Page 25 - SpontaneousSuccessMatos

around the corner, we found common ground and were
soon chatting away like friends.
As we spoke, something changed in his voice. It
became soft, caring, and kind of mesmerizing. His words
felt like a gentle spell, drawing me in with warmth and
comfort. He spoke fondly of how a wrong turn had
brought him here seven years ago and how he had fallen
in love at first sight with a fisherman's daughter called
Leonor. And fallen out of love almost as quickly.
“Her family, I'm afraid, are a grasping bunch, with all
the finesse of a tornado in a teashop.”
Still, even as he recounted the tale of his heartbreak,
his voice remained warm and steady.
“We have a daughter, Lara. She doesn't see the world
the way I do, but she senses it in ways I can't.”
Over the next hour, a dozen or so tourists drifted in,
hung around long enough to finish one round, and then
left. Thomas looked at me and shrugged it off, but he
was clearly disappointed they didn't stay longer.
I had a hunch that the collection of rock, pop, and
sweet soul music I'd brought along for the now-not-
happening discotheque would be a perfect addition to
Thomas's club; it was the swinging sixties, after all. So, I
proposed a deal.
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