Chapters

I'm in my wheelchair, outside, at night, meditating just like I used to when I was a kid, with no damn screen bothering me. It's a little cold. I take in the vastness of space — it's truly beautiful and captivating. There are countless stars far beyond Earth. Suddenly, I think how much I'd love to explore the Universe with my friend Gina, who had cerebral palsy for the same reason I do. As I gaze, fascinated, at the starry sky, a sudden wave of extreme cruelty starts creeping through my insides. It gets more intense with every passing moment, and it scares me. I wonder where this monstrous unease I'm feeling comes from. Suddenly, I realize it comes from all the people who suffer from social pressure and live with disability. At that very moment I hear Gina's voice telling me: "I want to be with you again like before. Our love will be invincible, but it will come at a steep price." It becomes clear to me that this feeling I noticed a few seconds ago is pure evil. Just the day before yesterday I read a study in a newspaper in which 141 people had taken part, and where 37.4% said they would make a pact with evil depending on their physical condition; 5.8% said they would make a pact with evil without any doubt; and finally, 54% said they would never make a pact with pure evil, no matter what. I look over the data from this study: the winners are the ones who wouldn't side with wickedness. I feel the evil growing constantly, transforming me physically and lifting me toward outer space at great speed. Among people who are different, there's a general perception of being misunderstood by society as a whole. This breeds envy, rage, anger, and above all, a lot of frustration. I think that maybe these powerful emotions that we, people with functional diversity, feel are exactly what's lifting me upward. It makes sense, given my situation. Little by little, I can move better and the spasms I usually have disappear. On the other hand, I start to notice a very familiar presence. It had been a while since I'd felt such a pleasant presence. Slowly, it takes the shape of a girl's body with no physical difficulty moving at all, with blue eyes like Gina's, and at the same time I see a supermodern, highly advanced spaceship approaching. I had never seen a contraption so well equipped and well built as this one. It all feels very strange, like a dream, but I almost never dream, and besides, it feels far too real to be a simple dream. Both the girl and I approach the craft, which seems to come from a more modern era. We're fascinated, watching what seems to come from another cosmic dimension. As we try to figure out what it is, a fairly large door opens in front of us as if by magic. It's truly mysterious — we hadn't touched anything — and we both decide to go in, holding hands, as if we'd known each other forever. A few seconds later, we hear a voice produced by artificial intelligence telling us: "Welcome, Gina and Julià, aboard the most modern spaceship of all time." (to be continued)