My Own Tragedy

This story contains mention of stalking. Viewer discretion advised.

I never wanted anyone more in my life before. But there he was: Carlos Pedro Mercado. He was the man I was meant to be with. No one else. 

Unfortunately, he remembered things differently.

“You were a stalker. I feared that my life s was going to end.” 

He stood there with his arms folded , his stern expression not changing one bit. 

I took another attempt to defend myself. “I wasn’t trying to stalk you. I wanted you to be my boyfriend.”

“Marla, stop! You clearly think what you did last year was normal but it’s not. Putting down gps signals on my family, reciting my work schedule, figuring out how to lie about Sandy, my dog, being euthanized at the Bailey Veterinary Center.”

Tears were in my eyes. I didn’t mean to cause the devastating pain to the person I love. 

“At least the bond with your dog will be stronger.”

Carlos growled. “That’s all you care about? You’re so delusional.” He ruffled his hands in his hair. “Just get out. I never want to see you again.”

I walked out of the room. Then I turned around and closed the door. 

“No”.

“What did you say to me?”

“I said no. We clearly have different sides of the story, so let’s finish telling them. “

Carlos took a seat, still having an angry expression on his face. 

“Alright, go.” 

Marla took a deep breath. “When I first saw you, I thought that you would be the reason my problems would just go away. Thanks to my therapist, I now realize that is not the case.”

No one spoke. How could there not be anything else to add? 

“And?” 

And. That one word that led to more details to the story. 

“You seriously have nothing else to add to that? Jesus, Marla, what is wrong with you?” 

Now it was Marla’s turn to get upset. “There’s nothing wrong with me. Let’s get that clear right now. I just wanted to get to know you.”

Carlos shook his head. “I’m sorry. I have to mention that you just said you had a therapist.”

“I do. She’s really kind and very insightful.” 

He started to smile. “I guess it’s comforting to know that you’re seeing someone to help. I just want to know why out of all the people in the world, you chose to obsess over me.”

“Because I’m Marla and you’re Carlos. We’re meant to be together.”

“No, we’re not. You don’t know anything about me.” 

“But I know so many things about you. Your parents are from Mexico, you visit cancer patients in California, and you even became a skateboarder by the time you were fifteen.” 

Carlos just shook his head. He had his hands on his hips. He wasn’t going to be fooled by this stranger’s lies and deceit. 

“That sounds more like an obsession than loving someone, Marla. I could say that you’re into the Spice Girls, have ten tattoos, and that your favorite ice cream is chocolate vanilla swirl. But that doesn’t mean I love you.” 

Tears welled up in her eyes. This couldn’t be happening to her. Her fairy tale had become a nightmare. 

She tried to grab his hands, but he turned away from her. “We could be a great couple though.” 

“Again, that is never going to happen. Don’t you see that this is what the cops were talking about when they filed that restraining order against you?” 

Marla closed her eyes. This was a devastating blow to her. 

She scrunched her eyebrows together. There was some truth to this story. Maybe all of it was the truth. There wasn’t anything else that could be done.

“Okay.” 

Carlos leaned off against the wall. “Okay what?” 

“I’ll leave you alone. That’s what your side of the story has always been. I’m the crazy stalker and you’re the guy that can’t do no wrong because you’re perfect. Perfect in every way. There will never be another woman who matches your perfect aura. I’m perfectly imperfect as they come. Raw and open to the core.” 

Carlos sighed heavily. “You’ve said that kind of thing before. And yet, you keep bothering me.” 

The two of them sat in silence. They both realized that they would never figure out how to get two sides of the story.

Marla spoke up first. “If it helps, I could recommend you a therapist. Or we could both see a mediator.”

A burst of sarcastic laughter scattered across the room. “Yeah, and seeing a magic genie in front of your eyes will have you love Disney movies again. God, you’re delusional. You know what? We should go to a mediator.”

Carlos left Marla’s bedroom and went downstairs to get his laptop. He Googled “mediators in San Francisco.” 

Many results popped up. He ended up clicking the result of Daniel Farburg, located near the BART station. Apparently, Mr. Farburg has dealt with these kinds of cases before. Carlos really knew how to pick them. 

He pushed those unnecessary thoughts out of his mind. All that mattered was Marla Edison was out of his life forever. 

He grabbed his phone and went to call Mr. Farburg. 

Meanwhile, Marla thought of all of the events that occurred throughout these past six months. Now that she thought about it some more, maybe she never should have pursued Carlos at all. Maybe it was better to be traditional than modern in this day and age. 

She walked downstairs and saw him. She now realized that this was never about Carlos at all. Now there was a choice she had to make. She needed to go.

“I’m leaving Carlos.” 

Carlos stopped what he was doing. He couldn’t believe what Marla was saying. Surprisingly, he wasn’t angry anymore. Maybe it was because for the first time in his life, he felt nothing but sympathy for Marla. 

“Honestly, Marla, I just want you to be a happy individual. You don’t need me or any guy to validate your existence.”

Marla felt her heart glow and flutter all at once. She and Carlos had to talk to the mediator.

“I’m calling the mediator right now.”