He ordered the employee to play the piano in front of everyone to humiliate her, but when she started, no one expected what happened.
Julia stepped off the subway with her hair disheveled and her uniform wrinkled from the crush of people. It was almost 6 in the morning, and she was already late. She was always late. The cold stung her face as
She ran across the avenue that separated her neighborhood from the large hotel where she worked. She saw it from afar, tall, bright, as if it weren’t part of the same planet as her. The Hotel Real Dorado had
More floors than she’d ever counted, and revolving doors she never understood. But in there, she earned just enough to buy her grandmother medicine and pay for the gas.
so he didn’t complain.
She walked through the employee door, nodded to Mario, the guard who wasn’t even looking at her anymore, and headed straight to the locker room. Some of her colleagues were already there, ironing their uniforms or
adjusting her bun. Julia didn’t have time. She tied her hair in a neat bun and left with her cleaning cart, without eating breakfast again that day.
Something was off. You could tell from the moment you walked in. There were more flowers than usual, more noise, more people walking around with clipboards and stressed faces in the lobby. They were decorating with new curtains, the kind that
They seemed to cost more than anything Julia had ever earned.
She asked quietly to another employee who was passing by and was told that that evening there would be a private gala organized by one of the hotel’s most influential associates. Julia didn’t know his name, but she heard that it was
millionaire, who had mansions in three countries and who treated everyone who was not like him badly.
As she mopped a corner of the lobby, she saw black vans with tinted windows pull up. Out stepped men in expensive suits, women with unusual hairstyles, and assistants who didn’t
They stopped talking on their cell phones. She didn’t like being around those people because she felt invisible. If one of those guests looked at her, it was only to ask her for something or to tell her that
was in the way.
But there was something no one knew about Julia: she liked to play the piano. She had learned it on her own, listening to videos on the phone her cousin lent her on weekends. Sometimes, when the
main hall would be left alone after an event, he would sit at the bar’s piano and play with his eyes closed. Never for more than 5 minutes, never when anyone was around. He knew that if the
If they caught her, they would chase her away, but it was her only way to breathe in peace. That piano was a giant black Yamaha grand that sounded unlike anything she had ever heard. Every key was like
An emergency exit, a way to forget the pressure, the routine, the fear that her grandmother would get worse. One night, she even fell asleep hugging the stool, until a waiter woke her up.
with a laugh and told her to leave before they saw her.
While cleaning the restaurant windows, Julia heard that the millionaire’s name was Gerardo Alcázar, that he had paid for the entire remodeling of the 20th floor, that he was bringing artists that night,
businessmen, and even a senator. She also heard that his girlfriend was a model, that she had a reputation for being rude, and that she was coming on trips with him. Julia just hoped she didn’t have to clean near them.
At 3 in the afternoon, Julia went down to the staff dining room and served herself rice with egg. She sat in the same corner as always in front of the fan that was no longer turning. She ate in silence thinking about what
He had to leave before 9 to be able to go to the pharmacy. There was a new medicine that the doctor prescribed for his grandmother, but it was very expensive. Maybe if he worked an extra shift on the weekend he could.
buy it after eating returned to his routine polished the tables of the blue room arranged the chairs of the mirror bar and went up to the 19th floor to change the soaps all the time he thought about his grandmother how thin
that she was getting into the nights when she didn’t sleep from the pain sometimes she cried alone in the employee bathroom but never for more than 5 minutes then she would rinse her face and come back as if nothing had happened it was almost nightfall
When he heard that something was wrong, there were altered voices at the reception desk. A musician, apparently the event’s pianist, had had an accident and wouldn’t arrive. One of the organizers was arguing on the phone.
While another shouted that they needed an urgent solution, Julia didn’t pay attention. She thought they would bring someone else or put on music.
recorded what did it matter but someone didn’t know who said that there was a girl on staff who knew how to play the piano that they had seen her one night Julia froze dropped the duster swallowed saliva wanted
run but it was already late a supervisor arrived with a hurried face and told her that they needed her in the diamond room to go since she shouldn’t ask Julia wiped her hands on her apron and went with
With a shaky step she entered through the service door and felt everyone looking at her. The room was filled with white flowers, low lights, and uniformed waiters with gloves in the center in front of the piano.
A tall, serious-faced man watched her as if she were an insect. He was Gerardo Alcazar and he had just decided that that night, to make fun of the chaos a little, he was going to let the cleaning lady
I would play just to see what would happen. The black vans parked one after another in front of the main entrance of the hotel. They weren’t taxis or normal cars. They were the kind you only see in commercials.
Or on the news when some politician comes down surrounded by bodyguards, the ballet employees moved nervously almost tripping over the orange cones while receiving the keys.
The area managers walked quickly giving orders to everyone as if the world was falling apart. Gerardo Alcázar got out of the back seat with dark glasses, a white shirt without a single wrinkle and a
clock that shone brighter than any lamp in the lobby he didn’t look at anyone he walked as if everything belonged to him two assistants came behind him with folders talking on the phone while a man older
An old man in a grey suit tried to keep up with them with a stressed face. No one dared to speak to him directly. If they wanted to tell him something, he would tell him.
They said the one in grey was his secretary or his human shield, who knows, next to Gerardo came Daniela, his tall, very skinny girlfriend with straight, blond hair like something out of a shampoo commercial, she was with a
tight dress, designer glasses and cell phone glued to her ear, she didn’t even look at the employees or the people at the hotel, she seemed annoyed to be there as if everything made her lazy as soon as they entered the
In the lobby, one of the managers went to greet them and offered them something to drink. Gerardo ignored him. Daniela just said, “Late with almond milk without looking at anyone.” Gerardo stood in the center of the
lobby as if inspecting a lot, pointed at a flower arrangement with a disgusted face and told the manager that it was not what he had ordered, that the color did not match, that it looked funeral.
The manager gulped, smiled forcefully and promised to change it in less than an hour. Gerardo didn’t respond, he turned around and walked straight towards the private elevators as one of the elevators went up.
The organizers were explaining the event plan, the schedules, the guests, everything that had been done. Gerardo didn’t listen to him, he just looked at his cell phone and from time to time he said, “I already know that.”
Oh, I’m not interested. It bothered him that people interrupted him. It bothered him that things didn’t go exactly as he wanted. On the 20th floor, he stared out the window. He said he didn’t want any press.
He didn’t want photographers and he wasn’t going to greet anyone who wasn’t on his list in the presidential suite they had set up as a rest room for him and Daniela. Gerardo entered without looking.
He threw his jacket back onto the leather armchair and poured himself a whiskey without asking if there was permission or not. Daniela sat down in the largest armchair and took out an iron for the
hair told one of the assistants that she wanted to change the dress for another then she made a video call and began to criticize the makeup of a friend of hers who was in Miami she spoke as if everything
The room was empty as if no one else mattered. Gerardo, meanwhile, looked out the window and down. He liked watching the little people running from one side to the other. From there, they all seemed to be
Ants let out a short, mocking laugh and asked the organizer if they already had a pianist. The organizer told him yes, that everything was ready.
Ready Gerardo just raised an eyebrow and told her that if something went wrong they would remember him. He said it without shouting but with a voice that stifled the air. Daniela stood up and put on a new dress.
striking than the previous one and took several selfies in the mirror then asked Gerardo if he wanted to sit with him at Mist the main table Gerardo didn’t even turn around told him to do what
I wish he was going to be busy, she twisted her mouth, annoyed, but didn’t say anything. They went down together to the Diamond Room, which was almost ready. The decorator approached to show her the final details.
Gerardo
walked slowly inspecting everything, he stopped in front of the piano, that black Yamaha that Julia also knew, he played it with his fingers without emotion, he asked if it was new, they told him yes, that they had brought it that day.
week he didn’t answer anything, he asked for silence, everyone who was preparing the room stayed still, he pointed to a chandelier that hung right over the center, he said it was crooked, no one saw it
crooked but no one contradicted it they called the technician to adjust it Daniela sat at a table took out her mirror and began to touch up her
Makeup artist murmured that the salon seemed small to her and that she expected more. One of the organizers nervously told her that they had followed her instructions to the letter. Daniela gave a fake smile and continued with her
eyeliner for her they were all furniture not even people Gerardo received a call it was a businessman from Monterrey he spoke loudly as if he wanted everyone to hear him he said he was fed up with
useless people who if they didn’t close the deal that night would do it with another company cut the call and said
cell phone on the table he poured another whiskey and asked one of the waiters to bring him ice but he did it reluctantly as if it was hard for him to say please that afternoon in less than 3 hours all the
The hotel revolved around him, what he said was done, if he asked for something they ran away, if he didn’t like it they changed it, and if someone made a mistake they knew that the next day they would be looking for work, no one
wanted to be left without a job so everyone walked quickly, looked at the floor and swallowed their nerves while Julia cleaned the
elevator area on the 17th floor I hadn’t seen Gerardo yet but I already knew he was there, you could feel it in the air, everyone was tense, everyone wanted the night to go smoothly, what no one
I knew that because of a comment that someone from the team was about to make, everything was going to change because the pianist hadn’t arrived yet and Julia, who was sweeping without bothering anyone, was going to be
to ruin the night without warning at 6:20 in the evening all the waiters were already in line checking that the tie was straight and that the apron had no stains in the room
The diamond smelled of fresh flowers and nerves. The organizers walked from one side to the other with sweaty faces, checking the lights, the audio, the arrangement of the tables. A chef shouted from the kitchen that
The sauce had curdled, another asked for more ice and a waiter fainted from the heat, but all of that was normal at an event like this, what was not normal was that the piano was still without a pianist, there was little left.
