Chapter: The Pieces I Didn't Know Were Missing

It was a quiet afternoon. We had run into each other at the library without planning to. Marcos was in a corner, absorbed in a psychology book that seemed far too heavy for a Friday afternoon. I was flipping through a volume on Latin American literature, not really paying attention. When I looked up, he smiled at me.

"Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?" he asked, in that soft, calm voice of his.

I shook my head and motioned to the chair across from me. He sat down with a cup of coffee in hand and placed his book on the table.

A few minutes passed in silence. One of those comfortable silences, the kind you don't feel the need to fill with words. Until he took a deep breath and said, without looking directly at me:

"There's something I haven't told you. And I feel like I should."

My stomach tensed. I looked at him, waiting.

"I knew Tom. Actually... we were friends."

The world seemed to pause for a moment.

I didn't understand at first. I didn't even know how to process it. I blinked, searching his eyes.

"How...?" My voice barely came out.

"We met in a course a couple of years ago. He was..." he paused, as if the memory still hurt, "one of those people who made you feel comfortable without even trying. At first we talked about silly things, but then... well, he became a real friend."

He fell silent for another moment. The coffee cooled between his fingers.

"One time, he talked to me about you," he continued. "Not in detail, not with names. He just said he was in love with someone who changed the way he saw the world. He said he admired you. That you were light, even when you didn't know it."

I felt a knot forming in my throat. I didn't know whether to cry or stay completely still.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I didn't know if you wanted someone mixing up your memories. I didn't know if you wanted him to still be part of conversations. But also... it felt unfair not to tell you. He mattered to me, too. In his own way."

I lowered my gaze. Everything felt confusing, but at the same time, it didn't hurt the way I thought it would.

"Did it bother you that I got close to you?"

"No," I answered, without thinking. "On the contrary. You were like... a calm I needed most."

We stayed like that. Looking at each other. Two people bound by someone who was no longer here, but who still echoed in every unspoken word.

"Thank you for telling me," I said at last. "I like knowing Tom had people who loved him that much."

Marcos nodded. His eyes were wet, but his voice stayed steady.

"And I like knowing I'm not alone in missing him."