Cheers to the good life
Cheerstothegoodlife
LorenaFranco
TranslatedbyAlissaTranslations
“Cheerstothegoodlife”
WrittenByLorenaFranco
Copyright©2017LorenaFranco
Allrightsreserved
DistributedbyBabelcube,Inc.
www.babelcube.com
TranslatedbyAlissaTranslations
“BabelcubeBooks”and“Babelcube”aretrademarksofBabelcubeInc.
TableofContents
TitlePage
CopyrightPage
CHEERSTOTHEGOODLIFE
ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
Chapter1|TODIEISSIMPLE|(Tofindthestinkinglight,notsomuch)
Chapter2|SANPEDROISCUTE|(Hedoesn’tfeelthesameaboutme)
Chapter3|MARTA|(Andmytremendouspainintheneck)
Chapter4|“If,forexample,youcomebyatfouro’clock,|I’llstartfeelingexcitedat3
o’clock”
Chapter5|PHANTOMS
Chapter6|SERENDEPITY|TheLuckyandunexpectedfindthatoccurs|whenyouare
lookingforsomethingelse
Chapter7|SUMMER’SAPARTY|(andfleeting)
Chapter8|BACKTOTHEPAST
Chapter9|BEFOREYOUDIE...¡LIVE!
Chapter10|Him|(Andhisghost)
Chapter11|“They’llbeback”hesaid.|“Embarrassmentdoesn’thaveaverygood
memory”
Chapter12|Deathisn’ttheGreatTragedy.|Thedreamsweletdieinsideofus|while
livingistheGreatTragedy.
Chapter13|IftheCosmoswantsthemtomeet,|Nomatterthedistancetheywillmeet.|If
it’snotmeanttobe,evenfacetoface|Theywon’tseeoneanother...
Chapter14|CheerstotheGOODLIFE,ADRIÁN
Chapter15|Everyoneseeswhoyouappeartobe,|Butfewseewhoyoureallyare.
CHEERSTOTHEGOODLIFE
LorenaFranco
TranslatedbyAlissaTheresaDiego
CHEERSTOTHEGOODLIFE
Originaltitleinspanish:FELIZVIDA
Copyright©2017LorenaFranco
Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted, in any formo r by any means without the prior written permission of the Publisher, nor be otherwisecirculatedinanyformofbindingorcoverothertanthatinwhichitispublishedand withoutasimilarconditionbeingimposedonthesubsequentpurchaser.
Allcharactersinthispublicationarefictitiousandanyresemblancetorealpersons,living ordeadispurelycoincidental.
ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
Lorena Franco (Barcelona, 1983), is an actress. She has participated in several popular TV
series in Spain (El Secreto de Puente Viejo, Gavilanes, Pelotas, Centro Médico ... among others); Programs, film and publicity campaigns on a national and international level. She combinedhercareerasanactresswithherpassionforliteraturelaunchingherintosuccesson AmazonKindle.Withmorethanelevenbooktitles,sheisoneofthemostsoughtafterandbest ratedwritertoday.HernovelLAVIAJERADELTIEMPOwonaspotasfinalistintheFantasy Bestseller category in the Amazon Indie Contest 2016, one of the bestselling novels on the platform.CHEERSTOTHEGOODLIFEishersecondnovel,withwhichshepaystributeto
DavidSafierandhiswork MalditoKarma.Itisastorythatwillthrillyouandmakeyoulaugh allthesame.
