Bronze armor

A few more weeks passed and it seemed that little by little people were forgetting Nina's name. She couldn't wait to be left and forgotten in time. All she wanted was to go back to being anonymous, but that would never happen.

She participated in some community-sponsored art exhibitions in Bergen, where she helped women, teenagers and children with social inclusion. She was also getting better at piano and in English, French and Italian lessons. She knew how to use her free time. Healing himself a little bit every day… Lyon and Kara never left his side, even through video calls.

David on the other hand spent day and night focused on work. His name was the subject of pages and channels that talked about cinema and series. He had signed important contracts with a streaming company, and his name was considered in several well-known films in the cinematographic universe. When I had free time, I spent time with my family and playing online games.

Nina was also always at home or at work. And one of those nights at home she sat in her living room, on her white leather sofa, and turned on her TV. It had an 80-inch TV, nearly the size of the living room wall, and a portable projector, one of the things David enjoyed playing while there.

Turning on the TV, Nina saw that his account was still logged in. His name, his gaming partners, the entire history of when he'd been logged in and how long he'd been in the past few weeks appeared on the screen. Your scores and anything else that could be contained in the history. This caused her to collapse. Just a moment alone, a scent that reminded her of his body, the scent of his hair, an outfit he had forgotten, anything that made her feel like he was in the house, made her completely lose her balance and strength. She looked at the television and cried until she didn't have a tear again, to let it roll down her cheeks, already pink from saline tears.

Suddenly a longing hit her heart leaving her dizzy. She could no longer convince the reason. I would rather hate him, it hurt less! She put her Brazilian playlist to play. She couldn't hear these songs for a long time, as David sang them out loud, showing his pride in having learned to sing in Portuguese. She could almost see him in front of her, there dancing like a Latino. The vision of heaven, him shirtless with his black pants hanging over his hips. Then when the song played the part: Even for all the richness of the Arab shakes, I won't forget you a day, not a day... Nina felt a thud in her stomach, something that was thrashing fast, it was the anxiety butterflies trying to implode from so much euphoria. Tears descended like Iguassu Falls.

“God help me, Dad. Just help me. Make it through, please God. Just don't let me fall…just don't let me fall…” she repeated as she clung to her pillow. Then he fell asleep.

That was her second-to-sleep nights since the day David had left. Every night she rolled around until the crying passed, then slept with exhaustion. She prayed, meditated, listened to different techniques from different cultures to calm her heart. From mantras, ho'oponopono to thetha waves on Youtube or Spotify.

Nina appreciated the wisdom of things. He was a lover of literature, arts, music and landscapes. His soul had a thousand years of history and culture. She repeated verses from books to her friends, she was very cultured. He always replicated a phrase from one of his favorite books: I've lived a thousand lives, I've lived a thousand years, I've lived a thousand loves and traveled through a thousand dimensions, because I've read.

Nina went online in the game David was playing the following week. Now she was a brave warrior. She didn't even cry anymore when she listened to his songs, or played his games, and she even felt the courage to see some of the photos they'd taken together. These photos that although they had been released to the four corners of the planet, explicit, Nina had not seen. David in the restaurant, by the pool, so many pictures of him sleeping, of her sleeping, videos of the two of them dancing. Nina then created an account under a fake name on Instagram, Facebook, and various social networks. She wanted to see how he was doing, if he was in good health, if he had already found a girlfriend, if he had already finished a movie, or premiered a series.

It was then that she realized how toxic the virtual world can be. Nothing that was published corresponded to reality, and people were there spending themselves, killing themselves on the networks. Fans didn't know a third of who he really was. Nina tried not to read anything that mentioned her name, but clicks go, clicks come, she ended up coming across thousands of links to his recent interviews.

She watched intently as she tried not to look away from his image, when suddenly the show's host touched right over the wound. He asked what had happened to Nina, and before she heard the answer he gave, she quickly closed the link feeling a thousand needles in her heart. The presenter asked if they never had contact again, and if David defended her so much from everything and everyone, because the two didn't stay together.

