who always said ''hello'' and knew where you were going.


    The traffic light quickly turned green. If it had happened ten seconds earlier, I would have saved myself a bad moment. I crossed the street, still shaking, but with the need to speed up again.


    "Hey, watch out!" someone yelled at me from the left side of the block.


    I turned my head to see who was talking to me so suddenly. Standing in the doorway of a small, old-fashioned store, a woman was waving her left arm, with which she was holding a bag. I immediately recognized her.


    "Oh! Miss Irma!"


    I veered off course to the left to go between the parked cars and get on the sidewalk right next to her. I stopped the bike parallel to her bakery and got out quickly.


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    "What did you just do? That was very dangerous! From this side it looked like you got hit by the bus! You gave me a good scare" she told me not with a scolding tone but with concern.


    "Sorry about that. I''m running late for college! Say hello to Don Hugo for me!" I told her in reference to her husband, who also ran the business and with whom she had been married for many years, according to what she had told me. I quickly adjusted my backpack and tried to push myself to leave at full speed.


    "Wait! I''ll give you a croissant, they just came out of the oven" Do?a Irma tried to hurry inside the store.


    "Eehh? But, but¡­"


    I hesitated at least three times between continuing on my way or waiting, but my inner spirit forced me to stay. It was nothing strange; she always gave me buns or something delicious when I passed by her shop. I was a regular buyer and several times I helped her with some heavy stuff that came in or delivering things with my bike, as did the whole neighborhood when they saw her for the last two or three decades. So, it wasn''t weird that she wanted to give me one of her pastries for free. Rather, when I strayed in the first place, I already knew that I could receive one. I''m sorry punctuality, but a croissant is not denied to anyone.


    After a few seconds, she came out with a cardboard-wrapped medialuna in her hands, a typical kind of croissant made in Argentina.


    "Here you have!" She handed it to me.


    "Thank you! See you later," I greeted her with an energetic smile.


    "Don''t do crazy things again!" She warned me while shaking her arm to greet me.


    "I won''t," I yelled to my back.


    I put the croissant in my backpack and quickly headed out into the street. I couldn''t eat while driving, and it''s always nice to have something for recess, so I kept it between my books for the rest of the journey.


    And so I was, on my bike. I''m Leonardo Soraire, but you can call me Leo. I''m a 18-year-old boy and a university student, or well, I will be starting to be one today. I have short brown hair, a slightly short stature and a relatively athletic body. Today, I''m wearing comfortable summer clothes, and, at the moment, a big smile because of that beautiful yet rushed day.


    I continued on my way just as quickly. Every once in a while, I ran into someone I knew, and knowing myself, I could not help myself but to talk to them.


    "Hey Leo, good morning," say Carlos, the butcher.


    "Hello, Carlos, sorry but I''m running late!," I said without slowing down.


    "Alright, but did you see the match yesterday? The Burners won, it was amazing!"


    And so I braked. Carlos was, like me and most of my neighbourhood, a Burners fan. The Burners were my local football team, and after many, many years of bad results, it seemed that we were starting to aspire for something glorious and going back to our original place among the big teams in the country. I''m sorry punctuality, but a croissant and a football talk are not denied to anyone.


    "Have you seen it? We are now third on the leaderboard. If we keep going like this, we can probably enter some international competition for next year," I started enthusiastically talking to him.


    "I hope so. It was 3-1, right? Finally we can win a match without suffering the last minutes"


    "Yeah, even if the referee seemed to be against us..."


    It was then when I realized I couldn''t be doing such a timewasting thing. As soon as I remembered my goal, I climbed onto my bike again.


    "Sorry, I''m late, I really can''t talk now. See you next time!," I said goodbye as I quickly started riding my bike away.


    "Okay, see you!," he waved my arm to say goodbye, too.


    And so, after many disturbances, I could continue. I rode several more blocks through some narrow streets until I reached a crossroads with one of the main avenues. I quickly merged into traffic cautiously and continued along.


    "Ah, it feels great!" I said when receiving mild wind in the face.


    Deep down, I really enjoyed that. I loved going out on my bike and touring the city, and traveling like this to my place of study filled me with energy, despite the physical fatigue. I could be delayed, but the adrenaline of running against time was exciting for me.


    A few blocks later, I saw how a large green space appeared on the right.


    "The park, let''s see..."


