Having said that, you may realize it’s very difícil for me to be in a relationship where the guy has commitment issues. And that’s exactamente what I’m involved in right now. I’ve been dating this guy for a year and it was very claro to me from the beginning that he was quite diferente from the guys I used to date. But then I told myself: ‘’Pat, diferente is good’’ and here I am, dealing irónicamente with our diferencias. What I first liked about Tony was his determinación and madurez and it kind of surprised me coming from someone so young. We were studying together when we started to go out. I found out he had a kid and I can’t deny I was scared at first, but then I got to know him better and somehow he managed to get what he wanted: me. He also has this sense of humor combined with some arrogancia that makes it imposible for women to resist.

To sum up, just a bit of creatividad was required to get me involved. Oh, I forgot to mention his powerfully perfect green eyes. The thing is that, like every relationship, at first we were happy together. We went out with my friends every time they came up with a party idea. We had great sexo. We laughed a lot at each other’s jokes. We spent hours talking about ourselves, our experiencias pasadas and fears, our planes futuros, our emotional landscapes. Most of the time, we studied and worked together. When his son was around, we both played with him and had fun in each other’s company. To summarize, we shared momentos increíbles together despite our diferencias.

Yet it’s been a year and my needs have changed. I no longer want to live with my parents. And it may sound crazy coming from someone who just started to work and whose salario is not enough for making big plans. But the truth is that I want to live alone. I’m just tired of not having the kind of privacidad I need. He also lives with his madre so I thought that I wasn’t so out of my mind after all. I know I can’t buy a house right now and it’s going to be many more years before I can save that kind of money. So, a possible solución might be renting a place that of course we can both afford. I think I can teach English as a part time job and work as a traductora in this institución gubernamental. One thing language profesionales have in their favor is the ability to work in áreas diferentes. During my major, I was trained to perform as a traductora or as a language teacher. Therefore, freelance teaching is a good job oportunidad indeed.

When I was in college, I was asked to teach students from the same universidad as part of our internship programa and I kind of enjoyed the experiencia. So, I know moving out is going to be a big step in our relationship but it’s definitely something we can do together as a couple. My girlfriends tell me I shouldn’t hope for it and perhaps they are seeing something that I am clearly missing here. I just know he keeps saying, “I’m not ready for that kind of change.”

Carol has also been involved in a relationship for more than a year, a very complicada one, I can tell you. Jim lives in the United States so it’s been really hard for them to have a healthy relationship when most of the time they are 90 miles away from each other. Yes, I know it’s not that great a distancia and once in a while she can resort to our poor Internet conexión to communicate with him. Besides, he is a web diseñador, so he makes the kind of money that is required to visit her frecuentemente. Otherwise, they would have ended the relationship a long time ago. I would have bet that Carol is not the type of girl who could stand distancia. So there they are, trying to cope with this situación.

Whenever he has the money and the time, he comes to Cuba and they spend the weekend in some fancy hotel. Last time they saw each other he proposed to her. She hasn’t made up her mind yet. A marriage proposal is not as simple as: two people love each other and want to spend their lives together. The truth is that they have never shared a place. They don’t know if they are going to get along once they have responsabilidades at both work and home. And there are other factores determinantes. If she decides to marry him and start the proceso of reunificación familiar in order to get a visa for the U.S., she must quit her job and she won’t be able to work as a doctora anymore in our country and it could be years before she can move away. I know, política is harsh sometimes.

Carol really loves her job. She is very passionate about it. She spends countless horas in that hospital because she likes to save people. She is always reading bibliografía especializada related to medicina so that she is continually up-to-date on the latest medical developments. So imagine someone like this being unable to do what she likes.

Jess is not dating anyone right now. Most of the time, she is pretty reservada and she rarely opens up about her feelings. I believe she is still afectada by her first relationship. It was really shocking for her to realize that all her planes were thrown away in just the blink of an eye. Obviamente she didn’t see that coming. But that is life, so amazingly impredecible that we cannot always controlar what happens around us. Albert Einstein said once that “life is like riding a bicicleta, in order to keep your balance you must keep moving.” So let us help you move, Jess!

Liz is not involved in any relationship at the moment. She’s been this way forever. I don’t remember the last time I saw her holding hands with someone on the street. But naturally she has affairs from time to time. Is there something wrong with her? Will she be able to open up to love again? Perhaps… But for now just let her be.

(to be continued…)

In the Middle – An International Transposition (Fiction)

Introduction to In the Middle – An International Transposition, edited by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey

January: Forgetting – Turkey, by Seyit Ali Dastan

February: The Unreal in Real – Armenia, by Armine Asryan

March: Catching Water – Argentina, by Javier Gómez

April: Unwanted – South Africa, by Toni Wallis

May: House with a Stucco Ship – Ukraine, by Gennady Bondarenko

June: A Girl Pedaling – Cuba, by Marilin Guerrero Casas

July: The Last Day – Poland, by Pawel Awdejuk

August: Through my Hands – Venezuela, by Veronica Cordido

September: Amelia’s Euphemism – Spain, by Jonay Quintero Hernández

October: Until Love Do Us Part – Uruguay, by Alejandra Baccino

November: A Journey to the Edge – Lebanon, by Rayan Harake

December: I Used to Smoke – Russia, by Kate Korneeva

Background – Context

Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)

La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)

The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)

L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)

From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)

More work by Marilin Guerrero Casas

Crossing the Uncertain Path of Life – Marilin Guerrero Casas (transposing emblem)

Emotional Estabilidad: The Key to a Happy Life – Marilin Guerrero Casas (transposing emblem)

Balance – Marilin Guerrero Casas (transposing emblem)

Emblems and stories on the international community

Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from around the world

Credits

Cover photo: Havana, Cuba – Street party – Lesinka (Shutterstock)

Source: The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed