The Other Wife

I'm Tired of Running

PENÉLOPE

We were running in the middle of the night.

My black horn-rimmed glasses had twisted with the motion of running while Ulises held my hand, so I wouldn't get lost. I could barely keep up as we ran through the crowd on the main avenue of the city, trying to throw off the people who had been following us for those three endless days.

I was out of breath and had been running for over half an hour.

"Ulises," I whispered due to my lack of breath.

"Ulises, I need to stop, no one is following us anymore..."

But he kept pulling me despite my protests. We had abandoned the car halfway when we saw another car deliberately crashing into us.

As I ran, anxious about not knowing what fate held for me with him, people walked around us, leaving the spring festival with smiling faces and lively conversations still audible above the passing cars.

"We can't stop, Penelope. If we stop now, things could go very wrong," he replied between gasps.

We ran while dodging people along the entire avenue.

I was fed up with running without knowing what was happening. I had been running with him for three days, hiding from thugs. Why had he dragged me into this situation?

I stopped in the middle of the crowd, shaking my arm to free myself from him. People continued walking around us, paying us little attention.

"I'll be damned if I go with you unless you tell me right now what's going on. Last I remember, I was taking a hot bath three days ago when you forcibly dragged me out of a house I couldn't leave," I was tired of the situation.

"Stop the nonsense and come with me now," he pulled me again, but I took a step back. "Penelope, for the love we swore in Las Vegas, I need you to come with me. I'll explain everything properly, but it's neither the place nor the time."

He was controlling himself. He couldn't make a scene or yell at me in the middle of the street as he usually did.

"I don't even know why they're following me," I looked at him distrustfully at his absurd response. "I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what's going on, but I knew you would be in danger if I left you at the house."

I looked into his eyes for a moment. Unconsciously, I was trying to find the boy I had been infatuated with in just three days, but I found nothing but a man eager to run far away.

"They're looking for us. We have to keep going," he said.

I turned my back to see a couple of men in black searching for us in the crowd. We resumed our march. He took my hand again, guiding our way.

During those three days, he had stopped demanding the stupid tasks from me. He seemed quite pensive, drinking more alcohol at night or smoking a cigar in the middle of his insomnia. He was in a bad mood all the time and barely looked at me when we hid or ran at that moment.

Finally, after running for another twenty minutes and arriving at a series of alleys, Ulises knocked on a door at the end of an alley. The door was immediately opened, and he pushed me inside.

I felt very distrustful entering there, but I had no choice when a couple of thugs were following us.

"Do you have what I asked for?" Ulises said to the man who opened the door.

The big guy, who was almost two meters tall, nodded with a furrowed brow. He turned around, leaving us alone. We stood silent; only the murmurs from the main avenue due to the festival could be heard. I heard the stranger's footsteps and how the wooden floor creaked under his weight.

I ended up sitting in the worn-out living room of the small room due to the excessive tiredness from running for three days. I hadn't been able to take a bath or change clothes. I stank. I didn't know when my eyelids got so heavy that I fell asleep.

"... it's necessary for you to do it," I heard the big guy's voice while trying to open my eyes.

"It's impossible for all of this to have been a misunderstanding," I heard Ulises's voice as I blinked to see him sitting at the worn-out table.

"I think it's the most convenient. He's encouraging you," the big guy insisted again. I gradually sat up. I had slept for about three hours according to the wall clock in the room. "She's awake."

The stranger got up from his seat upon seeing me newly seated on the couch. He went to another room for a moment while Ulises remained with his back to me for a moment, not saying a word. There was a closed briefcase on the table.

The ticking of the clock filled the room until footsteps were heard from the big guy returning to the room quickly.

"Ulises, they're close, you need to make a decision now," he looked very worried, and at that moment, I knew I had to run again.

Ulises slammed the table and immediately got up with the briefcase in hand, coming towards me. He was more serious than ever.

"Take this briefcase and flee to Paris," he said, handing me the briefcase.

"What about you?" I asked with a racing heart.

"I'll catch up with you. Give me a few days to reach you. Right now, I need to run faster, and you're encouraging me," he gave me a crumpled paper with information. "Go to the Hotel De Crillon and stay there until I arrive. If you need help, call this person as soon as you arrive in Paris and tell him you're coming from me. He'll help you find work, a temporary home, whatever you need."

"Ulises, we all need to go now," said the big guy, looking through the window.

"Damn it, Luis," he grumbled. "I'm going to take you to the avenue, and you're going to take a taxi straight to the airport." He was giving me instructions as he pushed me towards a back door leading to another street.

We ran cautiously towards the avenue. I didn't understand anything.

"And what am I going to do in Paris?" I asked him.

"Damn it, Penelope, figure it out until I arrive. You'll be safe there. Someone will be waiting for you with your passport at the airport. See you in a few days."

Ulises hailed a taxi on the avenue. I got in immediately, and he closed the door as soon as he instructed the driver to take me straight to catch a plane.

I had always dreamed of visiting Paris, but the circumstances under which I was leaving undoubtedly made it seem like a dark place and not the city of love, as everyone painted it.