May 5th, 2020. Dallas University. 11:50.
The air breezed as people camped through the grassy fields in the eastern part of Dallas University near a crystal clear lake. In there, the ducks swam through the water with delicate touches and such while the sun shone upon them, a way to enhance their beauty, as well as chattering and laughter from the students, all of it filled the shores as well. The sights made the university look like one utopia for the youth, where they could hang around without the burdens of life hanging above them. A perfect escape toward a place where everyone was free to do what they enjoyed the most.
But of course, some enjoy it in ways no one could expect the most.
Some of the attendants near the lake were either lonely individuals who minded their own business, others with partners to hang out with and chat about anything that came through their minds and see how interesting it would be to talk about it, and some even had a special someone to accompany them to see the beautiful nature around them, and in the right time, even getting something fancy to do them in case others left the area. Regardless of gender, nationality, religion, and sexuality, this lake was one of pure beauty that attracted all sorts of people to relax regardless of the rest.
But sometimes, it could be a place where certain individuals of importance could reach a moment that could change the lives of many forever more, for better or worse in every aspect of them.
One certain individual laid down in her blanker, a female to be exact, as she held a book that merely had the initials "M.V" on the cover alongside the illustration of electrical sparks in a human hand. She smiled as her eyes read page by page over the content in it, all while tilting her head to each side as if she was imagining a certain song playing in her head as she continued reading each letter and exclamation in it.
A certain better day for Tania Maestas it looked like. Back when it was in simpler times away from catastrophes of before, at least from what it seemed by witnesses.
Her lonely moment of a lecture in nature, however, was briefly interrupted as rapid footsteps reached near her, namely that of a young man who proceeded to hurl a stone in the river right in front of him. The stone made a few splashes with each jump but stopped short of making a third splash as it then sunk into the river. The man, blonde as well, grunted in response as he stomped on the grass for a bit over this unfortunate blunder. Tany, on the other hand, chuckled for a bit as she set the book aside while glancing at the blonde man who then sighed over this, all while the rays shone through her brunette hair and the ponytail in her back.
Without missing a beat, Tany stood up as the young man stared at the lake with a frown on his face.
"It's kinda trick, ya know? It happens sometimes when we want to try it!" Tany said as she smiled for a bit. The blonde, however, still frowned without glancing back at her
"I needed something to waste my time here, just something to prove myself and yet, this river wouldn't let me!" the blonde man said.
"It can be simpler to try some skipping to the next level, watch and learn!" Tany said as she grabbed another stone near the grass, and with one swift and rough hurl, the stone splashed the first six times on it and was about to reach the fifteenth until it fell on the sixteenth, sinking on water but much further away than the one thrown by the young blonde man. This made Tany do a fist bump right in the air with a wide smile on her face.
This demonstration made the blonde man blink a bit faster than usual with widened eyes, but then shook his head as he chuckled for a bit as he glanced at Tany, one who wore simple clothing like a shirt and jeans while he wore a more refined suit.
"What is it, cat got your tongue?" Tany asked, still with a smile.
"Well, you certainly seem to know a few tricks up your sleeve. Not sure if it's worth teaching about it, though." The blonde man shrugged, to which Tany ignored as she kept her smile.
"It's just a hobby you know, and some hobby need some time to get it fully shiny and beefy to get good at it," Tany replied. The blonde man raised an eyebrow as he turned around to face her.
"Oh really? What sort of secret gave you that wisdom, girl?" the blonde man asked.
"Just simply trying, it's not that hard to try, mister..." Tany said as she tried to guess the blonde man's name, only for him to raise his index finger in response before she could utter a single word.
"It's Diego Delgado Bordua, but if you like, Diego would suffice since... You look kinda peculiar," Diego replied. Tany's eyes widened over this sort of response coming from him.
"Oh, am I?!"
"Well, yeah, and besides, you look cute in many ways even though it's not on the level I expect from my standards."
"Beauty can be shown in many ways no matter the status, you know!" Tany retorted, to which Diego merely shrugged in response.
"That's one way, but I still stand on my point. But anyway, what else you were doing before I interrupted your private session?"
Tany placed her finger as she glanced upward and hummed for a bit as if she was thinking to herself how to present herself to Diego.
"Oh, a book that's like a group of superheroes who want to make an equal world while fighting both extremes of those who want to keep the order and those who want to destroy it for their own ends. It's so cool so far!" Diego merely scoffed at it for a bit.
"Sounds like a recipe from a lawsuit from a certain comic book publisher, not that they're that important nowadays," Diego said.
"C'mon, it has some fresh takes on the genre even if it's not quite the graphic style most are used to," Tany said as she rolled her eyes while grabbing her book and showing it in front of Diego. After some pause, Diego merely took it with his right hand as he observe the cover bit by bit. After a few minutes of observing each page, he nodded with a smirk in response as he now held the book with both hands.
Maybe he got something out of it?
"Oh, you have quite some taste after all. His stories are quite a blast to read in how introspective and character-focused they can be. You had my curiosity, but now you caught my interest."
This alone made Tany's face redden for a bit as she covered her face for a bit, even glancing away for a bit over this sort of comment.
"Did I say something wrong, miss..."
"Tania Maestas... Just Tany if you like, but... You actually do...?" Tany said in a flustered tone, even when touching her throat for a bit.
"Well, you have shown many ways that you can be a very good woman to hang out with if you have such interests. Maybe more than the ones who tend to enjoy makeup, but you must be on the same wavelength as me."