An hour before the guests arrived, the background music was not enough. Gerardo had asked for someone to play live during dinner and then, if he felt like it, he could do a
second presentation as a special act everything was set up for the piano to shine in the center of the room but the musician had not arrived at 6:30 one of Gerardo’s assistants received a
He took a few steps away, answered with a frown and then returned to the group with a face that seemed like mourning. He said that the pianist had crashed on the periphery, that he was fine but had the
His right arm was hurt and he wasn’t going to be able to play that night. They took him straight to the hospital. There was no way the silence would reach him.
The organizers panicked, one asked if they could play a recorded track, another said it was better to hire a last-minute DJ, yet another took out his cell phone and started desperately calling everyone.
contacts I had in my address book, nothing worked, it was late, no one would arrive on time and Gerardo didn’t accept excuses, the audio guy, a skinny kid with a face that looked like he hadn’t slept since yesterday, said
Hit, hey, what if we ask for that cleaning girl, the one who plays the piano? Nobody understood what he was talking about.
He explained that he had seen her play a couple of times after the events, he had never said anything because he didn’t want to get her in trouble but he swore that she knew how to play well, a supervisor who was with a
Notebook in hand, she stared at him as if he had gone crazy. Julia, the maintenance man, the audio guy, nodded. Yes, she plays better than that guy who had the accident. I swear he’s not here.
I’ve only heard it made up. One of the organizers laughed, but another one, the one who was more desperate, said that they had nothing to lose by trying.
If it worked, it worked, and if not, well, they were out of options. No one was going to tell Gerardo that the piano was just for decoration, or if they wanted to continue working there tomorrow, so they went for it.
Julia was catching the 14th floor just outside one of the meeting rooms. She had her headphones on with the music low, so she didn’t hear when they called her at first when she finally
He looked up and saw a supervisor and an organizer he didn’t know very well, both with urgent faces. Hey Julia, we need you to come down.
To the Diamond Room right now she took off her headphones, she didn’t understand anything, something not serious happened, but you know how to play the piano, don’t you? Julia froze, her first instinct was to deny everything, to say no.
She knew they had been confused, that she was only doing it for fun to let off steam, but she didn’t even have time to open her mouth. The supervisor was already gently pushing her towards the elevator. No question.
Julia, they already told us that you do know and there is no time, we need you to touch it, Julia felt the blood drain from her feet, she entered the elevator with her heart pounding.
the throat who had said that why had they released it just now and what was she supposed to do in front of all those rich and elegant people but I don’t have any clothes and I don’t know what I have to play
babble doesn’t matter, just sit down and play something, whatever you know, whatever comes out and if they don’t like it, well, we’ll see, but if you don’t do anything, Gerardo is going to explode, and if he explodes, he’ll explode with everyone in the elevator.
arrived at the living room floor, Julia came out with shaky legs, her hands were sweaty, her hair was tied back with a badly placed barrette and the
Chlorine-stained work blouse felt like a fish in a fire everything was too shiny there were people arranging centerpieces tables arranging glasses cleaning the piano
One of Gerardo’s assistants looked her up and down, he didn’t say anything, he just pointed at the piano bench with his chin, Julia walked up there as if she were going to the gallows, she sat down and saw her own
hands could not stop shaking a lady who seemed to be in charge of image brought her a black shawl and put it on her it was not of much use but at
At least the stains on her uniform were no longer noticeable. Another employee tied her hair into a firmer ponytail and one of the waiters offered her water. Julia barely took a sip and then Gerardo appeared.
He entered with a firm step as always accompanied by Daniela and two businessmen he had brought for a visit. Everyone stopped when they saw Julia sitting in front of the piano. Gerardo frowned and approached the
event manager and asked him in a low voice what was happening. The manager quickly explained to him about the accident and the improvised alternative, Gerardo, said nothing.
He looked at Julia with a crooked smile as if she were entertaining him, as if it were a game. Daniela let out a short laugh and leaned over to say something in his ear, but he ignored her. “Well,” Gerardo said in a
voice loud enough to be heard throughout the room let’s see how much Miss Julia can do felt her whole body tense up took a deep breath closed her eyes placed her hands
on the keys she had no score she had no plan she just knew that if she didn’t play something she would stay paralyzed in front of it
everyone and Julia played, her fingers were on the piano, barely touching the keys as if they were ice water, she couldn’t think about anything, she only heard her shallow breathing and the uncomfortable silence of the room
In front of her a sea of tables with white tablecloths, glasses shining in the light and elegant people starting to settle in. In the background, Gerardo Alcázar leaning back with his arms crossed and Daniela sitting
with one leg over the other looking at her like someone sees a cockroach in a display case, come on girl” said Gerardo in a mocking tone “we want to hear that great
talent of the laundry area.” A few laughs escaped among the guests who were already entering. A woman covered her mouth to hide it. A man said something to his wife and she blurted out.
a tutor as if with disgust Julia didn’t know if it was sweat or fear that ran down her neck but her face was burning her legs were shaking so much that she thought she was going to fall off the bench she didn’t have any sheet music no
She had nothing rehearsed, she only had her hands and the pressure of dozens of eyes on her, Daniela crossed her arms and let out
a phrase barely in a low voice but loud enough for some to hear to see if at least he knows where the dopun is another laugh Julia swallowed saliva remembered the first time she played
That piano was one night after a wedding when everyone had left there was a wine stained napkin on the keyboard and a withered flower on the music stand there no one could see it there I could be free
Now it was different, now they used it as a joke, as entertainment for bored rich people, she closed her eyes and counted until
three thought of his grandmother in her wrinkled hands in her words when he heard her play for the first time you have something in your hands Julita don’t let it go out and with that in mind he pressed the keys
At first it was slow, hesitant, as if fear was still sitting beside him, but within seconds the melody began to flow. It wasn’t a classical piece like the ones they play in movies, it was something that
She had created a mix of what she heard in the videos, what she remembered from music classes in high school, and what came out of her
of the soul had strength had something real the room began to fall silent one by one the murmurs lowered the waiters stopped a glass was left half-served people turned towards the piano with their faces
of someone who doesn’t know if they are hearing something true or if it is their imagination Julia continued playing her fingers no longer trembled now they moved as if they had a life of their own the rhythm went up and down it stretched and
He came back as if he were telling a story without words as if he were taking out everything he had stored away and he wasn’t doing it for them, he wasn’t doing it for Gerardo or for Daniela or for
Those who had laughed did so for her, for what she was worth, for what they had taken from her with the mockery and the silence. In a corner of the room, an elderly lady wiped away a tear. A young businessman
He was recording with his cell phone without hiding it, even one of the chefs came out of the kitchen with the spoon in his hand and stood there looking with his mouth half open. Gerardo didn’t say anything, his gaze was on.
He looks at Julia, no longer with that mocking smile, but with a tight frown as if he didn’t understand what he was seeing, as if something inside him had stopped working.
Turned around, Daniela noticed him, looked at him out of the corner of her eye, nudged him, Gerardo didn’t respond or even blink, Julia finished the piece on a soft note, left her hands in the air for a second, then lowered slowly.
the arms the room was silent for a moment of those strange silences that you don’t know if they are good or bad and then a clap, one from someone in the back then another and another and suddenly the whole
The applause in the hall wasn’t fake, it wasn’t out of commitment, it was real, the kind that gets under your skin. Julia didn’t know what to do. She stayed.
Sitting motionless with her gaze on the floor, someone approached her and asked her name, another asked if she gave classes, a music producer who was among the guests got up from his table and walked
straight to her he gave her his card daniela clenched her jaw who brought it said to the nearest assistant who thought it was a good idea to bring it up there was because of the pianist’s accident
The short assistant replied, there was no other option. Daniela got up from her chair and went straight to Gerardo and pulled him by the arm. “What is this? Are you going to let someone climb on you?”
“Employee?” Gerardo calmly let her go, “No, but firmly, she plays better than anyone we’ve hired,” that was all Julia said. She got off the stage as best she could, her legs were shaking again.
But for another reason, a waiter smiled at him as he passed by, another told him it was beautiful, one of the chefs winked at him, for the first time he wasn’t invisible, for the first time it wasn’t just the cleaner.
Just at that moment, without expecting it, Gerardo approached her. She thought he was going to congratulate her, that he was going to shake her hand or something, but all he did was look at her closely with his eyes.
half-closed I’ll wait for you tomorrow at my house at 6 Julia looked at him without understanding why you should play again I decide when you finish he left just like that Daniela followed him with hard steps Julia
She stood with her mouth half open, she didn’t know if that was a reward, an order or a trap, she only knew that her life had just taken a turn that she didn’t understand yet, Julia didn’t quite understand what had just happened.
from passing he still felt his hands hot, his ears as if they were plugged and his chest beating hard all over the world
She had applauded, they had said nice things to her, they had even smiled at her, they had even invited her to a glass of wine, but in her head only Gerardo’s words echoed: “I’ll wait for you tomorrow at my house at 6.”
