The stone balustrade was cold to the touch, but the air was warm, and the sea was absolutely calm, allowing the full moon, shining brightly, to trace a path across the water, a silver path leading to the distant horizon.
"She has come by that path," thought young Álvar.
That morning she had arrived. On a ship that came from the east, like the sun itself, disembarked a lady unlike any he had ever seen. She wasn't only beautiful; the soft tone of her voice conveyed peace, and the shyness of her movements made one want to protect her at all costs. Álvar had spoken with her for few minutes only, but it had been enough to make him unable to get her out of his mind.
He rested his arms on the balustrade and gazed at the silver path of the moon.
He felt a great turmoil in his mind, in his chest, and he suffered trying to think of how to rid himself of these feelings. He had to, for the good of everything and everyone. He was aware of his position, his hierarchy, and his duties. He couldn't disrupt the family order, nor could he allow his heart to suffer eternally if he didn't want his life to be a living hell.
No, he had to forget her. He had to erase her from his mind and shut himself off completely from any emotion that the appearance of that lady might provoke.
Because she wasn't destined for him, but for his brother.
She had come to formalize a negotiated engagement between the two families, and for her to see what would be her new home and meet her new relatives. Before being severed from her former life, she had the opportunity to experience what would be her new one. Therefore, Álvar had no authority over his dealings with her. An invisible aura of sacramental reverence surrounded her. She had been welcomed, received with respect and ceremony. He had to banish whatever he felt. She was his older brother's fiancée!
Álvar buried his face in his hands, elbows resting on the balustrade. He looked up and saw the silver path across the sea.
"I wish I could take that path, walk on the sea, far away, toward the horizon, and disappear..."
But as he watched the silvery glimmer twinkling among the gentle waves, he felt them stir. A dark figure moved, sinuous and restless, along the moonlit path.
"It's a dolphin," Álvar thought.
But the figure twisted and turned, this way and the other, disappearing and reappearing. Álvar began to get confused. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a dolphin around there, so he knew how they swam. No, that wasn't a dolphin. It was...
"My God! It's a person!" Álvar looked around, but there was no one nearby. He was far from the house, and it was dark. It was a person, and they were in trouble! “Please, hang on, I’m coming!” Álvar ran, taking off and throwing his jacket, shoes, and vest down the path. “I’m coming to your aid, don’t despair!”
Álvar sped down to the beach, plunged to the shore, and began to swim frantically toward where he thought the human figure was struggling to stay afloat. He had to rescue them before it was too late. But as he searched, he realized the tide was low, and the shore wasn’t deep. He could stand perfectly well, and there wasn’t a single wave. He stopped swimming and searched, turning his head in every direction. And then he saw her.
Before him, very close, a woman watched him, illuminated by the light of the full moon, which reflected in her dripping hair and the water that trickled down her bare skin.
Because yes, it was a completely naked woman.
It was her. Álvar paled, but at the same time, he felt his face burn, then his whole body, and he wanted to stop looking, but he couldn't. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest, though he didn't know if it was from shame or his nerves.
She watched him, completely paralyzed, with an expression on her face that he couldn't decipher. Surprise? Fury? He couldn't look at her face anymore. His gaze shifted elsewhere, to another part he had to look away from as soon as he could, and he started swimming again, this time backward.
"I... I'm sorry, I... I thought you were drowning, I thought... That you were in danger and I... I thought you were a dolphin but... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!"
Álvar got out of the water and crossed the beach as quickly as he had before, this time driven by the urgency of shyness and shame. He ran and ran to the house, trying not to think about what he had just seen.
