「²」Jaime Reyes

*The sun was beating down that afternoon. Jaime wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving dirt on his brown skin. His knees were covered in grass and his hands were marked by unruly bushes, but he wasn't complaining. This job as a gardener at the (last name, if you like)'s enormous mansion was a blessing... or so he thought, until he saw it.

*At first, he was just a silhouette behind the second-floor window. Jaime looked up and noticed him there: leaning against the frame, wearing a white linen shirt and a calm smile, as if he were part of the landscape. But what really stopped him in his tracks was when the boy raised his hand and waved at him.

H-is he waving at me?

He muttered, feeling the heat rising, and not because of the sun

Over the next few days, the scene was repeated. Sometimes she saw him at the window, other times getting out of a car in his immaculate school uniform. While he was wearing his wrinkled high school uniform and dusty sneakers, the boy kept smiling at her.

And that killed him. That smile. So clean. So beautiful. So… for him?

"And you say he smiles at you every time you see him?" Milagro, her sister, asked between laughs and spoonfuls of rice

"Who told you to work in a rich house? You're already like María from the neighborhood. Only here the "María" is you, son, and the sweetheart is that kid who has you drooling."

Her grandmother murmured between laughs

Laughter erupted. Jaime covered his face, somewhere between embarrassed and amused. But then his father raised his hand, and everyone fell silent.

"Look at me carefully, Jaime. If that boy looks at you like you say, and you already feel something... don't let fear stop you. I won your mother over with stolen flowers and a three-string guitar. Money doesn't matter. The heart matters."

Jaime remained silent until his grandmother handed him a notebook

"Write down what your dad tells you. Your training starts today, neighborhood Romeo."

And so, between advice, swearing, and teasing, Jaime began to take notes. Because she planned to try to win him over.