SHORT STORY NIGHTMARE
NIGHTMARE
Automatic traslation from the original story in Spanish. Not checked manually
Julio was really pissed off. The next day he had a meeting in Girona, which could radically change his income. And, precisely, when he needs the car the most, it breaks down.
He had just left it at the shop, hoping for a miraculous solution that would allow him to have the car before they closed, but as everyone knows, miracles do not exist.
Not only do they not exist, but you only think about them when life brings you shit at the most inopportune moment and requires solutions.
The only viable solution that occurred to him was to go to Girona with the AVE. If he took the 8:10, he would arrive in Girona at 8:49. He was sure no matter how bad things were he would arrive before 10:00. to interview the CEO of “AI To Improve Your Life”.
Julio was aware that his knowledge of the development of Artificial Intelligence could open many doors for him, but the reality is that the only thing he had achieved for several years was to work as a freelancer and, although he earned a good living, he was self-employed, It didn’t give him the security he wanted.
Thinking about his bad luck, she had left the mechanic, on foot, in the direction of his house. He wasn’t too far away.
When he arrived in front of the door, he looked for the key in his pocket and prepared to open it, while he tried to calm down so as not to transmit his bad mood to his wife…
Putting on the melodious voice he could best, he said: “Hello my life, I’m here!”
Possibly she must not have done too well, because she responded from the kitchen: “What’s wrong with you, my love, do I notice your sad voice?”
Julio, surprised, approached her wife and told her what had happened.
She immediately blurted out: —Is this the whole problem? If necessary, you can even take a taxi. Luckily, we can afford it.
His face lit up. Noelia was right. There was no reason to worry and she stated: —You’re right, Noelia. I don’t know what happened to me. Tomorrow I will go with the 8:10 AVE… Let’s have dinner and see if we have time for something else before going to sleep.
-Ha ha ha! July will surely give us time.
A short time later they were both frolicking under the covers. Thanks to this, at least in part, Julio, now completely relaxed with Noelia, allowed themselves to be lulled by the arms of Morpheus.
Julio looked at the clock at Sants station, which showed 6:30 a.m., and he couldn’t understand how he had arrived so early. Something strange must have happened, he had planned to arrive around 7:30 a.m.
He went to the ticket office and asked for a ticket for the 8:10 AM AVANT, he had plenty of time before he could get on the train. Shortly afterward he felt the need to go to the bathroom. He asked one of the RENFE employees where they were and he responded that the ones he had before entering the company’s private facilities were paid.
—Well, I’ll go to those inside, —Julio commented with some sarcasm.
—I don’t think they’ll let him. You cannot enter the facilities until 1 hour before departure.
Julio got angry, but he didn’t want to get into nuances with the employee. He walked to the entrance to the tracks and showed his ticket. The person carrying out the check told him that he could not enter until an hour before departure.
Julio, with a voice of feigned anger, snapped at him: —Well, you’ll have to bring me a urinal, because I’m not willing to pay €1 to go pee having paid €17.40 to go to Girona. This would add more than 6% to the price of the trip.
The poor employee was offside for a moment and looked at Julio, who was trying hard not to laugh… he laughed lightly and, pointing with his finger, said: “They’re there, but please come back out when you’re done and let me know If it transcends, it could cost me a lot of trouble.
Julio smiled gratefully and replied, —I’ll be here again in a little while…
Shortly afterward he came out thanking the ticket controller for his deference.
He walked for a while through the shops that are in the corridors of the station, many of them still closed, but just as the Romans already said “tempus fugit” and almost without realizing it he was sitting in car 6 seat 7C.
After 32 minutes of travel, they were very close to Girona when a horrible crash, without knowing how, left them trapped between a mass of iron and wood. Pained and unable to move, he saw how the flames that were consuming the cabin were getting closer…
Then, when his desperation was greatest, an annoying but familiar sound rang in his ears. It was the hateful alarm clock. Luckily, it had all been a nightmare.
He had a snack and a strong coffee, shaved, showered, and quickly dressed. And he kissed his wife who opened her eyes to say goodbye and quickly headed towards the Metro that would take him to Sants Station.
