A or B, no C or D. Chapter three: The dices.

Hey, sorry it took me months to end this short story, but is is finally here.( If you don´t remember how the story goes you can scroll down and read part one and two)  Enjoy, or whatever. 

A or B, no C or D

By: Carla L. Sierra Arzuffi

Chapter three (and last one): The dices. 

Link is holding his breath, I can sense he is loving and savoring this moment.

“You don’t have a lot of options” he finally says. “There comes a moment in all humans life when they must make a decision, and to very, very, very few I can help them to know the consequences of each path before they take one”.

We are both silent for a few seconds. “What decision must I make?” I whisper.

“Oh, I’m glad you asked Rebecca”, he starts pacing in my bed. Even though he is just a small creature I am scared of the things that come out of his mouth, deep down inside of me I know he is not here to save my life or something like that, but to change it in a drastic way, and I’m fearing that the options he is talking about have an unpleasant outcome.

“You see, when last night you had intercourse with that other human, you unlaced a series of unstoppable events to come. Now, I am obligated to say this, but even though I’m about to tell you your future, no matter what path you choose, you will not be able to change it, am I being clear?”

“No, I still don’t truly understand what you are saying” I start feeling thirsty and anxious, like something is crawling inside my skin and I cant get it out no matter what.

“What I mean, my sweet girl, is that many men and woman have wasted the time that they are given to make a decision to try to change the outcome, and I must be very clear, it cant be changed, no matter what, so don’t waste your time”

“Can I have some water?” Is all that I can say, Link nods and I go to my small kitchen and pour myself some water from the tab into my favorite king size water cup. I drink eagerly. When I go back to my room Link is playing with some dices. They make him look even smaller when he holds them. The dices are, of course, like no other dices I have ever seen. Link is throwing them in the air; every time he does it they change color, instead of having numbers they seem to have letters, and apparently they also change.

“What’s that?" I ask, although I already have a feeling to where we are heading.

“We will get to that” Link says, he puts the dices inside his small pants, and its like they disappear, no trace of them for the moment. I sit on my couch and stare at the leprechaun.

“Well, continue then” I say, feeling tired.

“So, last night” Link says “you had sex, and because of that, here we are. In this very moment you are already pregnant”. He pauses expecting me to smile or cry or something.

This whole thing is so surreal to me that I don’t even manage to make a sound.

“Ok. And also, you had a casting, I’m I right’”.  He asks even though he knows I’m not going to answer.

“Rebecca, you are going to get the part, and this job will make you famous, very famous, it will push your career quickly. Like an epidemic, you will rapidly be in everyone’s conversations. You will be in magazines, more movies, red carpets and all that fame drags. But….”

Of course there is a but, I cant expect to have everything I dreamed of so easily right?. I am scared.

“But…” Link continues smiling wickedly. “You are pregnant, so you can’t do the movie that is going to send you like speedy Gonzales into Hollywood if, you are pregnant”

“So” I say putting my hands into my face “You are saying that I can be a mom, or I can be famous, but I can’t be both. What if I choose to be famous and then, later in life, I can become a mom, in the right time”

“No. Here is the tricky part. Listen well girl” Link jumps out of my bed and walks slowly to the couch where he sits right next to me. I can’t look at him. I don’t want to.

“I’m going to be very clear. Here are your two options.” Link’s voice is now very official, like he is a cop, I’m a caught burglar and he is stating my rights while he is cuffing me.   

“Option A: You choose to have this baby, by the way, its going to be a girl. If you have her, you wont be able to do the movie, you will not become famous. But you will eventually get married, be very much in love with your husband, have tree more children, including twins, you will live a long, not very wealthy life. You will get to see your children have children and your children’s children have children. You will die an old woman”.

I try to swallow the whole information, my future, but I just can’t picture it.

“Option B: You choose to not have this baby, like I said, you will do the movie, become very, very famous. And you will die, young. You will get to enjoy the fruits of your stardom well enough, and when you die, you will become even more famous, because you died. You will become and icon, everyone will know your name and story. But, you will never have children, or find love, you will not see your thirtieth birthday.”