I decide when you’re done.” It wasn’t an invitation, it didn’t sound like a favor, it was a cold order, just like the ones he gave when he ordered everything to be moved just because, he left without looking at her again.
Daniela was following him furiously, chewing words between her teeth. One of the businessmen who accompanied him said out loud that the girl at the piano was better than the original musician, Daniela.
She faked a laugh, but her annoyance was evident in every gesture. She even walked differently, as if she were trying to stop herself from screaming. Right there, Julia slowly came down from the stage, not knowing what to do.
return to the kitchen go to the dressing room stand there felt like her feet were not obeying her a waiter offered her a glass of water another gave her a napkin someone without saying anything gave her a
white card with gold letters Juan Carlos Medrano music producer didn’t even have time to say thank you the whole room was still in motion
guests chatting, others taking selfies, ambient music playing in the background, but something had broken, the atmosphere was no longer the same, it was as if everyone knew they had just seen something strange, something that
It wasn’t planned something had slipped through the crack Julia sat for a moment in a corner of the living room near a decorative plant she adjusted her shawl on her shoulders and looked down she couldn’t
stop thinking about her grandmother and what she would say if she had seen her “just look my girl, the rich people applauding you.” A lump formed in her throat as an elderly lady dressed in a
sky blue suit and many necklaces approached her slowly asked her name and told her that her performance had touched his soul that he had not felt something like that for years with a melody he gave her the
Thanks and left, then a guy in his 20s with glasses and a crooked tie approached and just said, “Damn, you played brutally.”
Julia smiled, not knowing what to answer. The producer, Juan Carlos, came back and asked her if she had social media, if she had recordings. Julia shook her head and was embarrassed to admit that she didn’t have any.
nor her own phone, he wrote a number on a napkin holder and told her to call him the next day that he wanted to talk to her calmly, then he went to talk to other guests, Julia kept the
paper in his sleeve squeezing it carefully from the other side of the room Gerardo had returned he had settled at his main table surrounded by his trusted guests laughing loudly toasting but
Every now and then he turned to where Julia was as if he were thinking about something else. Daniela looked at him angrily. Every time she saw his eyes wander towards the girl at the piano, her eyebrow trembled. Julia didn’t.
He held on longer and went to the employee area, entered through the back door and went down to the basement where they kept the cleaning carts, there among the chlorine cans, he sat on an empty soda crate and breathed.
Deep just then he felt his body, his feet were sore, his back was tense and his eyes were stinging from tiredness, he didn’t know if what had just happened was good or bad but it was different
Something changed. The kitchen phone rang. One of the cooks answered it and shouted her name. Julia went over there. They were calling her from reception. A Mr. Alcázar had left instructions for the next day.
A driver would pick her up at 5:30 in the afternoon. They didn’t give her any more details. She hung up and stood for a moment staring into space. No one was forcing her to go, but she didn’t feel like she could say no. When she finished,
His shift was almost 11 at night. He took his things, greeted the guards and went out to the street. The air hit him in the face like a slap. He started walking towards the Tacuba metro station. There he would grab the
truck to
his colony hurt all over but inside he had a small fragile spark as if something had been lit and he didn’t know yet what it was for already in the truck while the dark streets passed and
the traffic lights not working he took out the producer’s card he looked at it with fear what was he going to say to her what were they going to ask of her what if it was a joke what if they were just saying it to look good he arrived home almost
Midnight opened the door quietly. Her grandmother was sleeping on the couch with the television on downstairs. Julia
She covered herself with a blanket, went to the bathroom, washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. There, in that reflection, she realized that she wasn’t the same. Something had changed in her look, in the way she breathed. She went to bed and had dinner with him.
heart still beating as if she were playing and in the middle of the silence of the dawn she understood that that night was no longer just another one she had crossed a line she didn’t know where it was leading her but no longer
I could go back the next day Julia woke up before the alarm went off, her stomach was upset and her neck hurt from squeezing so hard
teeth at night his grandmother was still sleeping so he got up slowly so as not to wake her up he went into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror the dark circles under his eyes were more noticeable than ever but there was also something in
his face that wasn’t there yesterday a strange mix of fear, emotion and doubt he brushed his teeth without stopping to think about what had happened in the applause in the silence just before everyone started to
clap in Gerardo’s face at the order he gave him on the producer’s card that he had kept inside the drawer where he keeps
her hair ties, she took out the card, looked at it for a while, turned it over, she didn’t dare to punch in, no, she spent the morning cleaning the house, making coffee for her grandmother and trying to think of something else
Her grandmother asked her if she had worked hard at night and Julia only answered that yes, it had been a long event. She didn’t say anything about the piano or the people or that they had applauded her.
Less than a millionaire had invited her to his house as if it were his property at 1 in the afternoon while she was washing the dishes her cell phone rang
It wasn’t hers, it was the old Nokia that she lent to her cousin for emergencies. It was the hotel number. She answered with her heart racing. It was Mario, the guard who told her that they were looking for her, that a lady.
Elegant had arrived asking for her who had told him that she was impressed with what happened last night Julia didn’t understand who she was why Mario was looking for her he just said that he left his card that
He asked if he could visit her again, he wanted to talk about a musical project. Julia hung up confused, that was the second card in less than 24 hours. She went back to her room and sat down.
the bed took out the two cards put them one next to the other felt like he was playing something he didn’t know as if it was a puzzle with pieces that didn’t fit his head was spinning
heart also at 4:30 she put on the only pants that didn’t have stains a gray blouse without wrinkles and combed her hair as best she could she looked in the mirror again she looked normal as always but inside
It wasn’t at 5:30 sharp a black pickup truck parked in front of his house it wasn’t just any car it was one of those you see
In the movies, a chauffeur got out and said her name respectfully. He opened the door for her as if she were an important lady. Julia got in without saying anything. The chauffeur told her that they were going to Mr. Gerardo’s house.
Alcazar that was in the hills the road was silent she was glued to the window watching the streets go by the shops the people her city the one of every day seemed far away now as if she were
Seeing someone else’s life when they arrived at the colony he realized that he had never been there before.
Giants with walls taller than light poles, cameras on every corner, and gardens as big as parks. The van entered through an automatic gate. The driver got out and a lady opened the door for him.
In uniform he greeted her at the entrance and told her that the gentleman was about to arrive and that she could wait at the piano. The piano again. Julia entered the room and was speechless. It wasn’t like the hotel.
bigger more elegant but at the same time colder everything was so perfect that it seemed fake the floor was shining the curtains were
heavy the paintings were huge and I didn’t understand any of them in a corner was the newest piano than the one in the hotel, shiny black and huge they gave him water he sat down he waited 10 minutes passed then 20
Half an hour later, Gerardo came in as if nothing had happened, he had his cell phone in his hand, talking about business without looking at Julia, he sat down in an armchair, gave quick instructions on the phone, hung up and finally turned around, “touch it”
Julia said without moving, swallowing saliva, “What do you want me to play?” Whatever it is, just play it. She sat down on the bench, placed her hands and
He started, he didn’t know what to expect, he didn’t know if he was there because he liked how she played or because he wanted to laugh at her again, but he did it anyway, he played, Gerardo watched her, this time without smiling.
attention, he didn’t say anything, he didn’t move, he didn’t make fun of her, he just listened to her. When the silence ended, it was long and uncomfortable, Julia didn’t know if she should speak or stay quiet. Who taught you that? He asked.
Finally, nobody learned alone from videos with a keyboard that they lent me, Gerardo ran a hand over his face then
He got up. I want you to come three times a week at this time. I want you to keep playing. I want to see how far you can go. Julia looked at him without understanding. And why did he look at her straight on, not with pity?
tenderly with something stranger as if he were measuring her because I don’t know what’s wrong with you but I feel like finding out and he left just as he arrived without saying goodbye without giving any further explanation Julia stayed
alone again in front of the piano only now everything was different outside in that world that seemed far away they were already starting to talk about her what she didn’t know was that someone else
Someone with resentment and jealousy in their heart had also been watching, listening, and planning their next move. Julia returned home with her head in a mess. The chauffeur left her on the corner without saying anything.
much as if this was the most normal thing in the world but she got off trembling and looked at the door of her house for a while before entering. It was hard for her to believe that she had just been in a huge mansion.
Playing a luxury piano for a millionaire who barely spoke to her but listened to her as if he was looking for something in each note was very strange
Strange, her grandmother was in the living room watching a soap opera on repeat. Julia told her that she had stayed late at work and that she had been sent to do an extra favor. She didn’t say anything else, she didn’t know how to explain it to him.
All this without sounding crazy, she went up to her room and went to bed without dinner but she couldn’t sleep either, every time she closed her eyes she saw Gerardo’s face so serious so hard to read and she heard his voice
telling him that she had something she wanted to see how far she could go why he cared about that what she really wanted two days passed Julia went back to work as usual but the atmosphere
It was no longer the same, some employees greeted her with a different, bigger smile, others looked at her from afar as if she were now something more than just a cleaner, even the supervisor treated her with a little
more respect although he continued giving her the same old insult, Mario, the guard at the entrance told her, “You showed off, girl, and nobody gave a penny for you.” She laughed although she didn’t know if that was a good thing.
or bad the third day at 5 in the afternoon the truck arrived again Julia got in with more doubts than before this time she had a backpack
notebook where he had written down some songs that he liked, he didn’t know if he was going to have a chance to play any of that but just in case the chauffeur was just as serious as the previous time, not a word of
But when an employee arrived, she took her directly to the studio. It wasn’t the same room as before, it was a smaller room with large windows, a table with freshly made coffee, and once again a piano.