"I-I see...!" Tany trembled for a bit, especially since it concerned regarding a pretty and royal man like him who appeared to have taken a liking to her despite her normal appearance in comparison. Perhaps there can be many things to be shared among many people after all, no matter the difference in status and such.
But before she could utter anything else, Diego's pocket rumbled for a moment, to which he proceeded to swipe it out of the pocket, and once clicking on it, a text message flashed on the screen. From the content of it, it was enough to make Diego sigh as Tany stopped blushing for a bit and saw him as he guarded the phone back to his pocket while glancing away from her.
"I've been called for a meeting in a clubhouse a few yards from here, so I'm sorry that this visit got cut short, Miss Tania. But even so, if you want to stay in touch with me..." Diego then handed out a specialized card to Tany from a pocket in his suit, one that showed the name of his family as well as his phone number. And with that, Tany smiled for a bit.
"Oh, it's kinda weird that this is the first time and yet I'm receiving this... Alright then, Diego, we'll see each other soon if you like!" Tany said as Diego walked away from her while waving her back.
From that moment on, it all seemed that a new relationship would blossom unlike any other in the city of Dallas, maybe a new type of Romeo and Juliet romance between the two.
Perhaps one that doesn't involve any death at all.
2 months later.
The relationship between Tany and Diego evolved a lot ever since their encounter that day, what evolved from mere chit-chats and invitations to fancy places would turn into a spiral of love that involved the two enjoying the beauties of the place in more ways than one. All with dedicated energy to make sure the two got the time of their lives to new heights like never before, to the point of going for daring challenges that tested their courage and senses. It was overall a relationship that many would like to aspire to.
But in recent days, Diego hasn't gone with Tany on certain dates, claiming that he was "busy" over certain matters regarding his job and anything in between. The number of times that happened ever since late June is suffocating enough, and thus, something had to be done to discover why.
One night, outside a wide house surrounded by lush gardens and a fenced door while overlooking the landscape of the city, whose lights shone brightly through the darkest shades of the time itself, one enough to know that a civilization can be found nearby, one of pure progress, but also some deceit as well.
Tany ran across the road as she was holding a bouquet of roses in her left hand, panting from every rapid step as she stepped near the fenced gate of the mansion, breathing for a bit she went to the speakers near the gate that had a button where she could press it.
"Yes, who is there?" a female voice asked through the speakers as Tany pressed the button.
"It's me, Tany. I want to see Diego at the moment, I want to know why he's that busy," Tany said as she breathed steadily once she finished running to the place.
"Well, you should know how the Bordua family operates. All of them are busy for the betterment of our society, and Diego is no exception."
"But I haven't seen him for weeks! He promised that we'll be together at every chance we get and he hasn't followed the promise ever since! Please... Just this once, I want to know why... I'll leave him alone if it's that important and let him decide," Tany said with a near-breaking tone, as silence followed the speakers. Then, just as it seemed that she was left hanging, the speaker rang again, this time starting with a sigh.
"If you insist that way... But don't complain that I didn't warn you about it." With that, the fenced gate opened, paving the way for Tany as she ran toward the mansion once more, still holding the roses with all the grip she had as she stepped closer to find out what is Diego "busy" with.
Inside, it was spacious and wide as expected from a noble mansion, with portraits and chandeliers of tremendous sizes, as well as many split corridors and rooms reserved for the visitors who came invited by the Bordua family, including several replica statues of Greek and Roman figures in shinning ways of presentation. As well as varying vases containing diamonds and other types of fancy crystals, the house represented the way the remaining noble family from around the world indulged in their wealth whatever means necessary.
But that didn't catch any of Tany's eyes, all that she was focused on was to find Diego and see why he became that busy. That's all that mattered to her.
Stepping upstairs and turning right, she observed a wide door at the end of the hall where she ran once more to reach out to Diego. It was the perfect moment, it had to be, the one time she needed the answers as her vision turned blurry from all the running except for the door in front of her while hanging on to the banquet as tight as she could.
But just as she stepped closer to the door, certain noises could be heard inside, some that even sounded like laughter and giggling from other women inside. This alone made Tany's eyes widen the moment she reached for the doorknob and swiftly opened it, now closer to facing the truth of Diego's new business.
No, no, no, no, no, please don't be true...! Inside the room, right in front of Tany was a king-sized bed with golden wood hanging the bed and some cream-colored sheets, which showed two women covering themselves from the sheets. One was dark-skinned, the other was light-skinned, and while they were giggling for a moment, both gasped and held to their sheets even tighter to cover their bare bodies.
"Why couldn't you just knock?!" the light-skinned woman said while scowling.
"We're in need of some privacy!" the dark-skinned woman added as well. All of it made Tany breathe slower as she lowered the banquet of roses in her hand, while a certain figure moved from the center of the sheets.
"Hey, what happened now, Katie and Laurie?" a familiar voice asked with a curt tone, and once out of it, it was in fact a bare Diego, noticing the two women scowling at Tany, and once he turned around, also gasped widely over the sight of Tany. "Oh shit, Tany?"
Tany could do nothing but stare in pure silence as her hands and knees trembled from this sight, enough to drop her banquet of roses to the floor, with some tears forming around her eyes. Everything she had with Diego, every feeling of it, it all came crashing down in this one fateful night when Tany discovered what made Diego "busy".
Was it all lies from him? Was that encounter never that meaningful to him at all?
Why...?!