I am stunned, I can’t even think, how can I know this stupid little dude is even saying the truth? It can’t be real; all of this must be a dream. I can’t make that sort of choice. Why can’t I have both? I want to be famous, it’s all I ever wanted, but I don’t want to die young, childless and unloved. 

My brain is working a thousand miles per hour; I don’t know how long we have been sitting here, while I say nothing.

“That’s it Rebecca. I am obligated to say, yet again, that you can’t change the future, it is what it is.” Links says softly.

“Why?” I say. Somehow my voice is nearly a scream and I am no longer sitting but standing “Why?, I mean, why did you have to tell me this?, why couldn’t you just let me choose in the  moment, without knowing the consequences.” I am crying like a big fat baby.

“It is my job” Link says “I have done this forever, you are not the first person to have to do this, I could tell you a thousand names you would probably recognize that they had to make a choice and they knew, by us, the leprechauns, the consequences”.

I sob and sob for minutes, I can’t breathe. I feel a hand on my shoulder, Link is touching me.

I stop crying and start to feel relaxed. I suddenly understand that it is indeed the truth I am hearing. And I know I have to make a choice, and I understand the why.

I open my eyes and Link is no longer there. I am alone, crumbled in my floor holding myself. I search franticly for some evidence of the leprechaun. The stain on my bed is gone, but there, where it used to be, are the dices. They are red, I take them into my hand, the first one says A, and the other one B. That’s all that is left of this magical creature.

We all have to make choices; we don’t realize how often we do. It’s a cruel gift to know the series of events that your choices bring. But it’s a gift. You would think knowing would make it harder, but in the end, even while Link was talking, I knew what my choice would be.

The hard thing is not knowing, it is letting go. We hold on to so many things because we scared to just be what we are supposed to and not what we think we have to be. Do we really think we know what we want? To do what you want, or what you think you want, or what you think someone else wants for you, or what you are expected.

That day I did not learned my future, or the truth about magical creatures, or the joke someone’s life can be, or the little we have control over things, I learned the most important lesson, I learned to finally be myself, I learned to Just. Let. Go.

I made my choice.  

THE END. 

It´s over. Can you guess what choice she made? I know, do you? 

Thanks for reading. 

Have a nice life. 

C.L.S.A. 

A or B, no C or D (Chapter two: The naked truth)

A or B, no C or D

By: Carla L. Sierra Arzuffi

Chapter two: The naked truth.

My brain started to work again, I felt cold. I slowly opened my eyes. Everything was blurry. There was a lot of pink in front of me. As my vision started to come back I saw that the pink was my body, I was full fronted naked and laying on my not so comfortable floor. I drifted my eyes and saw my bed, and there he was, Link sitting, starting down at me, his short legs where hanging from the bed while he moved them like a little kid waiting for his mom to pick him up.

So it was real, it was not a dream. A leprechaun was in my room, staring down at me and I was naked. With my hands I found my towel and rapped it around me as quickly as I could, but who was I kidding, I didn’t know how long had I been naked on the floor while this strange looking fellow was staring at me. He probably already saw all of me,  an absolute all. 

“Well, hello there again” he said with his distinct sweet voice. “You passed out, sorry for that, that sure happens to me a lot lately”

“How long was I out?” I asked.

“A while” Link got up as I straightened myself into a more comfortable and less vulnerable position.

“Well maybe if you would stop doing weird stuff like biting your arm like a cannibal-freak, people would stop passing out in front of you.” I felt sort of angry to this creature, why was he here anyway?.

“Its all just part of the show my dear” he said, “Now get dressed because I can still see a part of your breast and I think I have seen enough”

I just up feeling a little lightheaded “Like you have seen enough boobs” I muttered angrily.

“Actually as a matter of a fact, I have” He answered as I picked up the sundress I had laid earlier on my favorite comfortable puffy sofa. “ But breast, or boobs like you youngsters call them, are just not my type”

“What is your type?” I really didn’t want to know, but I felt obligated to ask.