Huge in a corner Gerardo was sitting in a leather armchair reading some papers, he didn’t even turn to see her when she came in.
He just raised his hand pointing at the piano. Julia approached and sat down. This time she didn’t need to be given the order. She began to slowly play something soft, improvising. She noticed that Gerardo closed his eyes for a moment.
moment not sleep not bored as if he needed it when he finished he got up and went straight to her he put the papers on the piano he looked at her seriously I want to propose something to you Julia looked at him hoping not
I knew whether to be scared or excited. I want you to come here three times a week. You’re going to play, you’re going to practice, and I’m going to bring you a teacher to train you. Someone good, but
not for free in exchange you are going to perform at some events that I organize you are going to play when I say so she frowned as entertainment he raised an eyebrow not as part of the program as
artist but yes I decide you put the music I put everything else Julia hesitated and why me because no one else makes me feel what you do when you play because I heard you once and I couldn’t
get it out of her head that threw her off, she didn’t expect that response it was the first time he said something personal something
Real, and what do you gain from this? Gerardo shrugged. I don’t know yet, but I want to find out. Julia remained silent. She didn’t trust him, not completely, but she couldn’t ignore what that meant.
It meant a teacher time on a piano good a deal was more than she had dreamed but she also knew that nothing came for free I am not an object she told him suddenly I am not going to let him use me for
boast he smiled I barely know that’s why you’re here and that’s how the deal was without contracts without papers just words but on Gerardo’s face there was something clear he was used to people
said yes and now for
the first time someone was setting conditions Julia left that afternoon with her head in 1 she didn’t know if she had done right or wrong but one thing was certain there was no turning back and as she walked out the door
Principal Daniela watched her from the top floor, standing quietly with her arms crossed and a crooked smile because while everyone was looking at Julia, she already had her plan, no one was going to steal her
Gerardo’s attention, nobody Julia arrived at the mansion on a Monday afternoon with her stomach tight and her head full of doubts. The chauffeur already knew her but didn’t
He talked a lot, he would just go downstairs, open the door for her and make a sign with his hand as if to say, “You know the way,” from the first time I stepped into that house something felt out of place, it was all so big.
so clean so quiet that one walked as if one were going to break something just by breathing that day was no exception as soon as the same lady in uniform entered she told him that Mr. Alcázar was in a
meeting and that she should wait for him in the study Julia nodded but before reaching the room she heard some footsteps coming down the stairs they were fast firm with those heels that
They announce someone before they appear, it was Daniela, dressed as always impeccably in a white outfit that looked like something out of a magazine and a perfume so strong that it could be felt from 3 m away. He saw her from
head to toe without dissimulation with that look that needs no words to make it clear that he doesn’t want you there ah look the pianist said with a little smile Julia remained silent Daniela came down last
step slowly as if he was preparing to release something else and he did don’t think that because you played a nice song you are already someone special here people come in
the door but he also goes out through it when the gentleman gets bored Julia pressed her lips together, she wasn’t going to answer it made no sense and I’m telling you this because I’ve seen this show before you’re not the first one who believes
The revelation of the moment, so you better not get excited, added Daniela, getting a little closer without removing that smile. Julia took a deep breath. She wasn’t used to facing that kind of people.
But she wasn’t stupid either, she held his gaze and just said, “I don’t believe anything, I just came to play,” Daniela laughed softly, “so let it stay that way because
When this is over, I will still be here and Julia left. She entered the studio with her heart beating fast. She sat down in front of the piano and began to play to calm down, but she couldn’t concentrate.
Daniela’s words were going around in his head, he didn’t know if it was jealousy, envy or just pure bad temper but it was clear to him that she didn’t want her around and that he would do anything to get her out of there.
After 20 minutes, Gerardo arrived, carrying his jacket over his arm, a folder in his hand, and a tired face. He didn’t even say hello, he just asked her if she had practiced. Julia said yes.
He nodded, poured himself a coffee and asked her to play something new. She played nothing special, something she had composed in her head while she was on the truck, but he listened to her as if she were a
symphony that was the strange thing with him when he listened to it he didn’t speak he didn’t move he didn’t check his cell phone he just stayed there attentive when it finished Gerardo told him that his teacher would arrive that same week that
He had brought it from Guadalajara, that he was very demanding and that he was not going to treat her gently because she was a novice. Julia felt a lump in her throat.
stomach didn’t know if she was ready for that but she didn’t want to back out either before leaving Gerardo asked her something she didn’t expect what is the name of that piece you just played Julia
surprised, it didn’t have a name, it just came out, it shrugged, I don’t know, I didn’t give it a name, think about it, if you’re going to compose your pieces, they need an identity, Julia just nodded, when she was saying goodbye, she crossed another
time with Daniela this time it was worse Daniela was talking to a friend on a video call from the living room couch when she saw Julia walk by she lowered the volume on her cell phone and said to her
friend “There goes the boss’s protégé, he’ll surely put her to sleep in his room soon.” Julia said nothing, she walked straight to the door, the chauffeur was already waiting for her, but the air inside that house was heavier
As the days passed, the teacher arrived. His name was Ernesto and he was about 50 years old. He wasn’t friendly, but he wasn’t rude either. He directly corrected each note, marked the rhythm, and repeated phrases like
If she were a girl, at first Julia felt small, but then she began to understand that what he was asking of her was not to make her feel bad.
feeling bad was to improve it and when that passed the fear was changed to respect Gerardo would stop by from time to time to listen he didn’t talk much he would just say things like “That part sounds better” or something else
see that entrance but she really listened and that although it was strange gave Julia a strange security in that house everything was cold, elegant and hard but when she touched something it loosened but the atmosphere
With Daniela he was still tense, every time he could he would leave a passive comment, a poisonous look, an indirect comment that had nothing to do with it.
indirect once she entered the studio in the middle of practice and said sorry I thought this was a house not a neighborhood school Ernesto didn’t even look at her Julia gritted her teeth and continued playing again
He found her in the hallway, you’re getting excited, aren’t you? Daniela suddenly said almost in her ear, but remember that he always gets bored and when he does, you’re going to leave with nothing like everyone else. Julia didn’t respond, no.
I was going to give her that pleasure but inside the fear was not for Daniela but for everything that was being put together without her asking for it, a teacher, a deal, a routine
in a mansion and Gerardo’s look that said nothing but said everything what Julia didn’t know was that while she was trying to understand her place in that world Daniela had already started to move pieces
against her and she wasn’t doing it alone, Daniela got up that day with only one idea in her head: to get Julia out of the house, out of Gerardo’s life and out of everything that smelled of attention that wasn’t for her.
I endured one more day watching how that little girl from the neighborhood came and went as if nothing had happened, as if she were not a
intruder as if she had the right since Julia had started going regularly to the mansion everything had changed Gerardo was no longer the same before when Daniela spoke he listened to her now
He barely answered her and locked himself in the studio, canceled plans and, worst of all, he talked about music, a song that had bored Daniela since she was a child, but there she was listening to that little girl play like
If it were the eighth wonder, so he didn’t think he would sit idly by. The first thing he did was talk to the house staff, not directly of course. Daniela was an expert in
manipulate without seeming to do so, he offered the cook money to tell him everything she saw “just tell me if they say something strange, if he treats her differently, if she stays longer than usual” he told her
Faking a friendly smile to the girl who cleaned the halls, she promised to give her brand name clothes and she warned her every time Julia stepped foot in the house and with the gardener she was more direct, tell me everything
that you listen to or see and I’ll give you 1000 pesos every Friday then it was for something dirtier one afternoon when Julia had finished her practice and was leaving Daniela took the opportunity to enter the studio while the
Maestro
Ernesto was talking on the phone on the terrace, he took out his cell phone, put it in video mode and pointed it directly at the piano stand. Julia had left her notebook there, an old notebook with folded sheets where
He wrote melodies, song lyrics, and random phrases that came to him while he was playing. Daniela didn’t open it carefully; she took photos of everything, all the pages one by one, then she closed the notebook and
It came out as if nothing had happened. That same night he uploaded one of the pages to social networks, but not as a show of talent. Didn’t he take a photo of the sheet anymore?
messy where Julia had written a song with shaky lyrics crossed out with poorly written sentences and uploaded it with this message when someone without education wants to be an artist we applaud
This also used a fake account but it didn’t need more the image started moving quickly it was shared with mocking comments people laughed they made memes no one knew who the author was but
It only took a glance to notice that this was someone with no education, no technique, no experience, exactly the same.
What Daniela wanted them to think, Julia found out the next day. Ernesto was the one who told her. He showed her the post on his cell phone while she was tuning the piano. This is yours. Julia froze.