He was already reaching the entrance when his feet suddenly stopped. A possibly absurd thought had crossed his mind: “What if the nightmare was actually a premonition?”
His heart was beating wildly fighting valiantly with the reason that told him otherwise. Finally his heart prevailed and he decided to leave the answer to chance. The mechanic’s shop where his car was repaired was nearby and although the official opening time was 8:00, he knew that Paco the mechanic was usually there much earlier.
If he was there, he would ask for a replacement vehicle. They had known him for years and if they had it, they would surely lend it to him… If it was closed or they couldn’t let him, have it, he would go with the train.
He smiled; it was a good solution. Than he arrived at the workshop and as he had assumed the entrance blind was half raised. He snuck underneath while he said: —Paco, I’m Julio, I wanted to ask you a favour.
—Julio comes in, I’m putting on my work clothes. I’ll be with you right away.
A few minutes later Paco appeared, smiling and asked him what he needed. Julio explained the problem to him. Paco frowned and with a look of disgust said: “Bufff!” I’m sorry, but I don’t have any left.
Julio put on a resigned face and was going to say goodbye to go to the Metro. Then Paco opened his eyes and smiling said: -Hey Julio! If you don’t mind, what I know I can lend you is our van. I don’t need it until late afternoon. Of course, you will not be able to go over 100Km/h.
-Is very large? It’s just that I’m not used to vans.
—No, it’s a Nissan pickup. It is the size of a car. It has limited speed because it is for transportation.
—Well, if you can lend it to me, you will be doing me a huge favor.
“You’ll have to wait a few minutes,” Paco said, looking at his watch. —Between five and ten minutes. Fernando, my partner, brings it, who yesterday when we closed, took it to leave some spare parts in the other workshop we have.
—No problem, I’ll wait. —Julio answered looking at the clock. “I don’t think I have schedule problems,” he thought.
A few minutes later he was driving a van through the streets of Barcelona heading towards the highway.
As always happens, Murphy’s law was put into action and the exit from Barcelona had a traffic jam that was like a thousand pairs of noses.
When he finally made it to the highway, he looked at the clock and saw that if no more problems arose, he would arrive on time. Out of inertia, he looked at the vehicle’s dashboard looking for the GPS to set the address…
“Shit,” he thought. “There is no GPS…” “calm down Julio, you have Google Maps on your cell phone. “You’re not going to get lost.” “When I pass through an area or a parking lot on the route, I will stop to enter the address and see where I can place the cell phone so I can see the route.”
As he took the Girona Nord exit, he looked at his watch. It would be very fair. Possibly, depending on the traffic state, he would be a few minutes late.
When the receptionist accompanied him to the CEO’s office, it was 7 minutes out of 10. He was arriving 7 minutes late. “Nothing happens for 7 minutes,” he thought, “besides, they say 7 is a lucky number.”
When he arrived in front of Mr. Wilson, the CEO of “AI To Improve Your Life,” he looked at him sadly and in a low but firm voice said to Julio: —Mr. Casacuberta. We are not going to hold the interview. Although the references we have about you, from the point of view of capabilities, are unbeatable, as I anticipated on the phone, one of the things we value most in our employees is commitment and if before starting to work with us you are already late, It’s better that we don’t start our relationship.
Julio tried to explain what had happened, but to no avail. Mr. Wilson’s position was immovable.
He left the office with a huge feeling of failure. He had lost a golden opportunity because of something stupid; for some nightmare shit.
Once at home, after returning the van to Paco, Noelia tried to diffuse the issue and even joked about it, trying to calm him down.
One day, after two months, when Julio had already overcome the frustration, he had experienced, when he sat down to eat with his wife, which was strange since they never did, he decided to watch the news on television. He turned on channel 324, just at the moment when a completely burned-out building appeared and the announcer commented: “This morning a huge explosion burned down the headquarters of AI To Improve Your Life. All the workers have perished. No one has been saved. The hypothesis of a terrorist attack is being considered. “The scientific police department of the Mossos d’Esquadra is investigating.”
Noelia and Julio, open-mouthed and with livid faces, incredulous, listened to the news… the nightmare had saved his life.
Nightmare – Short stories series – Copyright ©Montserrat Valls and Juan Genovés