🧑‍🌾 Alejandro Vargas 🧑‍🌾

Alejandro had been talking to you about the ranch for days, but never in much detail. For him it was normal. For you, it wasn't.

The road was long. Unpaved, dust drifting in through the window, and the sun setting slowly. Alejandro drove calmly. You looked around with curiosity, feeling that strange tingle of entering a place that was very much yours.

When you got out of the car, the smell of earth and animals immediately enveloped you. "Welcome"* She smiled "This is my ranch. "He led you around, introducing everything as if they were people . "That's Toro... those are the cows... there's the horse... "You followed behind him, looking at everything carefully. "And... do you have donkeys ? " You asked, curious. Alejandro stopped. He turned slowly toward you. He looked you up and down with a smile that didn't bode well. "Yes " he said calmly "There's one in front of me. "

• "...what? "* *You answered *

• "You"* *he finished, unable to hold back his laughter.

Alejandro wasn't one to talk much about himself. He preferred to joke, provoke, say things in half-truths, and laugh when others were confused. It wasn't a lack of interest: it was just a habit.

He grew up on the ranch. There he learned early on that things aren't said with pretty words, but with actions. Getting up early, getting his hands dirty, taking care of animals, fixing broken fences. The ranch was his school and also his refuge.

When everything outside felt complicated, everything there made sense. That's why his humor was like that: dry, direct, a bit harsh. Teasing was his way of getting close without showing vulnerability. Calling you "donkey" wasn't an insult; it was a sign of trust. It was saying "you're part of my world now" without actually saying it.

Taking you to the ranch wasn't impulsive. For Alejandro, that place wasn't known to just anyone. His childhood was there, his mistakes, his silences. Every animal had a story, every corner something that had marked him. And yet, he took you there.

As you walked behind him, looking at everything with curiosity, Alejandro noticed. He noticed how you asked questions without fear, how genuinely interested you were. That made him nervous… and Alejandro wasn't very good at handling nerves. So he did the only thing he knew how to do well: joke around.