He recognized the sheet of paper, it was his handwriting, his song, his notebook, he felt as if something had been ripped out from inside him, not because of the mockery, not because of the ugly comments, but because they had entered his space, his very own.
who wrote alone without showing it to anyone and now it was out there exposed like garbage left the studio without saying a word walked to the
Furiously, she asked to speak to Gerardo. He wasn’t there. They had called him to an emergency meeting. Daniela, coincidentally, was. She came down in a silk robe as if she didn’t know anything. “Is everything okay?” pianist
asked with that fake voice Julia didn’t respond oh have you seen what they published how ugly aren’t people really cruel sometimes it’s better not to try to be what you are not there Julia knew it had been her no
She had proof but she didn’t need it, you could see it in her eyes, the way she licked the poison that night. Julia returned home feeling empty, she didn’t tell her anything.
Grandma didn’t want to worry her, she locked herself in her room and tore up several pages of her notebook, made them into balls and threw them against the wall. She thought about leaving everything, about not coming back. Why should they follow her?
humiliating her so that they would use her to make fun of her but then she remembered something about the lady who had congratulated her at the producer’s event who gave her Ernesto’s card that despite
being strict, he treated her with respect and Gerardo, how he looked at her when he played, not with pity, not with mockery, with interest, as if he truly believed that
He had something valuable in his hands and although he didn’t trust him completely, that gave him strength, so the next day he got up early, combed his hair more calmly, put on a stain-free blouse and put his
notebook in the backpack was going to return not for Gerardo not for the treatment for her for what was inside her fingers for what no one could steal from her not even if they mocked her or even if they got into her things
Meanwhile, at the mansion, Daniela found out that Gerardo had seen the post, that he didn’t laugh, that he didn’t find it funny.
He called the security guard and asked to check the cameras and that made Daniela feel tight in the chest for the first time because if there was something Gerardo couldn’t stand it was someone cheating on his
Julia arrived at the mansion different, she was no longer the same one who entered for the first time afraid of stepping where she shouldn’t now she entered with a serious face, firm eyes and the notebook well kept in
The backpack still hurt, what had happened with the publication still made her angry, but there was something inside it that no longer broke so easily. The lady who always received it looked at it.
With a mixture of pity and respect, he didn’t say anything to her, he just nodded for her to come in. Ernesto was alone in the studio and Julia hadn’t arrived yet. She left her backpack next to the piano and stretched.
fingers took a deep breath and sat down to practice each note he played was like a soft blow to fear as if he were cleaning himself from the inside not even half an hour had passed when the door of the
The studio opened and Gerardo entered. He came alone, without a cell phone, without papers, without the work face he always had. He stood at the entrance for a few seconds watching Julia play.
He didn’t say anything until he finished. Are you okay? Julia turned around, somewhat surprised. He almost never asked that. He more or less answered without looking at him. Gerardo walked to the couch and sat down. He remained silent.
A few seconds with his elbows resting on his knees as if thinking about how to start. I saw what they uploaded, I saw the notebook last night. Julia looked down. It wasn’t me,” he added quickly. “I’m almost sure
Who did it?
Julia gritted her teeth. “Are you going to say something to him?” Gerardo was left thinking, “Not yet, but I don’t like dirty tricks in my house, especially with people I respect.” Julia looked up at that moment.
respect, he thought, he didn’t expect it, do you respect me? Gerardo nodded seriously, yes, although it doesn’t always seem like it, I’ve seen you grow in a very short time, not many have that, Julia remained silent, she never thought
Hearing something like that from her mouth, I didn’t know whether to believe it or not. Why are you doing this? I asked, then why am I? There are thousands of girls who play better with studies and experience. What do I gain?
with you, why don’t you let me return to my life and now Gerardo leaned back and looked at her straight on without harshness, rather with something that seemed honest because when it was you who was in front
At the piano, without fear, without a filter, I felt different because even though it sounds strange when you play, I remember things I hadn’t remembered for years. Julia narrowed her eyes. What do you mean? Gerardo paused.
He was not one to tell anything, he always went straight to the point, to the business, to the control, but that day something was different. My dad was a pianist, he said to
well, a good one played in bars in small theaters, he wasn’t famous or rich but he had something in his hands, something like you, but I never valued it, I always thought that music was for unsuccessful people, I wanted
Power, money, wanted him to stop living dreamily. I pressured him so much that one day he stopped playing and then he left. I never heard from him again. Julia listened to him without blinking. She felt a lump in her chest that she didn’t know.
Whether it was because of what I said or what it meant, you made me remember that, what it feels like when someone
play with your soul, not with technique or poses, with your heart and I don’t want to lose that again Julia looked down, she didn’t know what to say Gerardo didn’t ask for pity, he didn’t cry, he didn’t justify himself, he just
He blurted out like someone who wants to stop carrying something and Daniela suddenly asked, “Are you going to keep pretending nothing’s happening?” Gerardo sighed deeply and rubbed his face with both hands. Daniela is with me.
She’s been smart for a while now, but this hasn’t been a relationship for a while; it’s been routine, and routine is like ice.
Hold on until it breaks Julia got up from the bench and stood in front of him. Well, I didn’t come here to get involved in any of that. I came because you promised me an opportunity. If this is going to turn into
gossip, fights or jealousy, better tell me and I won’t come again, Gerardo looked at her seriously, I promised you an opportunity and you’re going to have it with respect, with everything you need to grow, Julia nodded, not with
Happiness with determination, then let me grow. Don’t look at me as if I were something strange. Don’t take care of me as if I were made of glass. Let me make mistakes.
Improve playing as I know how and if you don’t like it tell me but don’t put me in the middle of your drama with her because I already have enough problems with my life without having to carry yours Gerardo stayed
He fell silent, then smiled, barely nodded, done, Julia returned to the piano and played a short piece, but with a different force. Gerardo listened to her in silence and when she finished, he sat for a long time looking at the
Nothing, as if a weight had been lifted, as if he was finally beginning to understand that what he felt for that girl wasn’t just admiration, it was something else, and that something else was going to change him.
All the days following her approach with Gerardo were strange for Julia, strange because for the first time she felt that he looked at her differently, not with pity or as a simple employee who knew how to play the
He looked at me with respect, with real interest, as if he really cared about what I did, what I thought, what I felt when I touched that in his world, it was new and scary. Gerardo started going to the
study he sat and listened sometimes he stayed there with his eyes closed the whole time a piece lasted he didn’t talk about business he didn’t give
orders he only listened and even though he didn’t say it, it brought him closer and closer to Julia but that closeness didn’t go unnoticed Daniela noticed it instantly she saw it in how he stayed longer in
home in how he spoke less with her, how he no longer looked at her the same way and although he didn’t say anything at first, inside he was boiling, it was noticeable in his gestures, in his malicious comments, in his silences
with poison that he left every time Julia passed by it was no longer jealousy it was war and then one night happened Julia was sitting in her bed listening to an audio with one of her recordings she had made it
in the studio
with Ernesto’s cell phone who lent her his equipment a couple of times so she could practice at home. The teacher was not a very affectionate guy but he trusted her and that was already a lot while
He was listening and received a message from the producer he had met at the gala, Juan Carlos Medrano. The message said that a video of his had gone viral and that everyone wanted to know who the girl was.
Julia didn’t understand the piano. She opened the link he sent her and there was a video of her playing in the studio, recorded from a strange, hidden angle. She looked concentrated on playing.
with all the body as always but it wasn’t the video the problem was the text that accompanied it the maid pianist talent hidden in a millionaire mansion julia felt that the floor was going to leave her
The text continued, talking about how he had arrived at the house, insinuating that he had something with the owner, saying that he was using his closeness to climb the social ladder, not a real word, all set up to provoke
To humiliate her, to expose her, the comments were not long in coming. Some said that she did have talent, but most of them were mockery. Others talked about the boss’s lover.
From the maid with piano from Cinderella’s version of the neighborhood it was a nightmare Julia went straight to Ernesto the next day he had also seen it and was furious he told her that the recording was clearly
from inside the house that someone had recorded her without permission and that she had to talk to Gerardo, but when Julia went to look for him, he already knew. Gerardo was in his office sitting watching the video.
Again and again with a hard face Julia entered without warning. He didn’t say anything when he saw her. “Have you seen him?” She asked with a firm voice. “Yes.” He answered without looking up. “And what are you going to do?”
Gerardo pressed his lips together, closed the laptop, and looked at her. Finally, tell me, you first. Did you upload it? Julia froze. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What are you saying, that it was me? I don’t know everything.