Chapter1
TODIEISSIMPLE
(Tofindthestinkinglight,notsomuch)
It was a sunny morning in June 2012. That day I got up early, at eleven o'clock in the morning. My grandmother always said that the early bird gets the worm ... I think she was wrong.Ididsomeyoga,Ihadafruitsmoothie,abagofwholegraincerealthatmusthavebeen intheclosetforyears...Itookashowerandgotdressed.Somewhatcasual,ratherscruffy,but fashionable. Despite living on an eleventh floor, I always took the stairs. Never the elevator. Rule number one if you want to have a perky butt and not full of craters called cellulite.DamntimeandrightwhenIdidwhatyoualwaysseeinthemovies...Animportant day, a bright sun, a clear sky ... and the protagonist of the story stops at the entrance of the buildingwhereshelives,andlooksattheskywithabroadsmile.Thewrinklesdon’tshowtoo much...howevermorethanusual.Thesmiledisappearedinpointzeroseconds,whenIsaw,at ultrasonicspeed,whatappearedtobeatoaster.I also saw a similar scene in a movie and I said to myself: it would be you, stupid! Get out of here! Come on! You gonna die! It's very easy to criticize the characters in a movie, but when we talk about real life... HA! That's anotherstory.Likethatprotagonist,whosenameIdon’trememberandmuchlessofthefilmin whichIsawit,Iremainedfrozen,stunnedwatchingasthattoasterwasimminentlymakingits waydowntowardsme.Innotimeatall...theimpactwastoobrashtosurvivesomethinglike that. Although the truth is that I could have survived if I hadn’t twisted my ankle, the heel wouldn’thavebroken,andIwouldn’thavefallenfracturingmyskullagainstthecurb.Ihada doctorboyfriendathousandyearsago,wholovedtotalkaboutdeath.Hesaidourhearingwas thelastsensewelose.So,Ihadtimetohearscreams,shoesapproachingmydyingandbloody body ... and even Roberto, the short and plump Peruvian chauffeur, who waited for me three stepsbeyondwhereIhadtheaccident.Iheardhimsaying,"MissLaura,Itoldyoutogetoutof theway!"Yes,Ialsosaidthattotheladyinthemovieandnowlook...ofcourseastovefellon her...that’showmoviesare,theyexaggerateeverything.
Suddenly,IfeltlikeIwasfloatingorsomething.What"Casper"usedtosay...Todieislike being born, but in reverse. It felt like a kind of jolt, a very strange feeling that cannot be comparedtoanythingweknowwhenwearealive.Mybodywasontheground,bloodyand
lifeless,Icouldseeit.Surroundedbystrangerswhowouldsurelyrememberthatmomentthe restoftheirlives.Iwouldn’t,oratleastI’dhavehopednot...amomentIwouldhavelovedto wipeoutofmymindforever.IfIhadattemptedtomakeknownthatIwasafamousmodelin suchcasualandscruffyattiretheywouldhavetoldmetogetlost.MaybeIshouldhavechosen for the occasion a glamourous Gucci dress that was given to me at Paris fashion week. So anyway,I no longerfelt my bodythrown down on thesidewalk. I simplydid not feel human stimulationandasItriedtoseemyselfintheglassoftheentrancedoorofmy"ex"building,I couldnotseemyreflection.Yes,Iwasdead.Iwantedtoplayajokeontheparamedicsduring mypassing,butIwasnotyetskilledenoughtomovethingswithouttouchingthem...something thatinlifebytheway,Ialwaysmarveledat...
After five endless minutes, two scandalous cars arrived. The police and the
ambulance. Firefighters were missing to make an explosive cocktail. If I had been alive, I wouldhaveflirtedwiththefirstpoliceofficerthatgotoutofthecar,pushedthepeopleaway, andwithgreatgriefwatchedmylifelessbody.Whatanunsavorycocktail!Itriedtorecallwhat underwearIhadputonthatdayandifIwas100percentwaxed.ButIrealizedthatthememory ofthesoulbodyisnotthesameasthatofthephysicalbody.Therearedetailsthateludeusand we suffer a sudden loss of memory of the material things that we have left on the other side.Frommyside,Icouldseeeverything,butnoonecouldseeme,atleastnottheliving.I wasexpectingsomethinglikealightoreve
nmygrandmother’sghost,whoinlifealwaystold methatwhenIdied,shewouldbewaitingforme...Howexciting!Accustomedtobeingthe centerofattention,Ihadtoadapttoremaininginthebackgroundduringthistime...ofcourse, ontheotherhand,myphysicalandinertbodywasstilltheprotagonist,evenifitwasnotinits bestcondition.Theposeofthefootandthehipdidn’tfavormeatall.
I looked around trying to find some explanation. But there was none. This little scene was becomingtoodramaticforme.WhatwasitIneededtodo?Leavethatplace.Yes,withouta doubt.Ihadtoleavethebodythatnolongerbelongedtomeandgoto...where?Iwaslost.I wassorrytoleavethebodyIhadcometolove...Ihadmistreateditforalongtimemakingit gohungry,smokinghundredsofcigarettesanddrinkinggintonics,manhattan'sandmojitos...
Mmmm! Mojitos! Now that I think about it, I would’ve given it a couple more cereals that morning.
"Hello!Hellooooo!I’mdead!Isn’tsomeonesupposedtocomeandgetme?Orguideme?"
No matter how much I screamed for help, no one heard to me. Neither the living nor the dead.So,Idecidedtotakeawalk.Itwasavery,veryoddexperience.
