Women from the past

Gio had a childhood friend, a girl. Gio often played with her because his parents were frequently away on business trips. He had one friend, but she made things fun. But he was sad again when she left.

"CARMEN?" Gio exclaimed in shock, ending his call with Clara without realizing it.

"Hi, Gio. Long time no see, I missed you so much," said the half-American woman.

The woman of Gio had been searching for all this time. But always ended up at a dead end and was now standing right in front of him. Gio was surprised by Carmen's sudden appearance. She approached Gio, who was lost in thought and hugged him. Gio was speechless, standing there in silence.

"Why are you daydreaming? Do you recognize me anymore?" Carmen asked, puzzled.

"Of course I recognize you. I am just a bit surprised," Gio replied nervously.

Carmen kept praising Gio, from his looks to his personality. Despite being older, she seemed to like the mature Gio. Gio asked Carmen to sit and place his phone on the table. As Gio went to get drinks, his phone rang again. At first, Carmen ignored it, but since it kept ringing, her curiosity got the better of her. She thought she might find out if Gio had a girlfriend.

"Hello," Carmen answered softly.

Clara was surprised to hear the voice of a woman. Clara thought she had called the wrong number. She checked her phone and saw she had not made a mistake.

"Is this the phone of Gio? Why are you answering the call?" Clara asked warily.

"Oh, yes. But Gio stepped out; he will be back soon. You can call again later, or is there something you want to tell him? I will let him know when he returns," Carmen replied kindly.

Clara felt annoyed, thinking Gio had lied to her. She suspected he had a girlfriend he had not told her about. Without saying anything, Clara ended the call abruptly. Carmen looked confused and put the phone of Gio back on the table. Shortly after, Gio returned with two cups of coffee.

"I did not know what would you like, so enjoy," Gio said, offering the coffee.

"Thank you very much," Carmen replied.

Carmen then told Gio that she had answered a call from his girlfriend and that there seemed to be a misunderstanding he needed to clear up. Gio looked confused and checked his phone. He explained to Carmen without hesitation that the caller was just his friend. Carmen smiled. They continued their conversation, reminiscing about their childhood memories.

Gio had earlier messaged Clara and said he would call her back. 

Time flew as Gio and Carmen talked for hours. Gio had time to chat. Carmen then excused herself as she needed to take her mother shopping.

Gio and Carmen exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch. After Carmen left, Gio checked his phone. There was no reply from Clara. He tried calling her. When there was no answer after several attempts, Gio became worried and decided to go to the place of Clara.

Arriving in front of the house, Gio noticed her room lights were off, assuming she was still at work. He tried calling her again but got no response. Gio decided to wait at a nearby supermarket, having snacks as he had not had dinner.

Nearly three hours passed, and Gio tried calling Clara again, still with no answer. Finally, he texted her and decided to head home. On the way, he kept checking his phone, hoping for a reply from Clara. Once home, his eyes stayed glued to his phone. He called Clara again, only to find her phone was off. Gio panicked and rushed back to the house of Clara.

When he arrived, he saw the lights in her room were on. He quickly got out of his car and went to her door. After several rings of the doorbell with no answer, Gio started to panic, fearing something might be wrong inside. He knocked repeatedly while continuously trying to call her.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of the door unlocking. He paused and waited. In her pajamas with a towel on her head, Clara opened the door to greet Gio. He sighed in relief and hugged her. Clara, taken aback, pushed Gio away, feeling awkward.

"Why are you here?" Clara asked nervously.

"Are not you going to let me in first?"

"Um, yes, come in," Clara replied, letting Gio in.

Clara got him a drink. She could not stand the awkwardness, feeling Gio should not visit so late because she thought he had a girlfriend. She wanted to ask him to leave, but Gio seemed reluctant.

"I got here, and you are already asking me to leave? Did I do something wrong? Gio asked, confused by the behavior of Clara.

No, You do not. It is just late, Clara explained nervously."

Gio fell silent, realizing Clara had created a valid point. He should not have come so late. Clara was waiting for an explanation from the woman who answered his phone, but Gio did not say anything and left. Clara felt regret.

He did not even try to explain about that woman. Is she his girlfriend? Clara muttered, frustrated.

Gio sensed something was off about the behavior of Clara. He suspected she was bothered by Carmen. He thought Clara might have misunderstood something. Since it was late, Gio decided to explain things to her the next day to avoid any more misunderstandings. Meanwhile, Clara kept wondering who girlfriend of Gio was.

On social media belongs of Gio, she found an old photo he had posted years ago. It was a childhood picture of him with a mixed-race girl, arms around each other. The caption read, "A fun girl named Carmen." Clara felt a pang in her heart. Is this girl his first love? Clara wondered to herself.

That evening, Clara appeared restless. She could not shake the image of the photo she had just seen from her mind. Clara felt a pain in her heart. Though she realized her feelings for Gio went beyond mere friendship, she lacked the courage to confess the truth to him. Clara did not want to ruin her friendship with Gio. She attempted to slowly forget her affection for Gio because she did not want to be disappointed, let alone abandoned.