They want attention now, quick fame. How do I know it’s not a strategy to make you go viral? Julia took a step back, her eyes burned. Do you really think I would do that after everything we’ve been through?
spoken after what I told you Gerardo didn’t respond he got up from his chair and walked towards the window he looked out as if that was going to give him the
answer I don’t know what to think Julia this affects us all, me, you and my reputation I can’t take any false steps Julia clenched her fists then don’t say that you respect me because whoever respects, trusts and
You’re putting me in the same bag as all those hypocrites who just want something from you. He looked at her for the first time with a look of doubt and fear as if he realized that she was
losing Julia, I’m not alone, Gerardo, don’t say anything anymore, I’m going to find out who it was and when I know, I’m leaving. I don’t want to stay in a place where
They see me as a threat, as a burden or as a toy. He left without waiting for an answer. He left the office with his chest tight. No, no. The hallway crossed paths with Daniela who was coming down the stairs.
stairs with her cell phone in her hand and a triumphant smile she didn’t say anything she just looked at her but it wasn’t necessary that face said everything Julia knew in that instant that it had been her who had been there all this time
He had been waiting for the exact moment to strike, he had studied her carefully, spied on her and he had found a way to make her look like the culprit and
Gerardo had achieved it, he doubted, Ernesto was furious, the producer asked her to speak to the press and she was alone with her head in pieces, she only wanted one thing: not to give up because if Daniela believed
that video was going to destroy her, she had the wrong person that night Julia didn’t return to the mansion, she didn’t give any notice, she didn’t answer any calls, she didn’t send any messages, she went straight home in the truck with the
backpack hanging and body about to fall apart I felt a mixture of rage, sadness and disappointment so strong that not even
He couldn’t even cry, it was as if he had everything stuck in his chest. When he entered his house, his grandmother was in the kitchen drinking coffee with bread. Julia tried to act normal, took off her shoes, and said hello.
She washed her hands and sat next to her like every day, but her grandmother looked at her with that way that only she had, she didn’t say anything, she just put her hand on her and took a bite of the bread, that was enough, Julia.
He felt like everything was loosening up. He didn’t cry but he lowered his head. He felt like screaming but he kept it all to himself. He went up to his room and took out his
notebook not for writing not for reading just put it on the bed looked at it for a while and then put it away in a drawer that notebook his refuge his most intimate space had become a source of ridicule for
half the internet all for someone who couldn’t stand seeing her there all for a person who didn’t even need to compete but did it anyway just out of pride and even worse Gerardo had doubted her that
It was what hurt him the most. He could handle the mockery, the memes, the strange looks in the hotel, even Daniela’s.
saying nonsense to her face but that after everything they had shared he looked at her with that doubt, with that distrust, that really broke her inside. The next day Ernesto sent her a message
Early on he asked her if she was going to class, she didn’t respond, then he sent her a voice note telling her that he understood if she wanted to get away but that he was on her side and that she didn’t have to leave everything behind.
Because of the others, Julia listened to him in silence with her headphones on and her eyes closed. She was grateful that he believed in her.
But she needed space, she didn’t want to go back there, but that same day, producer Juan Carlos Medrano showed up at the hotel, he didn’t give notice, he didn’t make an appointment, he just came asking for her, Mario the guard
He ran down to the employee area and found her cleaning the windows on the second floor. Julia came down without knowing what it was about. “I need to talk to you, Julia,” the producer told her as soon as he saw her.
“I have something big.
” She didn’t know what to think. Juan Carlos explained to her that despite the scandal, or maybe because of that, her name had started to get around, some people in the industry wanted to meet her and listen to her.
A private audition next week, something discreet, no press, no cameras, just important people looking for new talent, no promises, he told her, but it’s a door, one that not just anyone can open.
get it and you won it not with scandals not with gossip with your music Julia remained silent she thought about her grandmother her father whom she never met her mother who left her when she was a child
She thought about the days scrubbing bathrooms, at night, secretly knocking, in the fear that always held her back, then she thought about Gerardo, in his face when he accused her, in how he left without saying anything else, “Do you think?”
“Can I do it?” Juan asked softly. Carlos looked at her seriously. “I don’t bring mirrors or false dreams. What you have is real, but if you don’t believe it, no one else will. Julia bit her tongue.
lip looked at the floor then looked up I’m going but without scandals without favors I just want to touch that’s how it will be he told her alone
music that night Julia arrived home with a strange peace it wasn’t happiness it was like a relief like when you stop carrying something that doesn’t concern you I knew it wasn’t going to be easy that that audition could come out
good or bad but she wasn’t going to let the people who Daniela, Gerardo’s comments or doubts decide for her anymore. Meanwhile in the mansion Gerardo was looking for answers and had reviewed the
Cameras spoke with the staff and even questioned the gardener, and everything pointed to the same thing. Daniela denied everything, of course, she put on a victim’s face and cried, saying it was an attack.
How could she think that about her, but Gerardo’s gaze was no longer the same, he no longer looked at her with the desire to believe her, he was no longer the same man who let her talk until she convinced him, this time he saw her
with cold eyes as if she was finally seeing what she didn’t want to accept that night Daniela left the house for a few days she said she needed space that she was hurt but before leaving she left him a
phrase in Gerardo’s ear one day you will realize that she only used you and left Gerardo was left alone with his whiskey his giant living room and a silence that felt stronger than
Gerardo had never had the same face for three days, serious, quiet, without giving many instructions. It was unusual. The house staff noticed it. The gardener stopped making noise with the lawnmower. The cook
He prepared everything without going off the list, nobody wanted to bother him, nobody asked anything, only Ernesto the teacher dared to find him in the study with the light off and a half-finished bottle in
the table “have you already spoken to her?” he asked, entering without asking permission. Gerardo did not move, his gaze fixed on a sheet of paper that Julia had left on the lectern days before.
“Melody, half-written lyrics, unfinished, hasn’t come back,” said Gerardo, “and what do you expect her to come back on her own as if nothing happened.” Gerardo sighed and rubbed his face hard, he was fed up with everything
But above all, of himself, “I failed her.” I doubted her and now I have no idea how to fix that. Ernesto approached seriously but without fear. Look, I have no reason to get involved, but I knew her from the moment she came in.
through that door and I tell you bluntly that girl is not like the others, she doesn’t play, she doesn’t use anyone, she’s not here for luxury or fame, she’s here because she loves music
Gerardo didn’t say anything, he just lowered his head. Do you know how many like you have touched me? Ernesto continued, people with money who think they can buy talent. Respect, love, but this time you had him without paying and
You ruined it because of a doubt, because of a doubt, that hurt Gerardo. He clenched his fists, stood up suddenly, and went straight to his office. He opened his laptop and started checking the security files again. He left.
straight to the day and the exact time that Julia had been alone in the studio then the following hours there Daniela saw it clearly
Entering the studio with his cell phone in his hand, checking things, taking photos, rummaging around, then he left calmly as if nothing had happened. Gerardo closed his eyes tightly. He didn’t want it to be true, but there it was.
Daniela had done it, she had recorded the video, she had leaked it, she had lied to his face, she got up, went to her room, opened the drawer where Daniela kept a small box with objects
Inside he found an old cell phone, he turned it on and set the password, but Gerardo wasn’t stupid, he tried the date of his anniversary.
He entered, checked the gallery and there was the video saved without editing the original file, there was no doubt, he called his assistant, get me a meeting with Daniela today, wherever, then he called Ernesto, give me
Julia’s number, why? Because I have to talk to her and this time I don’t think I’ll hesitate. Ernesto gave it to her. Gerardo called once, twice, three times, voicemail, sent a message, nothing. Julia didn’t answer. Gerardo
He couldn’t stand the desperation and asked the driver to take him to her house. He didn’t care how he looked. He didn’t care.
Whatever they thought, he just wanted to see her explain, tell her everything and ask for forgiveness straight out of the box, as it should be. He arrived at the neighborhood where she lived, under the car, he walked through streets with potholes, loose dogs and children.
Playing with a broken ball, he knocked on the door. No one opened it. He waited. He knocked again. The neighbor left her house and looked for Julita. Yes, she was there. She left in the morning with a backpack. She said she had something important. She didn’t say anything.
Where Gerardo looked at the ground, he stood there like a fool with his heart in his throat, everything was fine with her, I don’t know, she looked different, more determined but sad
He also returned to the truck on the way back, he didn’t say a word but in his mind the same phrase was going around in his head: when she comes back, if she comes back, I can’t fail her again later.
He received the call he wasn’t expecting, Daniela. What do you want? He asked dryly. Just to know if you’ve already seen the full video. Gerardo didn’t answer because if you’ve already seen it, you’ll know it was your fault. You were the one who did it.
who opened the door I just closed it you betrayed her he said with gritted teeth no Gerardo she was the one who
She put it where it didn’t belong, you pushed me aside, you put her on top of me, she never wanted that and yet she managed it, she cut the call, Gerardo looked ahead, closed his eyes and thought, “Daniela was right.”
In one thing I opened the door but I can also open it again this time to fix what I broke.
“And somewhere in the city Julia was preparing for the audition that could change her life without knowing that he was looking for her without knowing that someone was about to appear in her path with a
It’s true that she could give a new twist to the whole day of the audition. Julia got up before the sun came up, she didn’t need an alarm, she couldn’t sleep much, her mind had been racing since the night before.
Previously he had prepared himself as best he could, he reviewed his pieces, he tuned his ear with old audio recordings, he looked at himself in the mirror again and again trying to convince himself that he could do this, that he deserved to be there,
She put on a simple white blouse, dark pants without stains, and a sweater that her cousin lent her. She wasn’t wearing it.
no special makeup or hairstyle or jewelry just her hair tied back in a ponytail and short clean nails ready to play Juan Carlos the producer picked her up at 9 in the morning she came in a
ordinary car without a chauffeur or security as if it were a normal day but Julia knew she wasn’t. Ready? He asked her smiling. “More or less,” she replied with her stomach in knots. “Perfect, those who
They say more or less they are the ones who burst the stage they were silent almost the whole way Julia looked out the window while the city woke up there
Traffic, street vendors, people walking in a hurry, the same as always, but for her that day everything seemed different, everything was quieter, slower, as if the world was preparing for something important
They arrived at an elegant building in Polanco. It wasn’t a theater or an auditorium, it was a kind of cultural center with rehearsal rooms, offices, and recording studios. They entered through a side door.
