Do not judge a book by its cover is a saying that conveys that things, events or people are different from what they appear on the outside or physically. Therefore, it is necessary to take time to evaluate them and understand them in greater depth, without reaching hasty conclusions. Below you can read a story about this saying.
They met by those coincidences that life gives away, being already adult women. Andrea was a 35-year-old woman who was quite outgoing, mature, very methodical, with short and long-term plans, all perfectly organized in specific objectives, steps and budgets.
Ana, for her part, was five years younger than Andrea, although it can be said that mentally she was fifteen years below her. She had many dreams, goals that she sought to achieve while trying to solve her everyday problems.
The only thing these two women had in common was the route they traveled by bus to and from work and the time they took it. For a month Ana watched Andrea. Something in her heart told him to get close to her, that they had to be friends.
The young woman did not know exactly what she saw in Andrea that made her like someone, she just felt a great desire to approach and tell her about her life. But Andrea was extremely shy and reserved and did not reciprocate the constant attempts at rapprochement.
If Ana waved her hand, Andrea pretended not to understand and turned around; if Ana went down through a door near Andrea, the latter would walk away, and so on for a month.
Some say that if you think about something a lot, if you want it a lot, the universe conspires and seeks that what you long for is fulfilled. Well that Monday at 7:30 am, while Ana was sitting on the bus reading her favorite author's new book, the magic happened.
-Hi, excuse me for interrupting, could you tell me where you got the book you have in your hand? I love that author, I know it's the last thing he put out and I need to read it! Andrea said excitedly.
Ana got a little nervous, so much so that it was difficult for her to assimilate what Andrea was saying, but since she understood the word "hand", then she saw hers and understood.
-The book? Where? Oh yeah! I bought it at the kiosk on the corner of the stop where we got on, the lady is very friendly and has a great variety. Do you like to read a lot?…
The conversation lasted all the way until Ana had to go down to her work and Andrea to follow hers. The truth is that from that little dialogue a dream came true and a bus friendship began.
Later they both met at the stop to leave and return together. The conversations were always quite pleasant, although light, not deep at all. They talked about books, market prices, how bad the bus drivers drove, well, they never went into the details of their lives.
Andrea was the one who wanted to sustain the friendship in this way. She realized the great efforts that Ana made to get closer, that's why she took that step in the step forward on the bus and came closer, but up there.
Over time Andrea noticed that the young woman also wanted a place in her life and to become a close friend, she did not like that and she always marked the distance in each conversation. Ana came to notice the disinterest in Andrea on many occasions, but she persisted because she lacked and fulfilled her friendship.
With the passing of the days and the conversations, Andrea began to like Ana, there was something about her that he did not like. While Ana considered Andrea a woman of the world, kind, intelligent and direct, Andrea thought that Ana was a spoiled girl who had no idea what she wanted in life.
He considered Ana to be a good person, he did not doubt that, but it also made him quite annoying and he had no desire to extend the friendship beyond those conversations that entertained the thirty minutes it took to get to work and the other thirty minutes back.
They spent about a year with this superficial friendship, even Andrea told Ana, inadvertently and unintentionally, that it was her last day at work because she would stay at home to be a housewife for a while and dedicate herself to herself.
Ana panicked, for her that hour of conversation meant a lot in her life. In addition, she did not even have her friend's phone number, although she had already noticed that Andrea managed to evade that question with great cunning. The news broke Ana's head, who could not concentrate on her work.
He spilled two cups of coffee on extremely important documents, made far more than common mistakes, and even inadvertently insulted his boss by changing a letter in his name. He had no head to think of anything other than that the next day he would not see his friend again.
Ana had assumed that she would always have time for Andrea to open up with her and finally initiate the deep and true bond of friendship she had always dreamed of.
Ana had created idyllic youth film moments in her mind with Andrea. She imagined riding bicycles, eating ice cream in city parks, going to the movies, and spending at least one day a month doing face masks, painting her nails, and all those things girls would do in American movie sleepovers.
Ana was a child at heart, and as a child she desperately wanted to be friends with Andrea. Her childish heart saw in Andrea an older sister, the one she never had.
There was a reason why Ana filled her life with pink. She had a very hard childhood, full of abuse, a submissive mother with an aggressive father who used insults as a means of unique expression.
On the return bus they continued talking. Andrea acted as if nothing had happened, as if the world had not collapsed for Ana that morning. When they reached their stop and Andrea was getting ready to say goodbye as she always did, Ana did what she believed was correct and necessary.
-Andrea, I really would like very much to have your phone number and keep in touch, I think we have many things in common and I would like to continue sharing with you -said Ana, between emotion and melancholy.
Andrea thought about it for a few seconds and finally gave him her number. She figured she had nothing to lose, in the end she could always block her if she got too annoying.
Ana greeted Andrea every day on WhatsApp. Andrea didn't always return the greeting, but in the end she felt bad for not being more polite and ended up responding. Ana clung to that friendship with her nails.
The reality is that Ana had trouble trusting people and felt very lonely. She had created a rather small bubble in which her equally innocent husband and loving mother lived. The rest of the world was not invited and she came out little of that bubble, because whenever she tried she ended up hurt.