His answers were firm, true and did justice to the person who had made Nina give her soul and heart with an open heart. She would die for him right there in that moment, hearing his voice, his beautiful face, the sincerity and serenity to which he conducted the dialogues, he was really perfect. If she hadn't been such a coward and hadn't closed the video without first knowing its contents. It would have been discovered that he had taken the first plane, devastated, and had given himself body, soul and heart at her door, but she had just left the house, taken by Lyon and Kara, to a retreat in the mountains. “After all it was just a video, who wouldn't be curious? Who would resist watching them?” Nina! He feared feeling the storm he felt in his chest, seeing him on Elena's show, apologizing,

And the more she saw him in her world, the more she was sure he had been a beautiful dream gone, one that she would cherish for the rest of her life. The more she read things about him, everything that was written before the scandals surrounding her, the more she understood the raw harassment her fans had for him. They defended him fiercely, they seemed to have him, they seemed to know him closely, there was complicity and closeness between Dave and his twenty million fans. And further removed from that world Nina felt... If she didn't want to be part of it before, now she was absolutely sure that life wasn't for her.

After reading many things about David, she deleted the profiles she had created to have some news about him. She decided to contain her impulses and her curiosity, to continue protecting herself from all the toxicity that exists in this world of the famous. She promised herself that she would focus only on her life, and that she would not let anything or anyone else take away her peace!

Playing on the account Dave made for her, she would set record after record in game score. He had been teaching her to play for months, and she had come a long way since then, only what she didn't know was that he had access to her account, as she was linked as a dependent on him.

David had barely had time for games because of a busy schedule, super producers wanting to recoup money and lost time, were dissecting the artistic class, just as the various sectors around the world were exploiting their customers in an attempt to recover the damage that the pandemic had caused. caused.

He hadn't even noticed her in his games, until that blessed moment when he read on his computer screen: “strange is online; help stranger win this battle; stranger earns a thousand points and beats her own record”. He frowned and for a moment doubted it was her. He checked their histories and saw the link between their accounts. His face tried a smile with a taste of wonder and sadness. As for her, it hurt to remember the moments they had together.

He accepted to be part of her group in the game, he could play against her, but he was sure that if he massacred her in that game where she was excelling, then yes he would have an enemy for life.

He changed his nickname with another dependent account to play on her team. The two did not use a microphone. They just “texted”. They didn't want to expose their voices. His heart said: run for it! But the head said: the same thing will happen. Her breaking up with you and making you swear to leave her alone. David hesitated for a moment, he promised to let her go, gave his Boy Scout word that he was going to give her a chance to forget him. I was going to give you the benefit of time. So he kept quiet so he wouldn't draw her attention, and so they remained gaming partners for several days...

David began to understand Nina's behavior soon after the scandals surrounding her name. This made him analyze how much she was a centered person, true, whole and solid in character, because, in his view, most common mortals in the world would do the impossible to have the spotlight of the world on them, and explore. them in all the existing ways that the world of fame offered. A lot of people would give their lives to be a celebrity, but Nina didn't, she wasn't pretending when she said how much this all scared, intimidated and annoyed her.

David felt a certainty inside him that she was the woman in his life. The woman he would like to grow old with, the woman he would like to be the mother of his children. A woman who, even months later, after having become the most talked about subject in the world, did not give in to society's whims, neither for fame nor for money. Her words echoed in his conscience: I have everything that makes me happy, I lack nothing.

He'd often felt like being there to protect her when all this happened. But she never answered the phone. He never replied to an email. He knew she had lost her only means of communication, knew the police protected her, kept her data private, due to hackers. He thought she hated him more than all the haters, for everything that had happened in her life after meeting him.

He went photo by photo of his library, which once only he had secret access, but which now, had become public! Looking at that face, he gathered his strength to fulfill the promise he had made to her, that he would let her go, but he wasn't making it, she was stronger than him! She was still there, helpless, not knowing what to do to get her out of the eye of the hurricane. “Did she know he was knocking on her door? That he called a thousand times every day? That he fought with the whole world to defend his honor? There were so many unanswered sermons... it crushed his chest! It made him feel small, invisible... sometimes he could hate her for making him experience such debauchery! But the longing he felt was greater even than the very darkness that ravaged his soul... David wouldn't be quiet anymore,

She had his phone number, just go to the blocked list, she had his address, due to the notifications regarding his testimony, where he confesses in detail to stake her. Nina didn't have the heart to get in touch, even if she had, it's unlikely she would. She was brooding, fearful and proud, even though she felt that anytime her heart would stop working. How great she felt for him!

