A Moment of Silence

By Maria Roxana Muñoz

A woman confronts her past mistakes and life offers her a second chance to go back to where everything started and rewrite her story.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Jun 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781547530113

Book preview

A Moment of Silence

When the soul rewrites history

María Roxana Muñoz

Intellectual property registry:

N° 280531

Let us hold a moment of silence for the soul of our departed brother, said the priest in a soft and reflective voice, having just presided over the ceremony where the remains of a well-known and respected citizen of a small town in the southern hemisphere were shrouded, a place where time seemed to have stopped. His tranquillity was evident and somewhat unsettling. He was a gentle man, a good father and husband, the priest continued. May God receive him in his holy kingdom, he concluded.

The pain was felt in every corner of the room. After the moment of silence had passed, the cry of a young woman flooded the place. A thin, fragile girl who had not left the coffin’s side, hugged him as if begging him not to leave.

It was Cristina, his only daughter.

The people that filled the church then filed past to glimpse their beloved friend, still coming to terms with his death. He was a seemingly healthy man, full of life, and with his departure left souls destroyed and a void that could never be filled.

At the end of the service, a group of friends and family approached to lift and move the coffin to the carriage, which was followed by the crowd of attendants headed towards the cemetery. The young girl, who at first sight seemed to have lost her strength, was at the front, supported and calmed by two mature women who fondly comforted her. Neither of whom were was her mother, from whom she had distanced himself some time ago.

The large number of people who had attended the service to bid farewell to the body, to pay their respects to his family, gave evidence of the good man who had left that world that day.

Chapter 1

It was a gray day, cold and full of nostalgia. Melancholy blew in on the wind and the rain seemed to dampen her memories.

Sitting on a step outside the church, Ximena cried inconsolably for the death of Néstor, her husband.

He had died suddenly of a heart attack while she was abroad, at a work conference.

They had always been very close; they had first met at school. They sat together in every class and became inseparable friends. Ximena, an outstanding student, was constantly helping him with his homework, as he always found it a little harder to concentrate.

Still incredulous about what had happened, she had too many questions to count.

-Why have you left me? What did I do to make you abandon me? she cried, distraught.

She desperately wished that she could go back in time and warn him that there was something wrong with his heart.

-Néstor, my love, what I would give to retrace our steps and return to where everything began.

Suddenly, she heard a deafening voice:

So why don’t you? Her heart shuddered and skipped a beat. It was Néstor's voice, inviting, almost challenging, her to save him.

-...Néstor, is that you? Where are you? I can’t see you. She felt the wind wrap around her, sending shivers up her spine. I'm going crazy, she said.

Go, Ximena, do not be afraid, I'll be waiting for you, the warm voice insisted.

Suddenly, she remembered the place where they had kissed for the first time. That strong, imposing oak that had both sheltered and borne witness to so many special moments, where afternoons spent in each other’s company had flown by. A haven of unforgettable moments.

Without hesitation, and with a heart full of hope, she returned to where everything began.

December 1984

The Christmas spirit was already taking over the city. On the radio, the voice of the '80s, the song by new pop group, The Prisoners, was being played repeatedly. With its catchy refrain, ‘the strength is coming, the voice of the eighties’, it would mark her life and that of the whole country forever.

She had almost