" You never know how strong you are, until being strong is all you need. If someone had told me that I would have to match up to the best as a guardian and a warrior ,I wouldn't believed it. I wasn't always this strong woman that everyone seems to see ; every pain, every tear, heart break and loss made me what I am today . Cold and heartless, yet kind and forgiving : this is a story about an iron heart and a half. "
" An iron heart and a half.. "
As the 80s drew to a close, rock music came with a grip: Nirvana arrived on the scene and The Pixies came in solid. From jangly indie to dark, sexy alt-rock, the 80s was the decade when there really was an alternative to the mainstream. The Music Industry was phenomenal specifically in the year 1989 : Bobby Brown made waves with " Every little step " which earned him a Grammy that year. Don Henley ," The end of the innocence ".. was more her speed . The radio stations had it played more than three times a day. Colombia was at comfortable position these years ; the only major Latin American economy that did not default on or restructure its public debt. Virgilio Barco Vargas in power, leading anti-poverty programs and fighting the heavy influence of drug traffickers which only lead to the drug traffickers becoming more violent after he started to move against them.
Summer 90' , just turned 17 and like don Henley said " Oh, but I know a place where we can go still untouched by man..".. She was going to end her innocence that year . She had a catch and that catch was Héctor; a moreno-skinned towering masculinity with satisfyingly toned muscles eye candy enough to gawk at, whose habitually disheveled natural blond locks curtained just above his cheek bones. He was regarded a passionate, warm soul admired by the elders considering his sincere voluntaristic attitude towards them. Despite inheritable privileges due to his father's ownership of a reputable college, his eagerness to persevere through his own hard work was apparent. Being devotedly to football was his determination. Like a zeal for adventure, he would usually be seen intensely watching a game or playfully trotting with a tennis ball, or an orange perhaps, guided by his feet. Ceaselessly, he played with the juvenile or age mates whose emphatic screams would gathered in unison like a flock of doves.
As the sun begins to ease the heat, a friend yells "!Vamos!" with claps to intensify the atmosphere. Kick off! The ball rolls off of Héctor's feet while skips wide with dirt on his soles. The ball ricochets off several feet with varying rhythms. The boys are well mature with a few hairy faces and loud, deep roars that filled the the space. Héctor roars with old people watching ,listening in radio to Colombia's Alejo Durán or "El Negro Grande" (the great black Man) .The Legend had died the year before the 1990 and by this time his songs were all the radios played. Hector is a force to be reckoned with, after he scores with an energetic celebration typically followed after; sandy hair and all. She watches him from afar, hoping to be noticed.
Lilac had never approached him, she always preferred to watch from afar : rapping her dark brown hair inbetween her finger tips and smacking her gum to the melody of El Negro Grande's beats engrossed in saliva. Every one of her friends knew she had been crushing on the hunk since she saw him playing in his green and yellow Jersey. Ever since then she would visit where he played everytime he played in hopes that he would notice that she had developed more than just the chest friends. This time , it wasn't going to be the same and she had turned 17 and it meant 18 the next year and she wanted to approach him. Hector was not the type to be seen around with different women, he specifically hung out with the guys and the only girl he dated moved to Venezuela a few years ago. Lilac had dreams for this man, she knew everything about him and she had dreams and though he was three years older and in college she didn't want to wait until she was legal to " lose her innocence " with him.
That evening she looked a bit different than usual; messy curls, as though she had used just her finger tips to detangle her hair almost putting some of her curls into harmless locks. Her lips were Ruby, a blue floral mini dress to impress which made her hazel eyes vibrant under the evening sun set. She puffed some of her mother's perfume on and carried on with her usual routine - watching Héctor play. She had the confidence that many women coveted: she acknowledged her beauty which guaranteed a lot of attention. She'd get whistled at, stared at and most importantly hissed at by women simply envied her. However, regarding Héctor, this exceptional beauty laced with confidence proved futile. For one, she always felt like a child and inferior.
Although she was innocent, her gorgeousness would often make you wish she wasn't. The boys had ended the night with a splendid count with Hector's team know the lead as usual. She couldn't think of how to approach him. She was afraid for he may only see her as a child. Thus, disinterested. She compliments him, and he, u surprised because he has heard it so many times.
He replies with a simple, "Thank You", not really looking her way. Lilac feels stupid because she knew that she had put herself in a position to be embarrassed by this man. Just as she thought: he would only see her as the child she was and it simply shattered her hopeful heart.
The whole team gushed over lilac's luscious lush. It was as if they have just seen the first breed of female to ever be created ; Provocating ,the desire for sexual attention from men . She got these kinds of attention all the time, despite her age the men and boys were ready to go all out for her. .." hola mami , can I get a little kiss ".. "loca ". They bubble over her, feeling helpless in the mist of their towering masculinity . It was not news that Hector was very much admired by all, he could lead a rally and win. He approaches his team mates trying to desolve the tension lilac had created . -" relax man, we were just having a little fun with her" ..one of the guys said, followed with a spit out. He smelled of old people cologne and tobacco, pink eyes with big dread locks forming from his scalp to the tip of his knees. While the other guys fleed the scene. " Are you okay?.. " , .." thank-you I'm okay now ". She smiled being grateful . He looked at her only to realize that she was the same girl that had given him a compliment earlier . Hector approaches her offering to walk her home, being the gentle man that he was; truth was he wanted to get to know more about her and she didn't mind, her plan was working just fine and she really couldn't complain.
The sun was setting still, golden red and darkness started to cover the grounds. Street lights came on letting it's yellow rays penetration through the streets, while the busy streets started to slowly become empty even though it was as early as 8 pm : everyone feared the dangers lurking at every corner by this time especially living in a country were it's crime rate at the year 1990 spiralled since Luis Carlos Galán who nominated presidential candidate was later assassinated and , Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, who was also a candidate was assassinated, resulting in the UP pulling out of the elections. Colombia's crime rate had increased that year and just because of this lilac was pleased that he offered to walk her home.
The street leading to her home was rather narrowed, the only two street lights flicker when you walk by. Dogs barked loudly and junkies hung by every corner, the neighbourhood wasn't exactly bad but this was what the Colombians had to deal with because of their political leaders . The walk home was not as chatty has she had expected, disappointed to say the least. She knew that she needed to start from somewhere and to her this way just enough, however; lilac had to do more than just looking ' pretty ' if she wanted to get Hector to take interest in her, this year she wanted that more than anything else. Her confidence could crash down at any minute due to the frustration she felt with this guy. Why wasn't he dropping over her like the rest of the other guys?, why did he have to match up to the best and how was she going to lose it all with him this year?.
A conversation progresses slowly, and a lot of questions were thrown: She knew what all his answers would be because she had spent 6 years studying and fantasizing about him . Hector walks her to her door step and glared at her get into her home ,her gorgeousness would often make you wish she wasn't going to leave.