THE TURN I - Unhappiness, darkness

Leandro: The one who suffers patiently

Adara: Beauty

Guillermo: The one with the will to protect

Leandro felt satisfied, comfortable, with the life he was leading. He had only had one homosexual experience when he was a teenager. It was only because of a bet he lost, which made him have to masturbate two of his friends. That, despite making him feel a thrill at the time, he later wanted to erase from his mind. Now he was married to Adara, a beautiful woman, and he was very proud to have her. When they went out on the street, he bragged about having her on his arm. He lived for her, going from work to home and from home to work. On weekends, he always took her shopping, indulged her every whim, and then took her out to eat or dinner.

The marriage lasted about five years. Unexpectedly for him, one fine day she said, "I’m leaving, I found a man who makes me feel what you have never made me feel, among other things, with a better dick than yours, but he also knows how to use it well and take me to touch the sky." That felt like a cold shower being poured over him; he neither expected it nor felt that he could bear it. He immediately fell into a deep depression, living as if he had to drag a very heavy slab. He spent more time at work because that was the only place he could think of other things, and the worst for him were the weekends, when he felt the roof was collapsing on him. He became reluctant towards women and vowed never to have any kind of relationship with anyone. He told himself, "a bull alone licks itself well," but he even masturbated little.

One fine day he ran into his friend Guillermo, who asked him how he was doing, about his wife, about his life. He told him what had happened, almost holding back tears. Guillermo found extremely cruel the way Adara had left him, and after a long conversation trying to cheer him up, he advised him to find something to do, to sign up for a gym. He told him that he would come by the next day to pick him up to go together, and indeed he did. He ended up going with him several times.

Leandro started to notice that the gym was doing him good and that he spent less time alone at home; he would come home, have dinner, and soon after go to bed. He started going every day; his friend Guillermo only went twice a week. Besides, he was spending more time there; in the end, he had nothing else to do. He also went on weekends, and in addition, he spent more hours doing sports. As the weeks went by, it was not just about filling his time, but without knowing it, he started to feel the effects of dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. He felt better, and that made him addicted to the gym. His world was almost limited to work and sports.

Three years later, he was in the locker rooms of the sports complex when he heard someone talk to him.

• Guillermo: "Hey, are you Leandro?... don’t mess with me, man, I didn’t recognize you until I saw your face."

• Leandro: "Yes, Guillermo, it’s me. How are you?"

• Guillermo: "Good, I’ve been working in the capital for several years, but I’m telling you, I’m amazed. How the hell have you managed to get that body?"

• Leandro: "Well, by working hard; I come daily, my life outside of work is the gym."

• Guillermo: "But you look incredible."

• Leandro: "Thanks… although today isn’t my best day, in fact, I’m about to head home. I have a muscle strain here in my lower back; I don’t think it’s serious, I’ve had it before and it was worse than this, but it sucks that now I’ll have to rest."

• Guillermo: "Let me see… it’s here, right?... I can feel it."

• Leandro: "Yes, right there."

• Guillermo: "Hey, I don’t know if you know, but I took a course in massage and physiotherapy, I could help you; I even have a folding massage table."

• Leandro: "Perfect for me; I would really appreciate it."

• Guillermo: "The problem is that my house isn’t a good place, I just returned from the capital and for now I’m sharing an apartment, I don’t think I should set it up in the living room… and it won’t fit in my room; I have it folded behind the closet."

• Leandro: "I’m coming by car; if you want, we can pick it up and go to my house."

• Guillermo: "Then let’s walk."

Soon they were at Leandro's house; Guillermo set up the massage table in the middle of the living room and told him to undress. Leandro took almost everything off, leaving only in his briefs.

• Guillermo: "If you want, you can stay like that, but it’s better to be completely naked. For that strain, I need to work on your lower back, but also your glutes. I usually put a small towel on my clients, just so they feel a bit of privacy, but you’re not one of my clients; we’ve known each other for years… I suggest you take everything off and lie down just as you came into the world."

• Leandro (taking off the briefs): "As you wish… face down?"

• Guillermo: "Yes, of course."

Guillermo opened a bottle of oil he brought along with the table and poured a generous amount, spreading it over Leandro’s back while also coating his hands well.

• Guillermo: "I’m going to give you a full-body massage; I won’t leave a single muscle unattended, relax as much as you can… I’m not going directly to the affected area; that will come later. Have you ever received a massage?"

• Leandro: "No, never."

• Guillermo: "Better; you’ll see."

Guillermo massaged even the scalp, face, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, finger by finger. He took his time, then moved to the thighs, legs, feet, flexing them, rubbing the instep, the sole of the foot, and the toes. He returned to the neck and gradually went down the sides of the spine and further out, moving over the shoulder blades, going down, getting closer to the lower back, and he worked on it thoroughly.

• Guillermo: "Is everything okay?"

• Leandro: "I love what you’re doing."