- Turns on! Come on, call now! - Leo said as he held out his phone for Nina to catch up.

— Call soon, what agony! You kill yourself, kill us and probably kill him too!

Nina looked at the two catatonic! There was no movement in his muscles. Kara takes the cell phone from Lyon, quickly initiating a call to Dave. Although the trio called from a private number, David answers:

- Hello! — a few seconds of silence... — Hello.

Nina jumps on top of the device like a ninja and turns it off. She was shaking more than an earthquake. The impact of hearing the voice of the reason for her life made her fall apart. She broke into a loud cry, so uncontrollable that it would take Kara and Lyon hours to calm her down.

The two followed their respective lives away from each other. Due to mismatch of fate, stubbornness or mastery of chance. Time passed quickly, waiting for nothing or anyone. Nina was already out on the street as usual, as much as she could in times of pandemic. She didn't care anymore if someone was going to film her, if they were going to take pictures, or whatever it was they wanted to do. She had turned “fuck you” on full power and left it there without turning it off. David read what came out about her in the media, whatever it was, a little two-line note, he thought. People branded his name, one of the benefits of the internet. He was grateful for that.

Three months had already passed, November was knocking on the door... Since September the cases of infected people and deaths by the “coronavirus” had increased a lot in Norway. The number was already over a thousand infected by September 11th. And over the months the restrictions increased and became stricter. Thus resulting in decreased virus proliferation again.

Europe had faced the second wave of the pandemic, which had left the global recovery in check. Infections remained at an average of 100,000 per day, forcing governments and companies to reinvent themselves, and adopt a variety of restrictions and unprecedented and provisional measures, which changed as the number of cases increased or decreased, in an attempt not to destroy the economy and livelihood of each country.

Suddenly Nina appears on one of Norway's highest ratings and interview shows. The journalist who pursued her at work had finally convinced her to use her strength, her empowerment for good, to inspire other women and others who are bullied. Nina started to appear in several campaigns against discrimination, against digital violence, against prejudice and human rights.

Any and all money involved was destined to help animals, women, children and needy families. It was the only way for her to accept participating in something public. It had to be linked with themes that would serve as a lesson for a society that pursued an artist, but didn't make a donation to a neighbor, an orphanage, an unclothed beggar in the cold street. It was her response to all the insults and judgment she had suffered, it was like slapping society in the face with a kid glove. I answered the bad with the good. He didn't accept money for frivolous apparitions and campaigns without a cause. She became a true soldier fighting crimes against the voiceless.

She opened a profile on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Tumblr, and every other social network there was at the time. Your phone, internet network, computer and social media accounts were very well protected this time. She had been guided by lawyers, police, journalists and others involved. Their social networks did not contain private content, only everything related to campaigns to combat bullying, fraud, oppression and digital persecution.

David watched his interviews carefully. He was impressed by the lessons Nina taught by answering all the questions about what had happened to her, without ever involving her personal life. He saw a firm woman, strong, but hurt and wronged. He saw a woman who knew how to use the whole situation, all the hubbub caused by her name against her own criticisms of the past. David read everything that came out about her, any note, any video, any campaign. He was still unhappy with the attacks she had suffered, and with how much she had been humiliated with words by the media all over the world, without her ever having done anything against any of these people.

He wanted her to have a voice in a show that would reach the entire world. He wanted the world to apologize to her, as he didn't have the opportunity to do it face to face when he sought her out at her house in Norway, as she was in another city.

As he watched her talk about combating violence in general, his mind wouldn't stop working. He respected her and kept her quiet for months, she made him promise. But now it was different, he was watching her stop hiding. She was so cornered that she had to react, had to fight to defend herself, that was how he saw those campaigns in which she was participating.

In the midst of this new phase, where there was so much conviction, she ended up accepting to participate in one of the most renowned programs in the artistic world: Elena's program. The same in which David participated in the beginning of the saga of scandals. There was a lot of negotiation and reluctance on her part. She'd only accepted because Lyon and Kara were very good at arguments, and Nina was finally at the stage of facing her fears, overcoming her difficulties, stopping being the punching bag of the world and “getting back on top”.