Juan looked out at the outside world through the glass with a rocking lullaby in the background. It was difficult to remember the last time he went out to buy food.
Three weeks have passed since that tragedy: an accident on his last day of work at a construction company. Juan’s gaze slid over the tall iron and cement frames of the house under construction.
In eight months the project will be completed, and in three months he and his partners will receive the best gift – children.
Juan dreamed of a girl and a boy. He hasn’t yet come up with a name for the boy that he really likes.
On his last day of work, Juan noticed a child running between the safety cones around a construction site.
A boy about seven years old asked Juan what he was doing there. Juan replied that he was looking for apartments. The surprised boy asked for one, and Juan’s friend mocked the situation. Jokingly, Juan said that he needed two apartments to avoid his mother-in-law. The boy offered to return in eight months. Juan later woke up in the hospital after a construction accident and learned that only a miracle had saved him. He was worried about his wife Louise and asked the nurse about her whereabouts.
The doctor took some time to recover before saying, “His wife is giving birth.” Juan felt pressure in his chest and thought, “This can’t be true.” In response to his confusion, the doctor confirmed: “Luisa Rodriguez, your wife, is in labor.”
The doctors carefully explained to Juan about the premature birth, assuring him that his wife was now in good hands. Although he was informed that he could not see her immediately, Juan asked him to at least wait outside the operating room.
When Juan learned of the loss of both legs due to the incident, a child’s cry was heard in his room.
The rest of the world seemed lost after the tragedy: his job, his pending promotion, and his company all turned their backs on him after the incident.
Without a job and with limited funds, Juan accepted a wheelchair from the company as a “parting gift” when he became a father. Family difficulties ranged from unemployment to his wife’s struggles with depression and his twins’ health problems.
However, the most devastating moment came when he was told that the children were healthy and would soon return home, but his wife Louise had disappeared. Through all the rooms of the house and many calls, he did not find her. She’s gone and there’s no coming back.
Juan was lost in thought, but a knock on the door brought him back to reality. The old couple appeared, and although they were unknown, they seemed familiar.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“We were frozen and lost. Can we come in for a minute?”
“Juan made the couple feel comfortable and they appreciated it.” I’ve seen this woman somewhere before. This thought never left Juan.
Without noticing that the old man and old woman had brought up the topic of children prematurely, or that their eyes were clouded, they saw Carlos and Clara sleeping.
The old woman nodded, signaling her husband to speak.
“You are ideally suited to work at the new branch of our architectural firm in the city,” said the old man.
“Unless you want to change your field of activity,” he added.
John agreed. “I don’t have many options, so yes, I’ll take it.”
Juan started asking about the married couple, wanted to know how long they had been married? Do they have children?
When the couple asked about children, their eyes changed.
It turned out they have a daughter who got married and doesn’t talk to them.
And then the old man said that he had a good friend who makes prosthetics, he gave Juan contacts so that he could contact him.
The man handed Juan two business cards: one from the prosthetist and the other from his company.
The next day, Juan decided to call the medical center, having learned that the cost of the best set of prostheses on the market was about two million dollars, Juan was worried, but because they would hear that the prostheses and consultations had already been paid for.
The prosthetist confirmed that the check for two million dollars was provided by Mr. Landaeta. Remembering who the old man and the old woman resembled, Juan realized that these were Louise’s parents – the ones from whom she ran away to marry Juan.
Collecting his thoughts, Juan dialed his father-in-law’s number: “Hello, Mr. Landaeta. I apologize for not recognizing you yesterday…”
They had a very nice conversation, after which their relationship improved, they began to communicate very closely, but Louise never returned.