    I quickly put together a mental map. I knew my neighborhood and most of the southern half of the city like the back of my hand. I had always had a good memory, which was very useful in these kind of situation.


    "To get to my college, I have to go through the city to the northeast, so at some point I''ll have to turn right. So, if I cut through the park, I''m going to be saving a lot of time" I thought.


    I kept pedaling until my bike reached the corner of the park entrance. I turned my maneuver to the right and my bike crossed the iron gate swiftly, without hesitation and began to go through the first of the many park roads. Since it was early and on a weekday, there weren''t many people. Rather, it was almost empty.


    "Well, this should save me some time" I said as I vigorously pedaled.


    Traveling in this way and with so few people around, despite the delay in the schedule, was a very enjoyable activity. You could relax feeling the wind on your face and the vertigo of speed. One of life''s little pleasures.


    The path entered a slightly steep but long descent among the great lake on it''s center. The park, with many undulations and vast trees, fit in with the typical temperate vegetation of the area.


    Thanks to the descent, I began to gain speed little by little. The trees were falling behind faster and faster, and my adrenaline rose. At the same time, the hope I had to get to my destination on time grew bigger and bigger. What followed was a small curve to the right, followed by an intersection that could be seen in the distance.


    "If I take this intersection to the left, I will be able to leave the park without a problem. From there it''s four blocks to the next avenue, I can go about eight more and then..."


    While I was calculating how I should continue my journey, however, something was about to take me by surprise. It seemed to me that something was moving ahead.


    "Huh?"


    I quickly focused my attention on what laid ahead. All the tranquility, all the calm and the sensation that I had been experiencing was about to vanish thanks to the bicycle that was approaching at great speed from the right.


    "Oh! Watch out!" was the only thing I managed to scream.


    I slammed on the brakes hard and the bike screeched loudly. I felt a sudden pull, but this time, contrary to what happened with the bus, I couldn''t brake in time. Before I knew it, the other person was in front of me.


    I felt a strong impact and was thrown forward. The only thing I remember from those moments is the sensation of being in the air, and then falling with all the weight of my body on the asphalt. I didn''t feel terror, pain or despair. I was just freefalling into the road, shocked and confused. Who knew what was going to happen next...

 Angel of God

    I landed on the asphalt on my right side. I felt like I did a couple of spins on the ground before coming to a halt.


    "Ah¡­ damn"


    Little by little the state of shock disappeared and I could realize what had happened. My hands hurt a little and I had a scrape on my knee and several sores on my legs, but luckily it didn''t seem like anything serious. Wearing short clothing didn''t help to avoid getting injured, but it could have been a lot worse. I relieved and quickly came to my senses, then raised my head to where the other person was.


    "Ah¡­"


    There, a few meters away, the other cyclist was down. It was on its back, in a fetal position and barely seemed to move.


    "Hey, are you okay?"


    "Gah¡­"


    It barely managed to moan, still on its back and with little movement. Naturally I was worried.


    "Hey¡­ hey, react, please"


    I walked over while standing awkwardly, my knees and legs a little sore. Every step I took felt my legs weaken. With each step that I approached, I was analyzing its figure. It was wearing a beige jacket that covered its entire body from behind, cotton pants and small black sneakers. That was very atypical due to the actual template weather, and to make things worse, I couldn''t see what happened to it. When I finally reached the cyclist, I leaned down to help.


    "Hey, are you-"


    "Let go!"


    I couldn''t help but be surprised when the cyclist''s high-pitched voice complained as it brushed my arm away. Immediately afterward it turned to me and I got a good look at his face. It was a girl.


    Her long black hair, previously covered entirely by the hood of her jacket, waved flamboyantly as she turned her head. I could see her dark blue eyes, possibly the most beautiful I have ever seen, narrow angrily at me. Despite her furious face, she looked like an angel. I couldn''t help but gaze at her for a moment.


    "You¡­ you do know that you should look at the road when you ride a bicycle, don''t you?" she yelled at me.


    After a few seconds still in shock, amazed by the recent discovery, I managed to answer her.


    "Huh? The same to you! Don''t you know how to react when someone approaches from another street?"


    I wasn''t sure what had happened, but one thing was clear: I didn''t like her attitude at all. Much less when I was having an amazing time and a speeding cyclist ambushed me on a crossroad that should be empty.


    "Huh?" she was surprised.


    "You complain so much, but I was the only one who saw you. Until I yelled at you, you hadn''t even seen me. And you tell me to look at the road?" I told her exalted.