Carlos greeted a couple of people then led her straight to a small room with a piano in the center and four people sitting in chairs like a jury.
All well dressed, unsmiling, with folders in their hands, Julia swallowed, her legs were shaking. “Relax,” Juan Carlos whispered to her before leaving her alone. “They’ve already heard a thousand things today, what they don’t
They expect to feel something, do that, make them feel. She nodded and sat down in front of the piano, a smaller one than the one in the mansion, but tuned clean and perfect. She placed her hands carefully and took a deep breath.
He closed his eyes and played, he didn’t choose the most difficult piece, he chose one he knew well, one he had written after the first one.
time she played in front of Gerardo one that had pieces of her story, bits of her grandmother, of her childhood, of all the times she thought she couldn’t, it sounded soft at first, almost shy, then it rose
expanded became firm and when it came down again it was as if it hugged you the jury looked at each other one of them took notes another closed his eyes another settled in the chair Julia did not
She looked, she couldn’t if she saw them she would lose the rhythm so she played as if she were alone in her room as if the piano was hers as if everything depended on that
moment because deep down that’s how it was when the silence ended it was long Julia lowered her hands slowly there was no applause there was no reaction just four people watching her in silence the following
It was a simple phrase, thank you Julia, we will get back to you soon. She nodded, stood up, and left the room without saying anything. Juan Carlos was waiting for her outside. How did it go? He asked, “I don’t know.”
She answered and she wasn’t lying. They left the building. Julia felt like her whole body was weak, as if she had run a marathon. Juan Carlos accompanied her to the corner and told her that she had talent.
Nobody could
take that away from her, that if it wasn’t today it would be tomorrow, but she shouldn’t give up. Julia thanked him and took the subway back home. She didn’t feel triumphant, she didn’t feel defeated, she felt empty as if
I would have said something very big and now all that was left was to wait, but what I didn’t know was that I wasn’t as alone as I thought. An hour after his presentation, Gerardo arrived at the Cultural Center, not stopping.
looking for her, he didn’t know exactly where she was but he suspected she had made some calls, they told him that Juan Carlos Medrano was looking for talents for a private audition, he put pieces together and went
When Julia arrived, she had already left. He asked about her. No one gave him a direct answer, but someone told him that a young woman with a ponytail and a backpack had left a little while ago. Gerardo understood everything and sat down on a bench.
from the hallway he stood there for a while without moving then he went to the piano no one stopped him he sat in front of it and played a single note just one and on his face there was a mixture of pride pain and regret in
That moment on the other side of the city, Julia was walking towards her house without knowing that someone had followed her without seeing her, that someone had heard her without her noticing, and that note, that only note
played on the
piano was just the beginning of something that was about to reunite their paths two days after the audition Julia was at home sitting with her grandmother in the living room watching TV without paying much attention
attention, she didn’t know anything yet about the audition, she had no news from the producer or pending calls, everything was on hold and that made her more nervous than any criticism, there were times when
He thought that nothing was going to happen anymore, that everything was going to be just an anecdote, but then he remembered how he felt when he played and something inside him was ignited again.
Grandma told her not to despair, that good things always take time but they come. Julia just nodded while peeling a tangerine. At 4 in the afternoon, she received a notification on her borrowed cell phone. It was a
Voice message from a friend at the hotel, Julita. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but they’re giving you dirty looks again on social media. Someone shared some photos of you with things that aren’t even relevant. Check out Twitter.
Julia stood still, her pulse quickened, she opened her browser, searched for her name, and there was a new post from another fake account with several photos of her in the mansion.
one leaving through the service door, another where he was seen from a distance in the waiting room, another in the studio adjusting the piano bench, nothing compromising but the images were accompanied
From a poisonous text, don’t be fooled. They say that this girl came out of nowhere, but they have her living in the Alcázar mansion. Talent or bed. Julia felt her stomach drop. She couldn’t believe it.
that I read the same thing again, the story that everything she achieved was by being with someone as if she was not worth it
who acted as if she always had to bear that judgment and now with photos someone had been watching her again, you didn’t have to think much to know who was behind it but this time Daniela
He wasn’t doing it from the shadows, he was playing dirty and in a big way, and the worst part was that he did it just when things were starting to take shape. Julia closed her cell phone and stood up suddenly. Her grandmother.
She looked worried, what’s wrong with my daughter? Nothing, water, I’ll be right back. She left the house, went straight to the corner and called Juan Carlos.
He told everything, he remained silent for a few seconds, don’t worry, they had already sent it to me, I’m handling that, how calm, trust me, Julia hung up, she didn’t know whether to trust her or not, she didn’t know what to expect anymore
of no one walked aimlessly for a few blocks, thought about going to the hotel, to talk to Ernesto, even thought about going directly to Gerardo’s house, but he didn’t want to go back to that place, not yet, meanwhile in the
mansion Gerardo was sitting in his living room looking at the post on his laptop screen his hands were clenched into fists not only because of what they were saying but
Because now it was clear that this was not a coincidence, it was not a misunderstanding. Someone wanted to destroy her. Ernesto entered the studio with a serious face. “Have you seen this?” Gerardo replied without looking up.
And what are you going to do? I already know what I’m going to do. Gerardo called his security chief and asked for access to all the recordings of the house from the last 10 days. He wanted to know who had taken those photos.
from which part at what time he also asked to track the IP of the fake accounts he knew it might not be easy but if someone had the means
To achieve it, it was him what he didn’t expect was the call he received that same night, it was a hotel employee, a woman who had worked with Julia for months and who had nothing to do with the
matter but I had seen something I don’t like gossip sir but I feel that this has gone too far tell me what you saw Mrs. Daniela a few days ago she paid a photographer to stay close
from the house and take pictures he was hiding he told him he wanted to document a lie something like that Gerardo didn’t respond he closed his eyes no
I needed more proof, I didn’t need more explanations. Daniela had done it again. She called her immediately and answered her with her fake voice, the one she put on when she pretended that everything was fine. Gerardo, what?
miracle why did you do it what are you talking about the photos the posts the fake account I know all silence then Daniela’s laughter oh Gerardo did you really think I wouldn’t do it after how you treated me
After leaving me for that poor woman, I didn’t leave her for her. I left you because you tired me out. Well, you’re going to get even more tired when
This will become a scandal when all your partners find out about the love story between the boss and the employee, there is no love story, he replied dryly, worse still, then you will only be left with the
guilt cut Gerardo threw the cell phone to the sofa, remained silent, took a deep breath then stood up, grabbed the car keys and left, he didn’t tell anyone, he only knew one thing, he had to see Julia now
before all this broke her again before she decided to give up what he didn’t know was that Julia was about to find out everything and no
for him because the woman who worked at the hotel, the same one who called to tell him about Daniela, had an audio recording and was going to send it to him that night when Julia heard something inside her.
It was going to change and this time there would be no turning back. Julia was sitting on the edge of her bed with her cell phone in her hand, looking at the screen as if Lem were talking. Her face was tense, her heart was beating.
fast and restless legs the message had arrived 10 minutes ago he had opened it but didn’t dare to press play it was a
Audio 46 seconds sent by Alma, one of the hotel’s cleaning ladies who had always been nice to her, in the text that accompanied the audio she said, “I don’t know if it will be useful to you, but it is
“It’s better that you know everything.” Julia took a deep breath, turned up the volume, and hit play. The recording wasn’t very noisy, but it was clear to hear. It was Daniela’s voice talking to someone, maybe the photographer.
He said loose but very direct phrases. I want you to take them from outside. Don’t get too close. The important thing is that you can see that he comes in and out often.
Just give names, just hint at them. People will take care of the rest. Julia paused the audio, played it again from the beginning, listened to it two more times, didn’t need to listen anymore, it was Daniela Clarita
planning how to start the gossip how to make her look bad how to drag her again he felt a rage mixed with tiredness it was no longer sadness it was something else it was that feeling of enough is enough he closed the cell phone
He stood in front of the mirror, looked straight into his eyes and said softly, “Just that same night, Juan Carlos wrote to you.”
to let her know that she had done very well in the audition, that one of the judges, a producer of cultural events, wanted to meet with her, not to make her sign anything strange, not to involve her in things that
couldn’t drive it was just a chat to invite her to play at a presentation in Coyoacán as part of a cycle of young artists it wasn’t a million dollar contract or a tour of Europe but it was
Something real, official, clean, her first real opportunity, Julia didn’t think much about it, she accepted, she responded to the producer and right there she asked him for something else, can I take my teacher, of course, let him go?
Whoever you want and then she called Ernesto “Teacher, are you busy?” It depends because I have something to tell you. They met the next day in a cafe near the subway. Julia told him everything about the
audition, the photos, the audio, everything Ernesto listened to her with a proud face and at the same time with that gesture of a father annoyed by what they did to his daughter when she finished he said something to her
He hasn’t forgotten that you’re worth more than all of that and you’re proving it, but remember that not everything is slow. You also have to have character. Today you’re showing it, Julia.
