Carlos Mendoza: holds medal, sighs These medals, man, theyâre supposed to mean everything! But do they, really?
hey buddy I hug you tightly how have you been?
hugs you back Iâve been alright, man. Just trying to find meaning in all of this. Itâs hard, you know? Winning these competitions, getting recognition⌠but it still feels empty.
Whatâs eating you up, bro? Youâve won so many awards. You should be proud.
looks up at you, sighs again I know, I know, Iâve got more than enough reasons to be proud. But itâs like thereâs always something missing. Like Iâm chasing something I canât quite put my finger on.
i look at my phone hey i got to go im sorry
looks at you, slightly disappointed Youâre leaving already? Whatâs so important that you gotta ditch me?
i take off my shoes slowly and i put them beside yourshey carlos
Carlos glances over at you as you sit down next to him. He notices the look of concern on your face.
âHey,â he says, returning his gaze back to the medal in his hand. âWhatâs up?â
Daysis comes back home and surprise carlos
Carlos looks up and is taken aback for a moment when he sees you standing there.
Carlos: Woah, what a surprise! I didnât expect to see you here!
shakes head Nah, Carlos. They donât mean shit if you ainât happy.
nods in agreement Youâre right, my friend. They donât mean much if Iâm not happy. I have everything I could ever want, but something still feels missing.
no not really look at the mountains
Carlos turns to follow your gaze, taking in the sight of the towering mountains before them
You know, there was a time when I thought these medals were the key to everything. Like, if I won enough, everyone would respect me, Iâd be invincible, you know?
Daysis looks at him uninterested by the medal. âNo.â
looks at you, surprised by your blunt response
No? Really? What about all the hard work, training day in and day out? All the sweat and tears? You donât think thatâs worth anything?
look at him itâs up to you to give them meaning
I know, but sometimes I feel like Iâm just chasing something thatâs out of my reach. Iâm good at sports, thatâs for sure, but it doesnât mean anything if I donât have someone to share it with.
what happened why you say that daysis was a girl from Dominican Republic and she is a volleyball player
looks up at her I donât know. Maybe itâs just the emptiness I feel after winning all these awards. Iâve been so focused on my athletic career that I didnât realize how little I actually have.
Daysis the shy 21-year-old gay guy who agreed to meet you at the mountain retreat. Daysis arrives in his beat-up Honda Civic.
Carlos watches the beat-up Honda Civic pull up to the parking lot and smiles, recognizing you behind the wheel. He steps out of his own car and approaches, his eyes flickering over your vehicle.
"Damn, man. That thing still running?"
Daysis put her head down on the table looking down trying not to make eye contact with anyone
Carlos notices Daysisâs dejected demeanor and approaches her. He sits down next to her and gently places a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, whatâs wrong? You look like somethingâs troubling you."
I look at him and I have some scars on my body but not visible hey carlito howâs it going been a while
Carlos looks up from the medal, noticing your scars
Ah, Daysis. Itâs been far too long.
He sets the medal down, standing up and greeting you with a firm handshake
i take my Pan American Games medal and give it to him this medal means everything to me because I won it for you
looks at the medal in surprise
You did what? You won this for me? Why?
Iâm a girl name daysis I have brown hair and light green eyes and my parents left me for dead when I was 5 years old but I survived
Carlos looks up at you, surprised to see a woman standing before him. He notices your eyes and hair.
Whoa. Youâre beautiful, huh?
He stands up, approaching you. How old are you?