It was around five in the evening.
A man lay on a bed inside his beach tent, scrolling through his phone. He had just texted his girlfriend, but she hadn't replied. Bored, he started playing a game with his friend.
Then suddenly, a notification popped up. He paused the game and opened the message.
Gabriele Guevara: "What the hell…"
His friend had sent him a picture — a picture that shattered him.
In it, his girlfriend Briar was with someone else.
Anger flared through him. He threw his phone aside and stepped out of the tent. The beach was quiet, the soft sound of waves brushing against the shore.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone — a woman in nude condition lying unconscious on a large rock near the water.
He rushed closer. For a moment, he froze, completely mesmerized. The woman looked ethereal — her skin pale and flawless, her hair glinting under the fading light.
He glanced around; the beach was empty. Slowly, he took off his shirt and gently covered her, lifting her into his arms. He carried her back to the tent and laid her down on the bed.
Gabriele (whispering): "What is she… a human or a dream?"
Her skin was softer than silk, her hair shining like gold dust, She looked too perfect — too unreal — as if she didn't belong to this world.
He thought to himself that she must have been hurt — that explained how she'd been found like that. She was so beautiful; he felt a strange, fierce urge to protect her.
Just then she sat up.
Gabriele Guevara: "You're awake. If you want, you can wear my shirt. Tell me — where did you come from?"
The woman gave no answer.
Gabriele Guevara: "She must be stunned… poor thing."
She ignored him.
Gabriele Guevara: "Looks like she's not just stunned — oh she is deaf too twice as helpless."
Gabriele lived alone in Valencia, Spain. He decided he couldn't leave her there. No one would find out if he brought her home. He lifted her into his car and drove.
At his front door he held her hand and knocked, telling the maid to open. The door swung wide — and a chorus of voices burst out: "Happy birthday, Gabriele!"
His family and friends were there. They fell silent when they saw the woman standing beside him. Her borrowed shirt made it obvious to everyone — they assumed she was his girlfriend.
Rafaella (delighted): "Oh my — is this my daughte-in-law?"
Victor (friend): "Brother, you picked a good one."
William: (patting Gabriele's back, wiping a single tear) "Well done, son."
Gabriele: "Please — listen to me."
Luca (friend): "Could she be from Ireland? The UK? Maybe Russia?"
Rafaella: "I don't want to hear this." (She puts on dark sunglasses, grabs her purse and bag.) "I'm going".
William: "Where are you going?"
Rafaella (wiping her eyes): "Shopping for my grandchildren. Bye-bye." (She walks out.)
Gabriele: "Mom — please, just listen."
Silence settled like a weight. Gabriele's pulse hammered in his ears as he searched for words to explain the impossible: how he had found her on the beach, how she had no memory, how everything had gone wrong in a single message.