"Is a diamond a crystal?" asked the speaker at the entrepreneurship course. "An entrepreneur cannot be a crystal. Crystals are fragile, can break, and can never be repaired. They cannot withstand pressure. On the other hand, a diamond arises from constant pressure. It starts as rough coal that, little by little, as life hits it, hardens and strengthens until it becomes a diamond."
I was attending an entrepreneurship course. Lately, I had been looking for an alternative to my boredom. Staying at home all day, doing nothing but looking at social media, disgusted me. There I was, listening to a motivational talk that was supposed to be an entrepreneurship course where they would talk about finances and the keys to being an entrepreneur.
"Tell me, what does the girl in the yellow blouse want to solve with her business?" asked the speaker.
I looked at the girl in the yellow blouse. She had curly hair and a face full of acne scars. Her aquiline nose was covered in a layer of sweat. Poor thing was nervous about speaking. The girl said something so quietly that no one could hear her.
"Come up here and speak, young lady. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you must lose your fear of the public."
It was amusing to see the young lady stand up slowly and observe her audience methodically. I didn't agree with that comment. Entrepreneurs didn't necessarily have to be extroverted; introverts were also capable of managing things in their particular way and could achieve success. I looked at my watch, thinking it was better to be there watching that circus than lying down doing nothing. I visualized an acquaintance at the door; it couldn't be.
"I don't have free time," I murmured so he could read my lips. "Why can't they come to look for me when I'm doing nothing?"
The person waiting for him was none other than my pupil, Dayana. That could only mean one thing: problems.
"No one here should tell me that their business is small, humble, or insignificant. We are not crystals, we are coal prepared to transform into diamonds," I heard as I slipped away to talk to Dayana.
"What do you want, girl?" I asked. "This woman has a brutal way with words. Some of the things she says may not make sense, but she captivates me and even motivates me to find ideas to keep living."
"You haven't checked your phone, sir. I've been calling and texting you," my pupil's gaze was angry, but she shouldn't be. "You probably have it on vibrate like always. God! Can you answer the call someday?"
"You shouldn't be mad. Here, I am the master, not you," I said, and Dayana had to hold back her emotions. "You've only been alive for 18 years. What do you know?"
"He dressed horribly again. That green sporty T-shirt doesn't go with those formal gray pants. He looks like an old Portuguese man! Doesn't he realize it's too big for him?"
I rolled my eyes.
"I think I can dress however I want, young man!" I said.
In that instant, I wondered how I could turn that boy into an immortal with fewer emotions.
"Moreover, he didn't shave properly and there are still hairs sticking out of his chin. Did he even try to style his hair? It looks like a hurricane passed over him. Did he take a shower, at least?"
The worst thing about training the next immortal of the century was that I couldn't charm them.
"Why did you call, Dayana?" I said.
Dayana was a girl that anyone would see and fall in love with instantly. She was careful, attentive, very methodical, and too demanding of herself. She had the qualities to be immortal, but she talked too much.
"Master Yunus woke up."
I gave up on my entrepreneurship class.
"Let's go."
We got into my 4x4 Jeep and made the necessary calls. There weren't many immortals. There were only about six of us in the whole world.
"Am I speaking with Darlene?... Hello, Your Majesty. Yes, it's me, Lugo, the Creole... Exactly, yes, I'm only calling you because my Master Yunus woke up... Then I count on your assistance."
I hung up and proceeded to call other immortals. When I finished, I was only a few meters from the apartment. The whole place was mine, bought many years ago.
"Why did you decide to take an entrepreneurship course?" Dayana asked without getting out of the car.
"Really? That's your question, young lady."
"Oh, my God! I've read all the books of the Immortals. I know that when you don't want to live life anymore, you hibernate until you decide to come back to the world," Dayana looked at me as if I were stupid. "If an immortal wakes up, what you should do is get them up to speed on the world and meet up with their acquaintances so they feel familiar with everything. That's why I was calling because a message is too risky and would take longer to respond. But you're a case." She looked at me and tried to find out why I went to the course. "You want to go into hibernation, don't you!"
The damn girl had found me out.
"You can't leave me like this. I've only been learning how to make an immortal for five years. I have so much to learn. I know you wrote books, but I still need more time. Hold on for about five more years, for me, okay?"
Dayana gave me puppy eyes, and I hated that gesture. It made me remember when I found her about to die. She had been run over by a car in the middle of nowhere. She would have died if I hadn't granted my gift, ignoring one of the rules of the immortals. We couldn't grant the gift without making sure that the person had no family ties and was alone in the world. I was lucky, and she was alone.
"Repeat the rules for granting immortality, girl," I said, getting out of the truck.
She knew them; it was one of the first things I taught her. My Master Yunus was very strict about that.
"An immortal must consider the following to grant immortality:
• The first rule for immortality: it will only be granted once in eternity. The person must be alone in the world, and their desire to live must be deep.
• The second rule, you must not forget: immortality is a great gift, no doubt, that is only given to one who, in solitude, maintains sanity.
• The third rule to keep in mind: immortality is a great power, so it will only be given to one who, in his great solitude, knows his duty.
• The fourth rule, is important to remember: immortality is a great treasure. It will only be given to one who, in solitude, knows how to live without pain or sorrow."
I nodded, and we began to climb the stairs.
"Master Yunus was with me for 100 years. Believe me, I felt suffocated. The immortal, despite wanting to be alone, after years of solitude, seeks companionship," I paused. There were still two floors to go. "We hibernate because we don't want to die. We hate dying. The world is beautiful, but there are boring times, and governments tend to repeat their mistakes. Sometimes we hibernate because we will wake up again, but perhaps, if we're lucky, in a much better time than the one we are living in."
We were at the door, and behind it, my master would surely be waiting.
"I'm not going to hibernate yet, but I'm getting bored. And when one gets bored, they don't reach their potential."
"Then I'll find a way to entertain you!" Dayana said innocently.
We opened the door. I was expecting to spend a long time telling my master about the 300 years he had missed. Then I realized that a diamond was indeed a crystal. The diamond was a transparent and hard mineral.
"That girl is a good speaker."
Cover and Banner made in Canva; Author's own image taken with Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 S, Separators made in photoshop