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Paris, France. March 2035.

   "How is your family doing?" Nadine asked Antonia.

   It was Sunday, and it was pouring rain outside. Antonia was sitting on her bed in her pajamas, chatting with her mother. Nadine had emerged from the shower, put on her pajamas, and was drying her hair with a towel. On a small flat-screen TV, the news channel was on with the volume low as background noise. A reporter was interviewing a scientist:

   "We urge citizens not to panic; the illness is not contagious. I repeat: there is no risk of contagion," the scientist insisted, while images of entire populations wearing masks and gloves played beside her. "The anomaly seems to originate within individuals' bodies. It's more likely to develop in people with emotional, financial, mental health issues, or suicidal tendencies."

   "They're being so naive!" Antonia replied angrily, throwing her phone to the other end of the bed. "With everything that's going on, they insist it's not something that could affect them, so they decided to plan their vacation!"

   Nadine sat beside her, silently taking her hand and listening attentively.

   "People are dying, and they're booking flights in advance because they're half price!" Antonia sighed, then continued more calmly, "I begged them just for this summer not to go to our house on the coast, but they insist they need to relax and that they always work hard and blah blah blah..."

   Bad news circulated everywhere. Thousands of people sat in front of their televisions every morning to hear about the tragedies happening on the other side of the world. They commented with great sadness about the situation, about the poor families who had lost everything, going crazy. Then they would stand up, forget about the matter, and continue with their lives.

   The majority of the population considered such news exaggerated, overly politicized, or even conspiracies, using it as an excuse to do nothing about it.

   They sipped their morning coffee, tasting deforestation and water pollution with a hint of ecosystem imbalance. They drove their cars, listening to good music accompanied by the beat of pollution. They bought their lunch in beautiful single-use containers, walking through food stores with their carts filled with 5% food and 95% plastic. They relaxed in the comfort of their homes while the washing machine took care of leaving their clothes soft, thanks to the new fabric softener with a scent of polluting chemicals. Back in bed, they watched advertisements from big corporations, who absolved themselves of guilt by slapping an "eco" sticker on their products while behind closed doors, they ravaged resources as well as the future.

   Back in the university dorm room, sitting on the bed too close to each other, the girls continued their conversation about their respective families. Nadine turned off the television and tried to distract Antonia. They talked for hours about thousands of topics.
   They were interrupted by hunger, they had missed lunchtime. They put on their coats over their pajamas, slipped on their boots, and headed out onto the street. They ate at their favorite restaurant-bar and then returned to their dorm room, where they lay down to take a nap together.

   Nadine woke up first, Antonia slept inches from her face. It was already dark outside, and the temperature had dropped considerably. Slowly, she moved closer to her and wrapped her arms around her. Antonia began to wake up, drawing her body closer to Nadine's while placing both hands around her shoulders.

   "I bought tickets for March twenty-second, at Triangle Rose. That band you love so much is playing," Antonia said timidly, still with her eyes closed.

   Triangle Rose was Nadine's favorite bar. It was known for its big parties during Pride Month. Throughout the rest of the year, all kinds of people went there, but mostly members of the LGBTQ+ community. Every four weeks, they invited a band to play their versions of famous songs, mostly from the '80s and '90s. In recent years, such music had made a comeback.

   Nadine never missed the performances of that band, and she always invited Antonia to accompany her. The Spanish girl always found an excuse not to go. For that reason, Nadine felt super excited by Antonia's gesture.

   "Just to make sure, does that mean we're going together?" Nadine responded.

   "Yeah..." Antonia sighed, trying to downplay the matter. "You know, you've always asked me to go with you, and it seemed like a good idea."

   The rest of the week, they didn't separate for a second. Antonia even found excuses to take advantage of every opportunity to have contact with her. She held her hand at every moment, which she ended up releasing with flushed cheeks when Nadine affectionately squeezed her hand. She sat next to her, making sure their legs were in contact. Every morning she asked if she could do her eye makeup, you know, she said, just to practice. Nadine, of course, never refused. Every contact with Antonia made her heart race in such a way that it had become like a drug. They flirted all the time.

   The dates soon followed. Every afternoon they had free they escaped to the Eiffel Tower, for just a few coins thanks to their student passes. Up there, they spent hours sitting on the floor. Nadine created her beautiful fantasy sketches where she always discreetly added Antonia, peeking out of a window with her long hair blowing in the wind. While she practiced her drawing techniques with what was in front of her: Nadine. Gradually, the walls of their room filled with their sketches.

   The night of the concert arrived, the calendar marked March twenty-second. Both had dressed to match, wearing different dresses of the same petrol color, looking stunning. Ten minutes before leaving, and as usual, Antonia finished her companion's makeup, sitting on her lap.

   "Ready," she said as she began to stand up. Without thinking, she planted a quick kiss on Nadine's lips, who didn't have time to react until after it had already happened. "Shall we go?"

   "Not so fast," Nadine responded, grabbing her companion's waist and sitting her back down on her lap. This time, there was no space between them, their breaths mingling. With seriousness, Nadine continued, "What are you doing?"