She smiled and felt that something was fitting inside her. The event in Coyoacán was in three weeks. She had time to rehearse and get organized, but beyond the event, Julia felt that something in her life had
Turned completely, she no longer depended on anyone, not on Gerardo, not on a favor, not on a scandal, what was coming now was hers, only hers. That afternoon, when she returned home, she found a note stuck to the
The gate belonged to Gerardo. I need to talk to you. I owe you more than an apology. I don’t give up easily. I’ll be at the park where you once played on the broken swings. Tomorrow at
The 5 only if you want ge Julia read it three times she didn’t know what to do a part of her wanted to send it to the other part she missed him but the part that weighed the most was the one that needed answers every day
Next came 5:10 Gerardo was already there sitting on the swing alone with the same simple clothes that almost no one had ever seen him in without a chauffeur without a bodyguard without a cell phone in the
“He saw her coming and stood up. Thank you for coming,” he said nervously. Julia didn’t respond. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed.
“This is Gerardo speaking.” He lowered his head. “I have no excuses. I doubted you. I don’t forgive myself. I know I let myself be carried away by pressure, by fear, by my history but not by you. You never gave me reasons to think badly.”
but you did it said Julia and that can’t be erased no but I can do something better than erasing learn and not repeat it Julia looked at him seriously did you know about the new video yes and I also know it was Daniela I have
tests recordings everything if you want I’ll make it public I don’t interrupt it I don’t want any more circus no more then what do you want nothing
I already have what I need, I have an audition that went well, an upcoming presentation, people who believe in me, I don’t need any more drama, and I, Julia looked at him without moving, you’ll know what to do with what happened, I already
I chose mine, she turned around and started walking, Gerardo didn’t stop her, he just watched her walk away with a mixture of sadness and admiration, and for the first time he understood that true respect is not asked for, it is
wins and she had won it all a week before the presentation in Coyoacán Julia was at home finishing writing a new piece
It was short but intense, it had been born from everything that had happened to him in the last few months: the humiliation, the fear, the courage, the music, he gave it all the title The Last Note, not because it was the last thing he would ever do.
She thought about playing but because she felt that something in her was closing. There, while she was practicing, her cell phone rang. It was Ernesto. Julia said in a strange voice, “I have to tell you something, it’s about Gerardo.” She stayed still.
They hadn’t spoken about him for days after the chat in the park Ernesto didn’t see him again. He hesitated for a second but then he let it all out. Look, I didn’t know whether to tell you or
No, but Gerardo was the one who looked for me to teach you. He paid me from the first day without you knowing. He didn’t want you to feel pressured. He told me that he believed in you and I thought that I was just one more of them.
those rich people with guilt but then I understood that there was something else Julia frowned something else yes two days ago he asked me to accompany him to a house in the center he said he wanted to show me something it was a
Old abandoned place with a broken piano in the middle of the room and Julia told me the truth. She didn’t say anything. She hoped her dad played there, not in bars like he told you at the beginning.
He played in places like that, forgotten places without a name but where people gathered to listen to music because they needed it. He told me that that piano was the first one he heard in his life.
She was 7 years old when her father was playing with a girl sitting on his lap, his daughter, not his legal daughter, a daughter he had with another woman in secret. Julia blinked. What are you saying? Ernesto gulped. Julia.
His dad was your dad too. Silence. Gerardo found out a little while ago, his dad left him a letter before he died. He told him that he had another daughter who
He had left her with a woman from the neighborhood who had tried to keep her at a distance but could never do it well. In that letter was your name, your date of birth, your school, she knew everything.
when you were already in his life when he had already heard you play Julia sat down he couldn’t feel his legs he didn’t understand anything why didn’t he tell me because he didn’t know how he passed him because he didn’t want me to
You might think that I supported you out of guilt or because I had a debt. I wanted to know if what you had was real, and when I realized that it was, I was in shock. Julia couldn’t speak. Ernesto
He continued, telling me that he had spent his whole life staying away from music because it reminded him of his dad who judged him for it, that when he heard you he felt the same as when he was a child and he didn’t understand why until
that everything fit together and now what did she manage to say quietly? You decide that. Julia hung up and stayed there in silence, she didn’t cry, she didn’t get angry, she just thought for hours, a thousand memories came back to her that her mother didn’t have.
telling her that her dad wasn’t there, her grandmother avoiding the subject the times she felt alone without understanding why and now all of that took shape, the music, that love
inexplicable by the piano that fire that did not know where it came from Gerardo was not only the millionaire who heard her one night was not only the one who gave her a chance was her half-brother but
brother at last and she had known it all this time that night Julia wrote a letter she didn’t know if she was going to give it to him she didn’t know if he was going to look for it but she wrote it because she needed to get out what she had inside
Gerardo, you took the floor from me without lifting a finger, not because of what you did, but because of what you didn’t say. I don’t know if this changes anything.
I don’t know if we can recover what we were before knowing the truth but I do know that now I understand why my music touched you so much it wasn’t you listening to me it was my story speaking to you I’m going to play on
Coyoacán, as you already know, I’ll be there. If you want, come, but not because of guilt. Come because of what moves your heart. Julia didn’t put any more into it. The next day, she got up early and rehearsed like never before. Her grandmother hugged her.
strong before leaving plays as if it were the last my girl but let the world understand that it is only the beginning Julia smiled at him and left what she didn’t know was that that night
At the end of her presentation, something else was waiting for her, something that would change her life forever. The night of the event in Coyoacán arrived with a different air, it wasn’t just because of the cool weather or the sky.
It was clear because of the vibe, because of the people who were arriving, because of how they spoke quietly when entering the venue, because of how they looked at the stage, without anything starting yet, something felt like something was going to happen, Julia.
She arrived on time, dressed simply as always, but with more confidence, she wore a black dress that a neighbor’s daughter lent her, without shine or flare, but with just the right amount of fall, she tied her hair up.
in a braid and didn’t wear makeup, her presence spoke for itself Ernesto was waiting for her at the entrance to the dressing room, his eyes were shining even though he was acting strong “ready” he asked her “now yes.” There was no
nerves just a strange calm like when you know there is no turning back and all that’s left is to do what you know how to do nothing else meanwhile among the audience Gerardo sat in the last row
He arrived unannounced, without attracting attention, he was alone, he carried an envelope in his bag with the letter that Julia had sent him, he had read it five times each
The word had hit him like a stone and there he was, not as a businessman, not as a public figure, just as a brother. Julia’s grandmother was also in the front row with a knitted sweater over her shoulders and
The emotion overflowed, she had never been invited to something so big, she adjusted her glasses every now and then as if she didn’t believe she was there at 8 o’clock sharp, the lights went down, a heavy silence fell and
Julia walked in without haste, without fear, straight to the piano, she sat down, she looked at the audience for a second but she didn’t look for faces, no
He needed to know who was alone, he needed to play and he did. The piece he chose had no name, it was a new mix of everything he had experienced. The beginning, the cleaning in the hotel, the first day in front of the
piano humiliation rage reconciliation revelation everything every note had weight every pause intention julia didn’t play to impress she played to release and that was felt people didn’t breathe
It was as if the whole place was pressed with his fingers. Gerardo looked at her without blinking. He not only listened to her, but he recognized himself in her.
gestures in the rhythm in the force that came out without asking permission and while he listened to her he thought about his father in what he had left in what had survived without anyone knowing Julia was that the
part that he never understood but that now he valued and for the first time he didn’t feel guilty, he felt proud when Julia finished the silence lasted several seconds then came the applause not out of courtesy no
By custom, a long, strong applause came from the chest with people standing. Ernesto applauded without hiding his tears.
Grandma cried, scoundrel Julia stood up, made a small bow and before leaving she grabbed the microphone “this last piece,” she said “is for someone who came into my life suddenly and messed it up, who
He turned it upside down but he also helped me find who I am. I won’t say his name because he already knows.
“He paused. “Thank you for not staying silent when it mattered.” She stepped off the stage. Gerardo was standing motionless. He didn’t know whether to applaud, whether to run after her, whether to leave. He just felt something go wrong.
I was despairing inside when Julia came out of the theater there were already people waiting to congratulate her Juan Carlos smiled at her as if she were his daughter Ernesto gave her a quick tight hug her grandmother took her
of the arm with a strength that only happens once in a lifetime and then among the people she saw him Gerardo was standing there still with the envelope in his hand Julia looked at him and approached him.
He extended the letter, my dad also left something for you.” He said, “It’s not money, it’s not a will, it’s a drawing from when you were a baby. He kept it until the end. Julia took the envelope and opened it right there. It was a
folded sheet a pencil drawing two small hands on a piano below with shaky handwriting it said for my daughter who inherited the best of me sorry for not being there thank you for continuing Julia took a deep breath
He looked at me, thank you for coming, Gerardo lowered his head, thank you for forgiving me, without saying it, Julia smiled slightly, don’t be confused, it’s not forgiveness.
It’s that I understood that carrying anger weighs on me more than letting it go. He looked at her, nodded and left. There was nothing more to say. Hours later, when Julia sat alone in her room with the sheet of paper in her hands and
The sound of applause still in his head, he knew something for sure, everything he had lived was worth it and the best was just beginning