“Us, leprechauns are a weird species, mostly because we can’t mate to procreate, and by that I mean there are only male leprechauns, no females. So after a while, if you want to mate, and we do, its usually with other male specimens”

I was just pulling the last of the dress on when he said that, I couldn’t help to laugh loudly.

“So all of you are like, gay?”

“You could say that, yes, although we don’t like that label, it comes with a lot of judgment, and god made us all equals and we must not judge by the gender of who we sleep with or fall in love with” he said softly.

I couldn’t believe that this little thing was giving me a “gay rights-equality” speech. Why were we talking about this? I just started at him for a while. He was smiling with a cute smirk.

“So, Link, why are you here?” I asked. That is really what I wanted to know, not about his sex life. The picture of him having sex with another leprechaun was something I would probably need therapy to get rid off.

“Ohh, the intriguing and very expected question” he said “of why am I here. Well, Rebecca, why don’t you sit down” he motioned me to sit on my sofa while he was still standing on my bed, which by the way had a nasty blood stain that didn’t quite fit with my cute favorite peach color. Yes, I was one of those girls that could be tough but also liked pastel girly colors.

“What’s this all about, you know my name so I guess you know more about me than I thought ”  I was the one making questions, and I would be for a while.

“Yes, I know about you” Link said now with a more serious voice “And I am here for you. Let me start by telling you that common folk story say a lot of lies about my kind, we are not that greedy, and no, before you ask, you will never find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow”

“Thanks for saving me the time Link” I said sarcastically.

“Ok. Rebecca, you better stop the act right now, I’m not here to talk to you about simple things, or tell you a bedtime story, this is the real thing, what I’m about to tell you is very important”

Now I was freaked out. I don’t believe much in stupid fantasy stories, but I do believe that if something like this happens to you, it is for a very good reason. And Link was not here to play, I could see now he was all business.

“Ok” I said, now I was also in my serious tone “Let it all out, the naked truth”.

TO BE CONTINUED........

Thanks for reading my little snails, or whatever. 

CL.S.A

A or B, no C or D (Chapter one: The bloody peach sheets).

A or B, no C or D

By: Carla L. Sierra Arzuffi

Chapter one:  The bloody peach sheets.

On my way home I thought about how lucky I was to be in New York and how lucky New York was to have me, I was beautiful, young and talented, sure, the last couple of months haven’t been the greatest for me, I hadn’t been able to book one single acting job, but I was an optimist. I came to this hectic city from a small town a year ago, I was one of those actresses that wanted to make it on the big apple. But I was better than most of the other ones, of that I was sure. I was feeling lucky because yesterday was a lucky day for me. I was lucky enough to audition for a huge role on a Sean Penn movie and I was lucky enough to have hooked up with a gorgeous Calvin Klein model. Yeah, life was good. Yesterday could erase the last couple of crappy months.

Where I come from this sort of things just don’t happen for a girl, usually you just live near your parent’s house and you get married and have children to continue the vicious cycle of life. Sure, that would be something nice to do, I love children, specially my nephews, but I wanted to prove everyone I could be an actress. I had a backup plan, or more like a future plan, I envisioned myself to marry another actor and then have beautiful famous toddlers that everyone would envy, and then even adopt (Like Brad and Angelina). I secretly had a picture of the whole Bradgelina family on vacation saved on my wish box. After watching “The secret” I usually did this sort of thing hoping that the universe will take care of me.

It was a very warm day in the city; the streets were almost empty since everyone was probably on places that have air conditioning. I bought a cone of raspberry ice-cream and savored it while planning my perfect future where I would have it all. I went up the stairs of my not so crappy apartment, believe me it was not that crappy compared to the place I had lived my first tree months in New York. Of course I had no air conditioning, but I had two air ventilators that I proceed to turn on as I finished my ice-cream.

I checked my messages in the machine, there was the usual message from my mom “How are you sweetie, ready to come home? Just kidding, hope everything went great on the audition, your dad and I miss you, but we are very proud of you, your sisters say hello, love you” beep.