AndsuddenlyIfoundmyselfon72ndStreet,notknowinghowI’dgottenthere.Istoppedin themiddleofthestreettoobserve.Iwatchedglances,franticsteps,sadness,joy,goodnews,a lotofbadnews...Icouldevenhearthethoughtsofthemanypeoplewhowalkedpassedme withoutevernoticingmypresence!OhmyGod...Yes,Iwasdead.Verydead.Ifitweren’tso, this forty-year-old man in a suit, who, while on the phone was contemplating the billions of
dollars his company would make that year, would have checked me out from top-down. I wouldhavehadafew ginand tonicswithhim,wewouldhavegottenmarriedandaftertaking himtothecleaners,IwouldhaverunawaywithayoungmantotheBahamas...AhLife!How beautifulitwouldhavebeen...
AndthenImetthefirstghost.JohnLennon.Heworereallyretroglassesandflaredpants fromthe70's.Iworesomesimilartothoseinafashionphotoshoot.Show,butthetruthisthey horrifiedme.
“HiLaura,it'sJohn,JohnLennon.You'renew,right?”Inodded.I'vealwayshatedbeingthe newone.“Howdoyoufeel?”Histonewasverypeaceful.Resignedtowanderthestreetsof NewYorktoeternity.Wasthatmydestinyperhaps?
“Notsogood.Idonotknowwhattodo.Ithoughtmygrandmotherwouldcometomeor
something,butnothing...noangels,nodemons,nolight...nothing.”
John Lennon began to laugh. He laughed at me for a long time. But of course, time is relative and in this world, parallel to that of the living, I was beginning to understand that it simplydoesnotexist.Notime,nospace,nogravity...
"Well,areyougoingtohelpmeinanyway,Mr.Lennon?"
“I wish I could. I've been here for over thirty years. I have seen how New York and its peoplehavechangedandnoonehascomeforme.Idonotknowhowthehellyougetoutof here.Iimagine,mydear,thatwearetrapped.”
"Sothat'sdeath?Youstayhere,notknowingwhattodo?Trapped?
"Inmy case yes,Laura. But Ibelieve in destiny. Inthe destiny ofeach person and surely yoursisnotthesameasmineexceptwearebothdead.Maybeyoushouldwandersomewhere else.”
"Wandersomewhereelse?"
"Yes, my dear, this is mine. And part of Central Park as well.” John's peaceful tone had suddenlyturnedintosomethingevil.Itwasalittlescary,really.Histinyeyesseemedangrybut atthesametimeresignedandsad.Verylonely.Wasdeathlikethat?LonelyTherewasnoparty, alcoholandrockandrollinthesky?
"Andwheredoyouwantmetogo?IloveCentralParkbutthetruth...thiswasnottheidea Ihadofdeath.”
“Whathappenedtoyou?”
"Youknowmynameasifbymagic,butyoudonotknowwhathappenedtome?"
"Yes,butIwantedyoutotellme.Tolaughforawhile.Averyabsurddeath,donotyou think?”
“John,wewillnotbefriends.”
“Maybeinanotherlife.”
“Maybe.”
"Apity,Laura.Nicelegs.”
"Thanks,John,niceglasses.Takecare!”
AndIwalkedawayfromJohnLennonthinkingofhowmanyadmirerswouldpassby,not
knowingthattheartisthimselfwaswatchingthem.Howironic!
IsatonabenchinCentralPark.Itsaid"Freshlypainted",sonobodywouldcometositontop ofme.Ididn’twanttoknowwhatitfeltlikeforalivingbeingtopiercemyspirit,myinvisible bodyorwhateveryouwanttocallit.Ididn'tmindstainingmypants,so...Istayedthere.And some"living"cornerofmymindrememberedsomethingbeautifulIbelievedaboutdeathwhen Iwasachild.Iimaginedpeopledyingontopoftheclouds,observingusasifweweretiny little pieces in continuous motion. Laughing at us and spying happily on us as if it were a sociological game. I stopped believing that when I boarded a plane for the first time. I must have been about eleven years old, and observing through the window of the plane that there were no "people" or "spirits" or anything on top of the clouds, I had a stupid idea that they werewatchinguswhilelyingoncomfortable,fluffyclouds.Betterthananyexpensivemattress thatcouldbeboughtinlife.
"Amodel,right?"ayoung,sweet,naivevoiceaskedme.Agirlofabouttwelvesatnextto me.Shehadbeautifulblondhairandbright,glowinggreeneyes.
"Well,morethanmodel...topmodel...Top,verytop..."Ireplied,smilingstupidlyand realizingatthistimetopandmodellackedanyimportancewhatsoever.