Andrea was also quite lonely. When she was little she had been mistreated by her classmates at school, so she had created a private world. However, Andrea flourished as she grew up, although she was still a lonely person, it was by choice. A choice that he also enjoyed very much.
While Ana spent hours trying to please the world with expensive makeup, hair treatments, and other superficial arrangements, Andrea spent her time learning about herself, understanding the world rather than pleasing her. Andrea felt quite comfortable with her life, probably that was what Ana wanted to learn from her.
Andrea managed to maintain the connection with Ana for about a year through messages; In other words, it was a purely virtual friendship. But if something was true about Andrea, it was that she was kind, and every time Ana asked for advice, she gave it the best she could.
Despite avoiding it, Andrea had become Ana's best friend. Also, without wanting to, Ana had penetrated her heart by occupying a tiny room. Andrea continued to refuse to establish a much deeper friendship, so she remained a mystery to Ana.
Since Andrea had dedicated herself to the house and her marriage, she had been very happy. At last she felt that she had time for herself and could enjoy the momentary solitude in which she lived while her husband worked.
One day Andrea decided to go for a walk, alone, to receive the sun's rays and change the air. She thought of going to the park, having lunch with her husband near his work, and then going to the book store to return home. But fate had something else in store.
When she crossed the street to catch the bus that would take her to her first destination, a car ran over her. Andrea fell to the floor totally passed out. When the universe sends messages, it is often for the least obvious reasons. Just at the moment when Andrea was run over, Ana was on her way to work - late, for the first time in her life - and saw everything that happened.
Ana immediately ran to Andrea's side, asked for an ambulance and traffic to be called, and took a photo of the driver's license plate in case he fled. At that moment Ana became an empowered woman, she forgot the fear she lived with, she knew that Andrea's well-being depended on her handling everything with a cool head.
"What would Andrea do in this case?" That was the phrase that echoed in the back of Ana's mind and that gave her the strength not to cry on the pavement where she was lying who was, for her, the only true friendship he had ever had.
The young woman did not allow her friend's body to be moved until paramedics arrived. When they made an appearance, she gave them all the information she had about Andrea while she communicated with the husband to inform her of the clinic to which she would be transferred, at the same time that she finished filling out the papers on allergies and pathologies..
When the police arrived, Ana maintained her composure to explain how the driver tried to run a red light when he ran over to her friend. Thanks to her calm, the police officers were able to finish their work quickly and bring the culprit into custody.
Ana felt for a moment how it had evolved. She knew that Andrea treated her a little distant and without much dedication, but she also knew how much good that friendship had done her. She was grateful to be able to react calmly to adversity thanks to Andrea's scolding every time she lost her mind.
Ana called her work and reported what had happened and asked for the day. Upon arriving at the clinic where Andrea was staying, she learned that her friend had not suffered serious or irrecoverable injuries, but was in the operating room for a broken leg.
Ana and Francisco, Andrea's husband, talked and waited while Andrea woke up. They both wanted to be there and be the first thing he saw. They spent the night awake, worried, for some moments they did not believe the words of the doctors and they thought that Andrea would never wake up.
But, as expected, the next day Andrea woke up, sore, but happy to see Francisco, and, without realizing it, also happy to see Ana.
The hardest part came later, the recovery. Andrea only had her husband, she was an only child, her father had died when she was a child and her mother was five years after leaving this plane. Francisco had to continue working to be able to support them, and at that time more so because the medical expenses were very high.
Ana offered her help, took six months of unpaid leave, and dedicated herself to helping Andrea. He took her to therapy, helped her at home, and left early so she could give her a few hours alone before her husband arrived.
Ana and Andrea developed a sibling friendship during those months. Andrea finally recognized the happiness she felt for having Ana as a friend, for being able to count on such a pure and innocent soul in these moments of so much pain.
Andrea never lied to Ana during those months, she always spoke clearly to her. She told Ana, laughing, how she escaped the invitations or the excuses she made up not to see each other. Ana, also laughing, told him that she recognized the excuses and that many of the parties she invited Andrea to were false.
A beautiful friendship was born, where Andrea was able to be as frank as she wanted on any subject in front of Ana and not feel judged. The woman who was once all emotionally closed discovered a new way to connect.
Andrea had never been afraid to ask for help when she needed it, but neither had she received help without asking. Ana was always there to shake her hand, even if she didn't know she needed it.
They wept together over the amount of betrayal they had endured that had made them such different women. They also appreciated the chance of the bus that took them to different jobs together for so long.
Andrea watched Ana sing very out of tune, with her pet following her around the house as she cleaned and prepared everything to help cook lunch. She didn't understand how a girl who had been through such a difficult life could be so positive.
She had a normal life, with quite flat bottoms, compared to the cavernous depths that Ana had passed through, and it had taken years of inner work to learn to be positive.
After her friend's rest and recovery, Ana returned to her routine, but with something different: Andrea sent her good morning messages every morning. Nobody knows what it takes until they get it, and much of what we despise for absurd prejudices, can be a remedy that saves us and gives meaning to life.