    "Hey, don''t tell me anything! You were coming too fast for me to have seen you. Look where your bike ended up" she alluded to how much it had flown after the impact, while pointing firmly at it. She had suddenly stood up and was facing me directly.


    "But if you also came at great speed!"


    "It isn''t true!"


    "It is!"


    "No!"


    With each shout, we got closer in an angry way. It was definitely not the ideal way to start the day. I sighed unhappily.


    "Ah, whatever, are you okay?" I asked, still worried.


    "Y-yes, luckily. But you must- gah!"


    I was getting ready to effectively help her so I could finally be on my way. I wanted to leave that bad moment behind and continue to my destination, where arriving on time was almost impossible. But as she spoke to me, something changed in her. The girl was interrupted from one moment to another and grabbed her chest quickly. Her face showed a strong expression of pain, and she closed her eyes very tightly. I naturally worried at such a sudden reaction.


    "Hey, are you alright?!"


    She was still clutching her chest, tightly clutching her jacket and the sole shirt underneath it. Her face showed pain, but also fear.


    She was shocked for about ten seconds, until the effect seemed to calm her down. She was breathing heavily, but was able to open her eyes and slowly recover. She stared at the floor between her legs, bent so that she was almost forming a fetal position, for several more seconds. Then she looked up and was surprised by my figure.


    "Do you want some?" I told her while holding a bottle of water close to her face, while still standing on my feet.


    Her face went from being surprised to returning to the seriousness and anger of before. I can''t be sure, but she seemed to nod slightly at my offer.


    "Ah, it''s cool! So nice!"


    The girl I had shot down was relieved to drink from my water bottle, which I always carried in my backpack. We had left our bicycles parked against a nearby tree, and we had sat at the foot of another, right next to the intersection where the accident had occurred and where I had fell onto the ground.


    "Isn''t it? You can drink all you want" I said putting a friendly smile. I didn''t want the problem to continue.


    "Hey, if you think you earned my forgiveness for this, you''re wrong!" she stopped drinking to reproach me.


    "Huh?! I already told you I don''t want you to forgive me. You could have been alert to the road, too"


    She forced me to change my face of compassion for one of anger.


    "I''m telling you that you were coming very fast, you should have slowed down!"


    "You were also coming very fast!"


    At each shout, we brought our faces closer by inertia. Neither wanted to give in, as if we were part of a boxing match.


    "Huh, whatever. You can think what you want" I turned my face away in revulsion.


    "The same I say," she copied me.


    We were both still mad at each other. Deep down I knew that I was going very fast, but her attitude bothered me a lot. Not wanting to admit her mistake was something that made me irritable and prompted me to do the same. But as much as I hated her, I wasn''t like that, and I quickly changed my face to continue talking to her.


    "Besides, I''m not doing it because I want your pity. You really scared me with that sudden pain reaction you made"


    The girl instantly reacted in surprise. Her eyes widened and, then, she followed with a worried face.


    "Ah, yes" the girl looked wistfully at the floor.


    "Are you okay?" I asked moving my right forearm over her, just above the jacket and without touching.


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    "Heh? Ah, yes, don''t worry. That happens to me when I don''t eat anything, and this morning I couldn''t have any breakfast, haha" she began to laugh while smiling for the first time. Something about that gesture seemed overreacted to me.


    Still, I acted quickly.


    "Well, in any case, I must-"


    The girl seemed to want to put something in her backpack to leave, but was interrupted when she saw that I was handing something else to her now.


    "Here, have this"


    "What is this?" she was intrigued.


    I handed her the cardboard bag I had packed in my backpack earlier.


    "A medialuna. Luckily it didn''t get crushed when I fell. You can eat it if you are hungry" I said with a serious but understanding face.


    I offered her that same medialuna Miss Irma gave me, which can also be called croissant to simplify. She remained staring at the bag for a couple of seconds and her eyes lit up.


    "Eh? Are you sure?" She asked me in a much softer voice.


    I gently nodded my head. She looked at the bag again, not sure what to do, and slowly grabbed it with both hands. She slowly unwrapped the package and looked at the content. The croissant, toasted and still warm, was fluffy and soft.


    "Thank you" she said very slowly. The total change of her personality made it look like it was another completely different person.


    "It doesn''t matter. It''s the least I can do" I said looking forward, losing myself in the park.


