Chapter Fourteen: Between Two Different Worlds.

He mentally reviewed what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Enric couldn't believe that tiny book had turned his life upside down. A chain of events throughout his life had led him to Patricia, and the same object that had revealed her existence now took her away from him. He discovered through pain that he was emotionally weak.

On Sunday, he didn't want to get out of bed, he felt too drained to face a new day, and the sobs that had soaked his pillow didn't subside as they were invaded by new tears.

"If only she had let me explain," Enric said to himself. But all the mental loops he went through were in vain because he always returned to the same starting point. Patricia had gotten angry upon seeing that Soraya had written a diary. Enric didn't understand why she was more upset than when she read Soraya's death certificate.

Monday arrived, and everything was supposed to return to normal, the monotony that was his friend in those moments when he seemed like an automated robot. Only now, the friend who sat at the desk next to him was one of his immediate bosses.

Don Aitor left him a new portfolio with more work. Enric looked at it and opened it. He flipped through the pages, one by one. He scanned them for inspiration, but his ideas were exhausted. He closed the folder and let gravity win; this time, he couldn't resist.

Rubén decided to visit his former colleagues, mainly to assign a couple of tasks to Nieves, but when he glanced toward his old desk, he noticed his friend and approached.

"On Friday, at the movie premiere, we saw you happy with the girl who sings in the film," said Rebeca as she passed by with a large stack of papers in her arms.

"Can you watch over him for a moment until I get back?" Rubén knew the situation.

"Wait, watch over?" Rebeca loosened her grip slightly when Rubén looked at her sternly.

She nodded, and Rubén urgently headed to the elevator to speak with Don Aitor about Enric's situation.

"Sorry to bother you, Aitor, but Enric isn't well," he tried to summarize.

"Not well? What do you mean?"

"I know this situation, and Enric won't be productive from today onward," Rubén was worried about his friend. "I've known him for over twelve years, and I know that right now he needs to disconnect," he knew it was the only thing they hadn't done the last time. "You have to give him a vacation or something that allows him to leave and come back."

"I understand your concern, Rubén. But the company closes for the entire month of August for that very reason. Enric can't be an exception."

"I'm asking you to do it because his health is at risk, because a year and a half ago the same thing happened at his previous company and they ended up firing him," Rubén grew irritated at Don Aitor's expression. "I'm telling you to do it!"

"Don't dramatize, please. It's not like it's life-threatening," Don Aitor shook his head slightly. "Exaggerated."

Rubén clicked his tongue:

"Call his previous company and you'll see I'm right."

Aitor sighed reluctantly. Rubén looked at his colleague with seriousness and determination. He wasn't joking; he was sure he was doing the right thing. When the call ended, Aitor looked worriedly at Rubén, stood up, and they went together to the large office where all their subordinates worked. Rubén signaled to Rebeca to continue with her work, and Don Aitor approached Enric.

"Enric, are you asleep?"

"No, no!" he tried to straighten up unsuccessfully. "It's just a mental block, I'll be back on track tomorrow!"

"You're going to do something better," Don Aitor exchanged a glance with Rubén in complicity. "Take a notebook and go outside, I want you to try to get ideas from people's behavior on the street. Observe, take notes, and write. Do fieldwork. Try not to get involved unless strictly necessary. Can you do that?"

Enric nodded. He didn't expect that suggestion but accepted it gladly. He asked how much time he had, but Don Aitor gave him full freedom to act, so he packed up and left.

"That's what interns are told to do!" Nieves accused Don Aitor.

"And Enric right now is emotionally like an intern. So let's not judge anyone, understood?" Don Aitor closed the matter.

Nieves thought it was unfair that Enric, being so good at his job, was downgraded to roaming the streets to copy mundane situations. Until Rubén called her to his office and with a simple sentence calmed his subordinate:

"The girl you saw him with on Friday broke up with him, and since he's like that, he'll try to perform here better than anyone until he burns out. I've known him from before and I know that if he focuses on observing, he won't worry about anything else."

Enric knew who had intervened for Don Aitor to give him that order, and as soon as he got home, he sent a thank-you message to his friend.

It was too early to stay home, so he went out for a walk intending to find the best places for his new job. At first, he thought he should avoid visiting places that held memories of Patricia, but it would be practically impossible because she had shown him the city; or rather, her city.

Something inside him encouraged him to proceed in a completely different way. He couldn't allow a simple object to bring him down, and he decided to use that work leave to look for her, starting with the place where he first saw her—the airport.

He couldn't access the baggage claim area and then remembered that he had seen her, not the other way around, so it wouldn't help. He checked the time and wondered if he had enough time to reach the real estate office where they truly met. That same afternoon, he managed to go, but she wasn't there. It had gotten late, and he returned home without any news of Patricia and without having done any work that day.

The remaining four workdays he spent sitting on the edge surrounding the east fountain of Sol, doing what his boss had instructed.