About Dreams and Smiles

Her body was shaking. From head to toe, it was like an earthquake was happening in the living room. Her fingers couldn’t take one more word out of her head, and that was just okay cause she didn’t need it anymore. She had finished it. “Looking at the stars” had finally born.

Last night was crazy, no understatement here. Going from one wall to another, talking to herself, yelling, murmuring scrambled ideas, Elise was going insane to know how to finish her book. Amelia, the editor, being kind as always, called to remind her about the deadline. Not that Elise could ever forget about it, but when she was chaotically immersed in her writing she could easily mistake the dates.

Now, light as a feather, she could finally rest.

If it wasn’t by her cellphone ringing loudly.

Dragging her body like it was made of stone, she walked to the only bedroom of the little apartment. The curtains were still closed as she let them so many hours ago when the moon was illuminating the room. Amelia’s name was white bright on the screen. Elise picked up the call with her sweaty hand.

“Hey, stranger!”, Amelia said with her usual friendly voice. Elise felt lucky to have the shorty blonde woman as her editor. “I’m near your neighborhood, come eat with me so you can chill your mind before finishing your bestseller book”.

“Actually… I just finished”, she could hear a loud gasp from the other side of the line.

“Really?!”.

“Really”, she smiled. It was a little one, and very very tired too, but was a happy smile after all.

“Oh my, I need to let you sleep then. Please do let me know when you wake up. Bye-bye”.

So Amelia hanged up and Elise let her body fall onto the bed, enjoying the softness of the mattress and how her mind was at ease.

Finally, for once in her life, she knew that her time in writing was worthy. So worthy that this feeling cradled her until she slept.

And so that morning passed by. The sun lighted all the noisy city and as soon as the night came, Elise woke up.

Was it like being Sleeping Beauty for her and, because of this, she let her body some minutes more in the bed, taking in all the good feelings. Year after year was like an endless nightmare. Elise was about to give up on writing when she met Amelia at a cafe. That was her last shot, last chance to give herself some freedom, last time to say that Elise Moralez is a writer. Their encounter wasn’t predicted and she looked hopeless with chasing this dream, but things worked better than any of the women could even expect.

The doorbell pulled her out of her thoughts. Still dressing old large clothes from her teenage days, Elise opened the wooden door, meeting Amelia’s brown eyes filled with excitement.

“I know what I said but I couldn’t wait for more to see your work finished. Where’s our baby?”, was blonde’s first words to her.

“By the desk”, Elise pointed with her thumb, smiling a little.

Amelia entered and ran to the desk. Although she had to wait for the writer to put the notebook’s password, the editor was thrilled. Elise’s book was the first work she did all alone. She used to help other editors with books but now this one was all hers. And this is the best thing that could ever happen in her life. To know she will see her name in a work she believes in is an unexplainable feeling.

“OH MY GOSH, I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS!”, Amelia’s scream was heard about an hour after she arrived. “How…? Oh, Elise...”. Amelia was looking like someone who just got the biggest news of all time.

“Was that awful?”, the question let the brunette’s lips anxiously. Her bangs were trembling subtly as she blinked. “I swear I can change it to a better end. What do I have to pay attention to and on what do I have to get better?”, she walked closer trying to see the notes the other had probably made on the document.

“What? No! This is perfect as it is”, Elise stopped right away. “Is just- oh my! I couldn’t predict this at all”, the oldest woman rested on the soft chair back. “And all the mistakes I correct the last time, you used it in your favor now and just ended this masterpiece”, she emphasized the last two words, making Elise blush a little, “in a way that no living soul can read without tearing up a little bit. This is a life lesson giving to the reader in the sweetest, smartest, and delicate way ever”.

“If you continue to say these things who will be tearing up will be me”, Elise sat on the couch, smiling. “Thank you for your kind words, I am really a lucky writer to have you as my editor”.

“And friend”, Amelia added.

“And friend”, Elise’s smile went bigger.

“Well, now that our baby is a little more closer to be in our arms, I want you to open this bottle of wine and celebrate with me”. The bottle was pulled from her giant black purse and given to Elise, who didn’t expect that. Amelia was a box full of surprises.

After the glasses were full of red wine both of them made a short and clumsy speech to “Looking at the stars”, to their accomplishment. Elise’s heart was full of joy and pride; she has made it. She really did her first childhood dream come true. And so was Amelia. Besides the brunette, no one ever put so much faith in this story as she did. Her efforts combined with the other woman’s efforts made “Looking at the stars” come to life.

And the tingling feeling in both hearts and the clink of the glasses marked that night as the beginning of one more happy page in their lives.