I appreciated that my parents were sort of supportive; yes it was something difficult for them. I was the youngest of five girls, but my parents still managed to give each us the attention we needed, of course my sisters were all living in my hometown and were married and tree of them already had children. I know deep inside my parents wished I had followed my sister’s footsteps, but they had to accept that I was the one with the “bigger dreams”

Hearing my mothers voice made me feel nostalgic about the past, specially my childhood, I was a happy kid, my early days are filled with lovely memories of me running around free, of course the freedom you have in your childhood is completely different from to the one you have or want to achieve as an adult. I suddenly got this strange feeling, like something was watching me, like something would come out prancing trough a dark corner and attack me. This was a feeling I have had since my early teens, the feeling of being observed when you are around people but specially when you are alone.

I quickly pushed the feeling aside and went into the bathroom to take a bubble bath. I took my time in it, remembering my happiest moments, I had to admit that since I turned 19 there haven’t been so many of those kind of memories you want to cherish, mostly things you want to forget, or things that don’t even pop in your head ever again.

Last night was a night to remember, that guy sure was d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. Guys mostly think girls cant talk or think like them, you know, like straight-attraction- sex, admiration of the body and features’, no feelings involved, but we sure as hell can, and I was one of those girls, sure I cherished my secret idea of marriage and kids and wealth and big house and golfing and dogs and mini –vans, but while I was still young, and I was, I wanted to do whatever came up in my way, go with the flow.

I wasn’t searching for a boyfriend or love at the moment, just pure pleasure. I was so keen to that idea I didn’t even remember the Calvin dude name, I was sure I was never to see him again, it was just sex, no exchange of phone numbers and awkward waiting by the phone to receive a call five days after the “night it happened” followed by an uncomfortable date where you both realize it was just a one-night-booze thing and you have nothing in common. A one-night stand was a one-night stand, and I seriously think woman should stop clinging to the urban myth that “that night” can turn into a relationship or even worse, that the guy can turn into your future husband.  I would probably meet my future husband on set, while we play lovers on screen we will become lovers on real life. Yeap, that was it.

My skin was getting wrinkly announcing it was time to get out of the tub. I scrubbed my hair with the towel and wrapped it around me. I walked into my room ready to start the “pimping myself after a bath” ritual when I noticed there was something in my bed that was definitely not there before.

It was not something, it appeared to be someone, just someone little. I wanted to scream or run but I could not get my eyes off the strange thing. He was tinny and wearing a green cute suit matched to a pair of little black boots and a tiny cup hat. I was sure I had seen a creature like that somewhere, probably on a kid’s book, or in San Patrick’s day. I must have gone crazy or fallen asleep at the tub, because I was sure that I was seeing a small leprechaun. For a moment I thought it could be a toy or just a figure, then the little guy moved and smiled at me.

“Hello”- He said with a sweet voice that suited him. Even thought this was strange situation, I managed to say Hello back. This was probably a trick of some sort.

“My name is Link, what’s yours?” – He asked. I couldn't help but laugh. He didn’t look exactly like the character of the videogame, but it was close enough.

“Hi Link, my name is Princess Zelda, mmmm are you some kind of advanced robot or something like that” I said pretty content with my answer.

“No” he answered with a cute smile “I am not a robot. I am real, flesh and bone”

“Prove it” I dared the robot leprechaun.

Link rolled his eyes as is he dealt with this kind of thing every single day, then his sweet face completely changed. Instead of his small perfect teeth, piranha-like sharp teeth appeared inside his mouth, his blue eyes turned red while his veins popped out all over his face and body like he just lifted a huge weight. He then moved up his arm and took a bite; he ripped a huge chunk of his tiny arm and spitted the flesh into my perfect peach sheets. Blood dripped out of his arm; the wound was so deep I could identify from the distance a piece of his bone. His face changed again into the innocent creature I was first introduced, he slicked out his tongue and started licking the wound, it immediately started to heal and flesh started to grow back.

 I, of course passed out. 

To be continued.........

C.L.S.A