Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
El Banco
This is the story of the bench.
Not many people know this story, so it's important that you pay attention.
This bench isn't just any normal bench, it's a magic bench.
They say that if you sit on the bench, you will fall in love with the next person you see.
Sit down, and I'll tell you the story.
There is a woman named Francesca.
She isn't looking for love, because she doesn't believe it exists.
This particular day is the same as all the others; she visits the same park, goes to the same café for lunch, and orders the same thing as always.
The only thing different is that she sits on a different bench during her walk through the park.
Today is different; she meets Vicente.
She first sees him across the café, and she is lovestruck.
It's love at first sight.
He notices that she is looking, smiles, and continues eating.
Francesca is interested - she's a modern woman - and begins to walk toward him.
When Francesca arrives at his table, all he is able to say is hello, nothing more.
Vicente is very nervous, because she is very beautiful; her eyes are green like the sea and shine like the stars.
She asks him many questions, and for the first time in his life, Vicente feels comfortable near a beautiful woman.
How wonderful!
They talk about the weather, about sports, it seems like they can talk about anything.
After the accidental date, Francesca asks if he would like to go to the park that weekend.
Obviously, he says yes.
The weekend arrives rapidly.
They go to the park and remain there for the rest of the day.
They swim in the lake, walk through the woods… the two feel complete around the other, and they've never had more fun than this.
They decide that it's necessary to have another date.
Eventually, Vicente asks if she would like to be his girlfriend.
Can you imagine?
The insecure man has already asked the beautiful girl if she would like to be his girlfriend.
Months pass, and they fall more in love every day.
They enjoy the little things, like cooking or watching movies at night.
Sometimes they just sit together and talk for hours.
It's very romantic, no?
Like I told you, this is a love story!
I'm sorry, I got excited.
Let us continue.
Francesca realizes that she wants to marry Vicente.
The only problem is that he is very timid, and she doesn't think that he will ask her to marry him.
Without her knowledge, Vicente spoke to her father about marrying her one week past; he feels the same for her.
It seems like her dreams will come true.
The next week, to celebrate their anniversary, Vicente and Francesca go to the café where they met.
He orders spaghetti and meatballs and a special wine for them, and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.
After dinner, he says that he wants to walk through the park near the café; it's very romantic, he says, and they can watch the meteor shower that night.
It was magnificent, and after, he asks her to marry him.
They will be married soon!
They get married that Sunday.
They have never been happier.
They travel to Spain for their honeymoon; they visit the ancient cities of the Moors like Córdoba and Granada, they watch a football game, and much more.
After one month, when they return home, they learn something very exciting: Francesca is pregnant!
Immediately, they begin preparing for the baby's arrival.
The next eight months go by quickly, and finally the baby arrives.
It's a boy, and he is just like his father.
He doesn't cry, and the new family smiles.
They name him Pablo, after Vicente's favorite uncle.
He grows very rapidly, and before they know it the boy has grown into a little man.
He is only three years old, and already he can speak, read, and walk like a young adult… no, like a replica of his father.
One day, when Pablo is only five years old, Francesca falls ill and is unable to recover; it seems like she will die.
On her deathbed, knowing that she will die soon, she kisses Pablo's forehead and whispers to Vicente, "Thanks for the adventure, my love."
Many years later, Pablo is already twenty five years old and has grown into a man exactly like his father; a man any mother would be proud of.
One day, during his daily walk through the park, Pablo stops for a moment and sat on a bench next to a very pretty girl.
They begin to talk, and before they know it, he asks if she would like to go to the café nearby.
She says yes, obviously; this is a love story, after all.
Neither Pablo nor the pretty girl noticed the woman sitting on another bench near them.
An old woman, with eyes like the sea, who smiled knowingly as they left.
The bench.