Mark felt lonelier than ever. Not only his best friend Charlie had moved to another town to study, along with his girlfriend Dorothy, but he also missed the guys from the swimming team, who would often get together after practice to have some sandwiches and chat all afternoon. He even missed Steph, because she was always singing a beautiful song or talking about arts and culture.It was very different from his new acquintances who debated hours about the thickness of a napkin. It was unbelievable that they were in College instead of kindergarten. To annoy him even more, there was the issue of Charlotte´s strange voice which she would use nonstop.He felt tired after just a few moments with these guys.But when he thought about Mandy, he almost couldn´t bear how much he missed her. While others debated the future of the world in general, and though Mandy was well informed about this subject, she rathered discuss Mark´s future and what could make

That night Louis had a world map in his hands and he was really interrogating his grandparents about the beauties they had seen in their lives. They showed him locations on the map and told the stories.Maria was translating for grandpa Antonio and he told about the many struggles his people had passed to overcome the hardships of colonization. Since 1975, Angola was an independent country, after centuries of foreign domain by Portugal.“Did you fight for freedom, grandpa?”“Many times. You know Eric, after the Independence war we had a devastating civil war. It is not always easy for men to agree towards peace. So we are thankful to finally have arrived at a point of understanding and cooperation.”“Do you like living there, grandpa?”“Yes. I am proud of my country and my people. They found resources in their spirits that go beyond what the monetary system provides elsewhere. Even in the poor families ther

The next morning from the parking lot fiasco, Mark received a package that was delivered to him at home. Mandy was returning the compromise ring he had given her.It was too much for him to take calmly. He had to blame it on someone and Pam´s timing was perfect, because she just entered the living room when Mark was staring at the ring.That is when Mark had a fight with his mother too. In some sense of wanting to be fair he thought he shouldn´t blame only Mandy for what had happened, so he was straight in his talk to Pam. He said, “Mother, you and Mandy had a talk behind my back.”“And we took turns spitting on your picture too.”“Come on, be serious. What was all that charade of a trip together to Europe? You did this just to impress Mandy, just to keep a good image to society and your sophisticated friends.”Pam looked at him in silence for a while, like if she was savoring what he had just said an

When the phone rang, Mark was really glad to talk to Charlie.“Hey man, how are things with you? I miss you buddy.”“Charlie, don´t even get me started on missing people, man. If you insist on that, you could witness your best friend cry.”“Come on, Mark. Don´t make me laugh, man. You are always the same, a joker.”“Believe me, Charlie, my life has turned upside down since the last time we met.”“Yeah, man. I heard some crazy thing about you breaking up with Mandy. I suppose it is true, then.”“Yeah. It is a long story, Charlie.”“Then you will just have to tell me all about it. I am in town.”“I don´t believe my ears, Charlie. It is the best news I hear in such a long time.”“You see, Mark, I came here to spend a week because both of my parents wanted to go and watch Steph´s concert in Miami. I c

Mandy told her mom that she was thinking of staying home to help out in hosting their guests, since there were so many of them.“Nonsense, dear. Arthur and I have an army of staff here. Some of them are bilingual. Not to mention that we can always summom assistants and secretaries from the office, if necessary. Or get some temps to do quick chores. But why would we need so much help? Becca stays at the hospital most of the time; Both boys are busy with school and different hoomeworks. Grass, their guardian angel, makes sure they are well fed and rested. I even stoped to make Grass take turns going to the hospital. She is now officially in charge of the boys, exclusively. The grandparents and the nieces are very polite and quiet, with almost no demands. So, go ahead to your trip, sweetheart. You could use a break yourself.”“Are you sure?”“There is no reason for you to cancel your plans, Mandy. It is all under control here. Besides,

Of course, the first person that was informed about Jackson´s condition was Arthur. And he wasn´t expecting such terrible news. He followed the doctor to the patient´s room, because the truth had to be told to him.“Doctor, you look concerned. My friend Arthur is looking devastated. How bad is it?”“Jackson, you have a cancer. But it is in the first stages and we have excellent treatment right here at this hospital.”The news was devastating. He just looked at the doctor feeling helpless.“How can it be?”“The reason for you to feel so weak is that there is a fight happening inside your organism. Your health cells are combating the cancer cells. But they can´t win by themselves. We have to aide them. You will need some chemotherapy sessions. Now, those can be hard to face, but after you finish and beat the disease, you will have the chance to lead a normal life.”“

The news about professor Jackson´s cancer had spread throughout the school where he taught. Students posted their feelings and best wishes on social media. They continued to send gifts to the hospital, all of which Green was in charge to redirect to Arthur´s house.The teacher read all the get-well cards and They really warmed his heart.Mainly because of the posts on social media, when Pam and Don told Mark about it, he already knew some facts. They were talking about it at the dinner table.“Does he have a good chance of recovering, father?”“I have to say that his chances are pretty good. And again, with cancer, we never know.”“And why is that?”“Because science still doesn´t understand everything about this disease. There are cases in which the patient is not in bad shape, but the cancer spreads so quickly that they can´t live more than a month. And there are cases in whi

The hardest thing about chemotherapy is that in the attempt to kill the cancer cells, you end up weakening the good cells as well. Your organism has to use much strength for vital functions, so your immune system gets weak.Jackson lost much weight in this process and he didn´t have any hair anymore. He could only walk short distances, and even so, with much care not to fall.But he decided to keep his interest in his boys´s lives and he thought of ways to distract them a little from his sickness.TIME FOR A LITTLE HOCKEYOne day, when Jackson was chatting with Arthur, the boys came from school and after some school talk, Jackson told his sons.“You know, Arthur likes to ice skate since we were roomates. We went many times to the ice rink where I could watch him reaching great speeds while he saw me fall on my back many times.”“Did you get better, dad?”“A little. But my dad, on the contrary,

Mark entered his room and sat on his bed holding a picture of Mandy in his hands. He could see her clearly in his mind, but this was a picture he had taken when she was at the farms, after riding her horse. She looked like she belonged in nature and she was very beautiful, with a wide smile and a peaceful look in her eyes.Thinking back about their relationship since its beginning, he thought that maybe it had happened too easily. And as it so common to happen in such cases, Mark had taken it for granted. He certainly had not valued the treasure that was in his hands. Mandy and her love for him were what he considered his most valuable assets. Mark knew it for sure now.Even if he had to fight for her against the new guy, it was worth it. Mark was ready to fight for his love. He would do anything to win Mandy´s affection one more time.Then Mark asked himself what he wished for her. He tried to be completely unselfish, because the first answer that came to

For a successful recovery, Jackson had to rest a lot and worry about nothing. Worries could delay his healing process because the body became tense and the patient started to fell restless. That is one reason why, even with homecare, not many visitors were allowed in his room. Of course, it didn´t include his family because the doctors agreed that they were an extra source of strenght for Jackson. And he really was grateful to exchange ideas with his parents, his wife and specially his sons.Eric was in his teens and started to think deeply about life. He shared his insights with his dad, and mainly what was bothering him lately.“Dad, why is this happening to you?”“Son, I am glad you asked that. Because it is a fact that every man will have to overcome some problems and in doing so, it is how a man strengthens himself. Our ancestors, for example had challenges of their own to overcome.”“Like what?”&ldqu