   "I'm not doing anything, I don't know what you're talking about," nervousness could be heard in every vowel pronounced by Antonia.

   "I need to know if you're playing with me, so I can play along. If ever since I've known you, you've repeated over and over that you only like men!" She sighed. "You know I like you, Antonia. Why are you doing this to me?"

   "Because i don't like you, you drive me crazy!" Antonia suddenly screamed, getting up nervously. Nadine raised her eyebrows and looked at her dumbfounded as she yelled, "Since I met you, you made me feel like my whole life was a damn lie! Don't you get it? I've dated more men than I can count, I never stopped to think that I didn't connect with any of them. The caresses, the words of love, all that I did with them because I felt I had to, it was expected of me... And then you come along like the devil and make me feel more than all of them put together! And I want to give you all of that and more!..." Antonia exploded with pure desperation, but after saying those words, she visibly relaxed. She took her phone and turned off the alarm that indicated it was time to leave. Dazed, she said, "I'm sorry, we have to go or we'll lose our spot..."

   "But... do you want to be with me?" Nadine didn't want to beat around the bush anymore.

   To this, Antonia knelt in front of her, and being more honest than she had ever been in her life, said:

   "More than anything in the world. It took my mind a long time to understand it, but deep down, I knew it from the moment we met." Antonia took Nadine's hand, kissing her palm. "Please, can we go? Telling you all this was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life, I need to relax. But don't worry... I want to be with you, forgive me for all the games."

   Nadine smiled, feeling like her dream was coming true.

   They took a taxi to Triangle Rose. Antonia didn't let go of Nadine's hand, her caresses were romantic. Until she opened up about her feelings, they had always been jokingly sexual touches, usually accompanied by drunkenness. Nadine could see that she was starting to process her feelings, but there was still a long way to go, and she couldn't believe what she was experiencing.

   Nadine paid for the taxi, and they got out. Her companion looked surprised at the establishment.

   "Is this the bar?" she said, emphasizing the last word.

   The "bar" was actually a large, renovated warehouse. On the outside, it was painted matte black and was covered in psychedelic drawings of all colors, with fluorescent paints. They handed their tickets to the security staff and entered the party. The music was loud, but the audio quality created an effect within one's body, feeling every beat of the drums in one's chest.
   The interior was painted like the exterior, but the drawings on the walls created a world of fantasy; it was like being inside another dimension, with bees that glowed in the dark. The lights created strange effects on their clothes.

   There were still two hours until the concert. The girls danced non-stop, never stop drinking. The nerves had disappeared after the fourth drink, making room for tension. They started by dancing side by side, gradually moving closer to each other. Their heads were spinning, Nadine couldn't stop looking at Antonia, dying to kiss her. And she was looser than ever. The people who frequented the place represented everything she had been too afraid to admit as part of herself. Fear had completely blinded her, but for the first time in her life she wanted to be happy no matter what others thought. For the first time, she wanted to shout her feelings for Nadine to the world. And being in a place where everyone had felt something like that in their lives made her feel at peace with herself.

   The band started to play, and the crowd turned towards the stage, but they kept dancing face to face. Great songs started playing, and they sang until they were out of breath.

   The last song of the night, the band announced. The drums gave way to the saxophone, which began to play a sweet melody that everyone knew well. Many cheered with joy and began to look for a partner for the slow ending. The vocalists began to sing, caressing each note:

I feel so unsure
As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor
As the music dies, something in your eyes

   Antonia took Nadine's hand and pulled her close, pressing their bodies together. They both danced slowly. Nadine placed her hands on her hips.

Time can never mend
The careless whispers of a good friend
To the heart and mind
Ignorance is kind
There's no comfort in the truth
Pain is all you'll find

   The music grew louder, the lights flickering on and off constantly, creating a sweet dizziness. Antonia leaned in towards Nadine's lips and pressed hers against them, but didn't kiss her, just stayed there.

   Nadine took the lead and kissed her. That kiss they owed each other for years had finally arrived. Antonia didn't hesitate to reciprocate; she held Nadine's face with both hands. In response, Nadine hugged her even tighter.

   The crowd disappeared, it was just them and the vocalist. The night belonged only to them. The band was no longer playing, but the music emanated from them. They could feel every note, every beat of the drums, every chord on the bass, reverberating in their chests and inside their heads. The world had stopped, and they moved in slow motion, but at a hundred light-years per hour.

Tonight the music seems so loud wish that we could lose this crowd

Maybe it's better this way

We'd hurt each other with the things we'd want to say

We could have been so good together

We could have lived this dance forever

But now, who's gonna dance with me?

Please stay.

   That night, they felt that their paths were finally synchronizing, promises were made. The game was over: both had won. They could feel it in their bones;, they could finally see each other's souls.

• ────── ✾ ────── •

"So close, no matter how far. Couldn't be much more from the heart.
Forever trusting who we are, and nothing else matters."

Metallica - "Nothing Else Matters".

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✾ Credits.

Song:"Careless Whisper" - George Michael.