    I had already recovered from the accident, and remembered my situation. I took my cell phone, which luckily hadn''t been damaged in the fall, out of my backpack, and looked at the time. It was five minutes to eight. There was no way I was going to be on time anymore. As much as I could get there in five minutes, I had to accompany the girl and make sure she was okay. In the midst of that concern, I began to think out loud.


    "Huh, this is the worst. I really wanted to get there early on my first day. I hope I don''t give them a bad impression"


    I involuntarily turned to check on the girl, and was surprised when I saw her extend her hand towards me.


    "Heh?"


    "Here, have this"


    I looked closely at her hand, which was holding the croissant I had given her, but now cut in half. She had the other end being held by her right hand.


    "But-"


    "It was yours, wasn''t it? It''s the least I can do," she insisted.


    I felt a similarity to what I had told her earlier, and that made me a little more sympathetic to her. I smiled warmly in response.


    "Alright"


    I took the halved croissant and proceeded to take a bite. I felt even more happiness.


    "Wow, it''s delicious. I couldn''t expect less from Miss Irma"


    The girl saw how I ate so happily, looked at her piece of the croissant for a few seconds and took a small bite. She chewed the food for a few seconds and her face showed the same feeling as mine.


    "Hmm, how tasty it is!" She closed her eyes and was excited.


    "Isn''t it? Miss Irma makes the best croissants in town. I''m glad to go past her shop every day"


    "That''s good. Where do they sell them? I could eat them all day," she asked me in excitement.


    "At a store about ten blocks that way. Do you know the area?" I was pointing at my back, from where I originally came riding my bicycle.


    "Huh? Hmm, more or less. I live nearby, but..."


    I noticed something very strange in her expression, as if she became melancholy because of the comment. I couldn''t understand why.


    "Well, don''t worry. Let me write it down on a piece of paper," I told her to get rid of her sensation of angst.


    "Oh, thanks"


    I turned to my backpack and took a piece of paper that I had loose inside a notebook. As I searched for it, I remembered the expression she had just put on her angelical face. Her eyes, which had been taking on a glare, seemed to now be lit off.


    "Could it be that she is still shocked by the clash? Well, let''s better not think about that"


    I took out a pen and paper and began to write the address of the place, although I did not remember it with complete accuracy.


    "Hey, where were you going in such a hurry?" I noticed she made me a question.


    "Well, today would have been my first day at college. But my cell phone had no battery, so it didn''t ring in time. I got involved in a rush to make it on time."


    "I see¡­ huh?!"


    The girl pounced close to me suddenly. I leaned to my left side, opposite from her, in response.


    "Did you say college?"


    "Heh? Y-yes"


    Her face seemed to be flushed again, leaving behind any consternation she had. She stared at me for a few seconds and then...


    "Pfff," she let out a grin.


    "Heh?"


    "Hahahahahaha, what do you mean you are in college? You look really young to be in college"


    I automatically felt embarrassed as she couldn''t hold back her laughter.


    "Shut up! I don''t need you to tell me that!"


    It wasn''t the first time someone told me that. All my life, I physically appeared to be younger than I really was. With my big cheeks and neat hair, I was always mistaken for someone two or three years younger. It had its advantages, and as I got older, I learned to take it as a good thing, but it had always been an uncomfortable thing to listen to.


    "Hahaha, I can''t believe it. Sorry, sorry. Do not take it the wrong way" little by little, her loud laugh calmed down. As she kept showing pleasantry, she covered his eyes with her bare hands, leaving only her smile visible.


    "God damn"


    I continued writing down the address on the paper as the girl kept thinking.


    "So the college, it is"


    I nodded.


    "Wait a minute, if you had to arrive to your college early today," she realized something and looked at me, worried.


    "I know. It''s horrible, but it is what it is. There''s no point on regretting now"


    "Eh? But it was your first day and¡­" she began to feel guilty.


    "Alright, forget it, don''t remind me anymore. It''s the least I can do, I couldn''t leave you like this after the accident," I tried to explain in a compassionate voice.


    I finished writing the details of Do?a Irma''s business on a piece of paper and held out my hand to give it to her.


    "Here you have. I recommend their cakes, they are very tasty," I said smiling at the floor, while I kept the pen in my backpack again.


    I felt a firm grip on the paper, but it didn''t move.