"Whatapity,right?Youhadaverycoollife,huh?"
"Ican’tcomplain,no...butIdiditallthetime...Well,thatdoesn’tmatteranymore,does it?"What’syourname?"ItwasthefirsttimeI'dbeeninterestedintalkingtosomeone,notin the least desiring to talk about myself. It was also the first time I understood John Lennon, becauseheknewhisname.Andheknewhewasdead.Buthewantedtohearit,hewantedto ask.Iwantedtoplaybeingaliveagain.
"Claudia. She looked ahead. She looked at me sideways and smiled. She hesitated, and finallysheburstouthappily,"Damntoaster!"Shecouldnotdoanythingbutlaugh.Laughatmy misfortune.
"Well!Todayseemsliketheidealdaytolaughatanewbie."
"HaveyoumetJohnLennon?"Aninterestingguy,right?"
"Very!"
"It's like a tradition. Dying in New York and meeting good ole John...," she explained thoughtfully."Idiedofcancer,Laura.IwantedtobeamodelsinceIwaslittlebutcouldn’t."
"Iamsosorry.Ireallywasverysorry."Sheseemedtohavemoredeadfeelingsthanwhen shewasalive.Itmusthavesomethingpositive.
"That's why I play with this mane. I never had it before, so now I've decided to take it.Upstairsallowedmeto."
"Haveyoubeenupstairs?"
"Yes!Ofcourse!Maybeyou’llhavetogouptoo."
"I haven’t gotten any signs ... How did you get there? Is there an elevator or something?" Claudia laughed. My question was totally serious. I no longer cared about cellulite,atthattimeitgavemethecreepstothinkabouthowmanystairstheremightbeup.
"Well, I went right away. When I closed my eyes, I saw a light and I went towards it, accompaniedbymyangel,Catherine.Mostofushaveanangelandamission.Sometimesour
angeltakestimetocomebecausehehasotherthingstodoor...Whoknows?Hewantsyouto collectyourselfabit.WhenIascended,Iwasentrustedwiththemissionofgoingbackdown asaspiritandguidinglostsouls,especiallythoseofchildren.ButIcangoupwheneverIwant andbethere."
"Howoldwouldyoubenow,Claudia?"
"Ithinktwenty-eight..."shesaidw
ithmuchsorrow."Likeyou."
If it wasn’t for my inability to, I would have allowed a tear to escape that would have causedmymascaratotragicallyrundownmycheeks,leavingmewithahorriblelookandthen Iwouldhavesaidsomethinglike...damnallergy!Iwouldalsohavegivenheralonghug.I gavesolittleofthoseinlife.
"Oh..."
"Laura, calm down! I'm happy. I do not feel pain. For me, life only had one word: pain.Thisisbetter,nowI'mfine."
Westayedsilent.AndIdidn’tknowhowtodescribemylifeaword.Atleastfornow.
"WellIhavetogo.Nicetomeetyou,Laura."
"Really?What’sthehurry?WhatshouldIdo?"
"Wait.Thereissomethingpreparedforyou."
Claudia winked at me, smiled sweetly, and left. I stood there feeling silly, watching her silhouette elegantly disappear in a blur. Not at the best of runways could there have been a moreextraordinarymodel.
Ireturnedmydeathscene.Mybodywasgone,butthedamntoasterwasstillthere.Thearea was taped off, and a very handsome policeman was talking to a heavyset, very heavyset woman,dressedinadressinggowndrapedwithredflowers,andspokeswiftlyandrudelyina Mexicanaccentaboutthetoasteraccident.
"It wasn’t workin’. It wasn’t workin’. I just wanted to have my toast with jam and the toaster did not work. In a fit of rage, I threw it out the window and that's all Mr. officer. It wasn’t on purpose, I did not want to ... Oh my God, I didn’t want to kill anyone ... " The woman threw her thick hands full of cheap rings on her face and began to sob exaggeratedly.Thepoliceman'sfacewasapoem.
Perfect.Idiedbecauseofacapitalsin.Gluttony.Food.Somedamntoast,somethingthatI bannedfrommybodysinceIwasfifteenandwantedtoclimbtothebestcatwalksofallmajor cities, hand in hand with the best designers of the day. I wanted to throw the toaster in her face.Butitwasuselesstofeelanger.ThatmademefeelweakandIstartedtofeelill,soItried tocalmdown.Ijustwantedtofeelpeace.Wasittoomuchtoask?