Humans on Earth - Ernesto and Yolanda
This is a short story included in my first book “Visions of a Future Earth… and how to realize them” - which you can learn more about here.
Ernesto looked up from the book he was reading and glanced at Yolanda. She gazed at him with a smile.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. I was just remembering how we met.”
Sudden, sad memories surfaced for Ernesto, and he looked away with a frown. He hadn’t said anything, but she sensed what he was feeling. She came closer and hugged him. “Why are you bringing this up?” Ernesto’s voice was hoarse and full of emotion. “Tell me that I’ve done what I could, that I’ve atoned for my sins after all these years.” He looked at Yolanda with true sadness.
Ernesto’s total transformation from a cold-hearted man in service to self to a humble and loving human being in service to others still surprised her. “Yes, my love, you have done well. I believe in you and love you for all your changes, big and small. I only wanted to reminisce about how we met.”
It was clear to Yolanda that Ernesto still struggled with his past and that he might need more time to heal. It had been easier for her to move beyond that negative period of their lives.
Tears of love and gratitude ran down Ernesto’s cheeks. He welcomed her unconditional love. Ever since he’d decided to turn his life around, she’d stood by him, nurturing and reassuring him so that he could get over his raw past. His new path was rewarding but difficult, and he could not let go of the thought that the unspeakable evil he’d been immersed in for many years demanded a lifetime of restitution.
“Remember why you are doing this.” Yolanda held his hand lovingly. “Remember that you are not punishing yourself or paying for your crimes. Rather, you saw the error of your ways and have chosen to correct them. You have my everlasting love.”
Ernesto had been enjoying reading his book and now he was immersed in wrenching memories of the past. This was a strong indication that the blemish on his soul continued to evoke powerful emotions. He glanced at the electronic monitor tugging heavily on his ankle, reminding him of the heavy burden weighing on his conscience. In an emotional haze, Ernesto chose to remember, as he knew it might help him continue his healing process.
He never knew his father. His mother raised him lovingly and managed to create a positive environment for him even amid frequent gang violence. When he was sixteen, she was accused of aiding a rival gang and executed in front of his eyes. That day, he broke into thousands of sharp pieces that deeply wounded his young and barely formed personality.
Ernesto buried all feelings of love deep inside. Fuelled by unstoppable rage driven partly by adolescence, he began a killing spree to avenge his mother, starting with the gang member who’d shot her. He joined the rival gang that his mother was suspected of aiding. He climbed the ranks until he took control of that criminal organization, exhibiting unequalled degrees of cunning and malice. He was the embodiment of terror.
He began his criminal career as a drug lord and then expanded his business activities to include prostitution, child slavery and trafficking. Yolanda was one of his “employees.” She later told him that every day and night, she tried to nurture and support the children being used and abused along with herself. Yolanda tried three times to end her life, but her keepers saved her in what must have been a harsh reflection of a reality with no escape.
One day, Ernesto decided to collect the money from that side of his business himself rather than leave it to one of his crew. He was curious about how the enterprise was proceeding. Accustomed to human anguish, he would not waste more thoughts than necessary on the people involved. But unknown to him at the time, Spirit had set the stage for a synchronistic meeting.
He saw Yolanda in the corner of the small, dingy room, and their eyes met. A sensation welled up within him, that he hadn’t felt since his childhood in the “Cinturón de Miséria”. He didn’t recognize love, at first, because he’d isolated his Heart for decades.
He had forgotten how to love. His dealings with women were those of a man in a position of absolute power, and he never allowed himself to have feelings for them. In his broken state, he didn’t recognize love for what it was and assumed he was becoming soft.
Eventually, after several respectful meetings, he could not deny his love for Yolanda, nor could he rip the love out of his Heart once it was there. He could only surrender to the feeling. The same applied to Yolanda. Even though she was his victim and felt intense anger toward him at first, she gradually yielded to the power of love, because she understood they were twin flames.
They’d incarnated knowing the immense grief and pain they would have to endure, but they did it out of love for each other and for all human beings. They were literally following the scripts they’d written before incarnation. She saw the beauty in both their souls.
Over the following weeks, Ernesto discontinued that part of his business, justifying his decision with the excuse that it was too risky. The world — especially US law enforcement — was becoming increasingly aware of human trafficking.
Yolanda brought so much love into Ernesto’s life. The deeper he sank into darkness, the higher he was catapulted into the light when the conditions were right. He carefully began restructuring his business to legitimate enterprises and witnessed his life change from negative to positive. He felt reborn. From a wild animal in survival mode, he progressively became more enlightened as he learned more about himself. He created an organization to help abused children across the world, supported by the vast resources generated by his legitimate business activities.
It was a time of peace and a time of love; a time of purpose and a time of restitution – until it all came to a grinding halt. His previous business affairs were discovered during a routine tax investigation. He was arrested by the FBI and tried by the International Criminal Court. Subsequently, he was convicted for drug-related offences as well as for child slavery and trafficking and sentenced to life in prison. Spurred partly by society’s valiant attempt toward enlightenment by forgiving past transgressions, his sentence was eventually commuted to house arrest. His assets were not confiscated due to how the money assisted thousands of children harmed by that despicable practice. He was making amends in a substantial way.
As these raw and dark memories flooded through him, Yolanda pulled him into a hug. They wept in each other’s arms.
After a while, Yolanda held his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. “Forgive me for bringing up those dark memories. I am in such awe of the infinite love the universe held for us until we were ready for it. I only meant to remind you that love always finds a way.”
A hint of a smile appeared on Ernesto’s tear-streaked face. “I love you,” he whispered. He held her again, and that was enough.
In a final, deliberate act of surrendering the last remnants of ego-based resistance within him, he yielded completely to the infinite love of the universe flowing through Yolanda, melting away in in her safe embrace. Instead of thinking, he grokked with a sigh:
Love always finds a way.