    "¡­ I''m sorry"


    I heard an almost inaudible voice, very low. I looked at her and found her vivacious blue eyes pointing to the floor, sad and embarrassed.


    "Heh?"


    "I''m sorry. If I would had been more careful when riding my bike... you would..."


    I didn''t know exactly if it was my fault or hers. But the feeling of wanting to apologize by herself was very noble, and she meant it from the deepest of her heart. My opinion of her changed even more for good.


    "It''s okay. Actually, I''m the one who is sorry. I was going very fast and I didn''t look at the intersection. Are you sure something doesn''t hurt?"


    "Hm, hm. I''m fine" she shook his head in negation.


    "I understand. I was worried before when you started to take very deep breaths"


    "Oh, yes¡­ ah! I''m sorry. I''m delaying you quite a lot, am I not?"


    She seemed to have remembered something, and she showed concern again. She then noticed that I was looking at her with great focus.


    "Huh? Ah, well yes, but it doesn''t matter anymore"


    Of course, telling her she was the anchor that was slowing me down was not a great idea. With that in mind, I tried to drag the conversation away.


    "I like to stay looking at the landscape, watching people go by and how everything goes its way. It makes you think that each person is a different world, which at the same time makes up our true world. And that everyone does what they can to change it. It''s really amazing"


    I didn''t know it, since I was aiming my gaze on the horizon, but she was staring at me. I only realized it when I turned to her. The wind blew gently and fluttered her soft hair. Her cheeks were slightly pink, or at least it seemed that way to me.


    "That''s a nice way of thinking about it, I think¡­" she smiled sweetly.


    She was truly beautiful, like something out of a painting. However, I was getting more and more puzzled. There was something that bothered me. In all of her gestures, whether happy or sad, I noticed something even deeper in the background. As if her eyes were getting misty, more and more each instant that went by. I don''t know how long it was, but I could swear that moment in which I looked at her took an eternity.


    That eternity was abruptly interrupted by a loud melody. The girl quickly looked at her phone.


    "Uh¡­ ah! I completely forgot, I have to go"


    "Heh? O-okay, then"


    "What is going on? She said she was fine, unhurt, and was about to leave, so I can finally continue my path. Everything turned out fine¡­ then why don''t I want her to leave?"


    The girl quickly ate her part of the croissant and adjusted his backpack. In my head, I was just thinking that it was the last time I was going to see her. That girl who at first seemed cold, but was not such a thing. That girl who¡­


    "Thanks for your help, I hope we see each other again- Gah!"


    Again, she clutched her chest tightly, falling back against the tree. I got worried again.


    "Are you okay? You should see a d-"


    "I''m fine, don''t worry!" She tried to reassure me, but despite her effort, she was by far the most nervous of us. She tried to accommodate everything quickly without me understanding what was happening.


    I kept noticing something weird. I couldn''t stop thinking about it.


    "Well, see you-"


    In an instant, she had stood up and was about to leave. But¡­


    "Gah!"


    When she was almost fully on his feet, something suddenly happened to her. Her knees gave out, and like a feather, she vanished, falling to the opposite side with all of her weight. While that girl was falling, I couldn''t take my eyes off her. I worried like never before.


    "Hey! Are you okay? Hey, talk to me!"


    "Ah! Hel... Ah! Ah¡­"


    She wasn''t okay at all. She was clutching her chest tightly, and her face twisted in pain. I immediately understood. I took her hands off his chest and put my ear to hers. I waited a few seconds.


    There was nothing. No pulse.


    "Shit! Hey, stay with me! Everything is alright!"


    I jumped into my backpack and grabbed the cell phone. I dialed 1-0-7, the emergency number, and called. I pressed the phone between my right shoulder and ear and began to try to revive her. My complete focus had to be put on this situation.


    I placed the palm of my left hand on his chest, and my right hand, the dominant one, on top of the other. I started doing the compressions, one per second, hard, while the phone was not responding. I had to constantly do that for at least 90 seconds, and keep doing so if there was no response in between, making an average 100-120 compressions per minute.


    "Come on!"


    I continued to perform compressions as per protocol, but had no response. The girl''s sounds were getting weaker, and I began to despair.


    "Please help!"


    I felt her body grew colder and paler. I remembered horrible things. I couldn''t fail, but I didn''t know what to do anymore. I fell into despair.


    "Help me!!!"


    I don''t think I''ve ever screamed so loud in my life. And I think I kept doing so, but I don''t know for how long.